NORTHAMPTON, UK: February 22, 2018. XPO Logistics has partnered with non-profit supply chain standards organization GS1 UK to manage physical compliance checks for grocery retailers and suppliers.

GS1 UK, together with Nestlé, PepsiCo, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Unilever and Waitrose, have developed a common language to use in defining more than 150 data product attributes, including weight, volume, servings, calories, allergens and nutritional values.

The new standards are expected to boost traceability while saving UK retailers and manufacturers more than £200 million a year in costs and lost sales.

Called productDNA:hub, the new service simplifies the sharing and management of trusted product data for use in-store and online, providing the industry with a single agreed way of working and improving the shopper experience.

GS1 UK hub head John Martin said: "The retail industry has long acknowledged a common need for high quality data and standardized information that builds consumer trust.

"The productDNA:hub validation process will improve product safety, storage, inventory accuracy and supply chain visibility, while bringing greater transparency to the grocery marketplace. XPO's extensive experience with leading supermarkets and food and beverage manufacturers gives us full confidence that they can act as an impartial third party in upholding these new standards," he continued.

XPO will provide validation from a warehouse in Easton, Lincolnshire where a range of grocery products - frozen, chilled and ambient - will be tested to ensure that the labels accurately reflect the contents according to the GS1 catalogue.

Richard Cawston, XPO Logistics Europe managing director Supply Chain added: "The new standards solve a critical gap in the grocery supply chain: that is, to make absolutely certain that what a manufacturer has sent to a retailer is exactly what it says on the label."