Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The General Assembly of the International GS1 Organization, which develops standards and solutions to improve the cooperation between commercial partners and to increase the efficiency of the supply chain, was held at the Çırağan Palace in İstanbul. The meeting kicked off with the opening remarks of Deputy Minister of Commerce to Sezai Ucarmak, GS1 Turkey's founder, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, Migros Turk Co Inc General Manager Özgür Tort, GS1 Chairman and Johnson & Johnson Vice President Kathyn Wengel and GS1 General Manager Miguel Lopera.

In his speech, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Istanbul is the only city in the world that is located on two continents, touching on Napoleon’s comment that, ‘if the world was a single country, İstanbul would be its capital,’ emphasizing the strategic importance of Istanbul. With its export volume of 82 billion USD, its national income of 240 billion USD, İstanbul has an economic size exceeding that of 130 countries. İstanbul New Airport will make Istanbul into a global transit center. For all these reasons, I am very pleased to bring you together in Istanbul, the center city of the old world and the present-day world.”

Noting that Turkey exports 170 billion USD of goods and 50 billion USD of services Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “This is the largest industrial production volume between China and Italy. We are the 6^th largest trade partner of the European Union. We are the first supplier to Europe in many sectors, especially automotive, home appliances, textiles and foods. In the last 20 years, international direct investments, mostly from Europe and the US, reached approximately 210 billion USD.”

Stating that the international GS1 Organization has ensured the effective use of information technologies in supply chain management with the standards and solutions put forward, TOBB President continued: “So it is becoming the global language of trade. In the past, dealing with trade, producing, marketing, selling, was just a job that demanded physical labor. Now; industry 4.0, internet of things, self-managing factories, self-ordering refrigerators, non-cash shopping and online shopping. So business life is now digital. Our consumer is there. Companies also. Shopping, supply and logistics are now digital. All this will solve the supply chain's problems; it needs a structure to support manufacturers, distributors and vendors.

GS1 Systems are used by nearly 2 million enterprises in 170 countries. GS1 also forms the infrastructure of e-commerce on a global scale with the standards it develops. One of the information standards of the GS1 Organization, which is widely known to the public, is the barcode numbers on the products GS.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that the world's first standard law emerged in Anatolia, the “Kanunname-i İhtisab-ı Bursa” (Bursa Municipality Law), which came into force in 1502. In this law; sales of animal products, vegetable-fruit, salt, bread, industrial products, grain products, forest and leather products, prices and quality qualities, are linked to a standard. “After 5 centuries we now need to reach more information and fight information pollution. Here, thanks to the barcode system of GS1, our companies can easily and quickly access information in every field, from shopping volume to product choice, from supply to logistics.”

Stating that GS1's existence should not be limited to the creation of standards, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “The development of systems to be a solution to the companies, the structuring of companies as a service provider; It is essential for the future success of GS1. In short, both business life and individual life evolve rapidly towards the digital. Keeping up with technology, transforming the supply chain is a must for all of us. Because 2019 will be a transformative year for retail sales. Technology will change the rules of engagement. Consumers, customers, will demand more than ever. Therefore, we should use 2019 as a year for digital moves.”

- Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Uçarmak

Deputy Foreign Minister Sezai Uçarmak informed participants about the solutions offered by GS1.

Stating that the Ministry is in every facet of ​​trade, Uçarmak stated that the Ministry of Trade ensures the import, control, market surveillance and coordination of the market.

Uçarmak stated that GS1 solutions are used in many areas of interest of the Ministry of Commerce, said, “In warehouses as well as in the supply chain of goods subject to customs, the barcode system has been implemented very successfully. We are trying to find appropriate solutions regarding the field of retail trade without exacerbating the situation. I think that GS1's solutions are very important especially in terms of providing audits.”

- GS1 Turkey Chairman Ender Yorgancılar

GS1 Turkey Chairman Ender Yorgancılar drew attention to the changes taking place in the world in recent years and ways of doing business in Turkey.

Stressing that a serious transformation has taken place at every point of the business until the marketing process, he said: “This transformation takes the global economy under the influence of a new process, taking us along with it. As an individual, as a company, as a country, we have to integrate into the global system and we must be aware of and comply with the standards we are obliged to comply with from legal regulations to mutual agreements, from information transfer to product marketing. We work as GS1 to create a market that speaks the same language with increasing standards. We are trying to produce new solutions in the face of changing conditions by monitoring the barcode system.”

Ender Yorgancılar announced that GS1 barcodes have been entered into the BBC “50 Inventions Which Modernized the World Economy,” list.