Trusted Information: The Business Capability Behind AI, Identity, and Automation
ARTICLE 01 – Beyond Compliance: What GS1 Connect 2026 Revealed About Trusted Information For many small and mid-sized businesses, the journey begins with a barcode. A retailer, marketplace, or trading partner tells them they need one before their products can be sold. At that point, the barcode is often seen as a compliance requirement. It […]
Why Product Identity Is Expanding Beyond Compliance
For many years, product identifiers were primarily associated with operational processes. They helped businesses identify products, exchange information with trading partners, manage inventory, and support supply chain activities. The identifier itself was important, but its role was largely administrative. That perspective is becoming increasingly incomplete. Today, the same product identifier may support ecommerce listings, product […]
Why AI Keeps Leading Back to Product Information
AI projects often begin with tools. A business sees a new platform, a new automation opportunity, or a new way to improve customer experience. The first conversation is usually about capability. What can the tool do? What process can it improve? Where can it save time? Those are reasonable questions. But they are rarely the […]
The Number Is Not the Asset
Discussions about GS1 often begin with numbers. Businesses are introduced to product numbers, location numbers, and logistics identifiers because they enable organisations to refer to the same business object consistently across systems and trading partners. That consistency is important, but it is only the starting point. The number itself is not the asset. The business […]
AI Is Creating a New Interoperability Challenge for Mid-Size Businesses
Interoperability and harmonization have been priorities for governments, regulators, and standards organizations for decades. The principle is simple: systems create more value when they can work together. Global trade depends on common standards. Financial institutions rely on shared payment networks. Supply chains operate because participants can exchange information across organizations, platforms, and borders. Artificial intelligence […]
Interoperability in the AI era: why mid-size businesses must treat harmonisation as strategy, not just compliance
The pressure is already real Mid-size businesses are not entering a calm market. In 2025, 30.36% of medium-sized EU enterprises used at least one AI technology, compared with 55.03% of large enterprises. That gap matters because it suggests larger firms are already pulling ahead in practical adoption. For a mid-size company, the question is no longer […]
For whom does the agent toll?
As AI agents begin to take on more responsibility in commerce, a quiet shift is happening. Decisions that were once made by people are now being made on their behalf. The consumer sets the intent. The agent executes. But this raises a deeper question. When an agent makes a decision, who is it really working […]
Who owns your data? We might not have a clear answer
The question of data ownership sounds straightforward. If it is your data, then you own it. But in practice, it is rarely that simple. Data moves across platforms, systems, and third parties. It is collected in one place, processed in another, and often stored somewhere else entirely. By the time it is used, multiple actors […]
Is AI bad? We might be asking the wrong question
The question of whether AI is “bad” comes up often, especially as the technology becomes more visible in everyday life. It is a simple question, but it oversimplifies something far more complex. AI is not a person, and it does not have intent or values of its own. So instead of asking whether it is […]
How Data Gaps Decide Who Gets Seen in Agent Commerce
A quiet gap that changes visibility A competitor in your category fixed their GS1 Digital Link records last quarter, while your setup has stayed the same. On the surface, this may not feel urgent, but in agent-led commerce it creates a growing difference in how products are discovered, ranked, and ultimately selected. Data quality now […]