These German GPOs chose GS1 GDSN to improve data quality and digitalise processes
Four healthcare Group Purchasing Organisations in Germany collaborated to create a data sharing platform. Just two years after its launch, more than one million products have been published to it.
The top four healthcare group purchasing organisations (GPOs) in Germany, EKK plus, P.E.G., Prospitalia and Sana Einkauf & Logistik, were manually managing hundreds of thousands of product references, often provided by suppliers and manufacturers only as Excel spreadsheets. Each organisation had to spend significant time and effort processing product information, performing item-by-item quality reviews and making corrections as needed.
Motivated by this untenable situation, the GPOs collaboratively created the Healthcare Content Data Portal, or HCDP, to share up-to-date, reliable, high-quality product information, images, data sheets, certificates, regulatory information and more in a uniform format.
GS1 Global Data Synchronisation Network at the service of this project
The HCDP is connected to Bayard Consulting’s b-synced, a GDSN-Certified Data Pool. Being built on GS1 standards makes the HCDP a flexible and future-proof solution which can grow as the GPOs needs change or expand.
A year later, the results spoke for themselves:
- 30% more products listed
- 35% increase in quality targets achieved for goods and services that must meet ECLASS standards*
- 65% increase in quality targets achieved for procurement
- 560% increase in quality targets achieved for logistics
Broader reach thanks to GS1 GDSN
Exchanging data with GS1 GDSN means product content is uploaded, maintained and shared automatically, ensuring other trading partners beyond the HCDP also have immediate access to the most current and complete information.
Data quality built in
The HCDP gives suppliers feedback on the quality and completeness of their product information, based on a pre-defined set of rules, and indicates gaps and areas where improvements in data quality are necessary.
* ECLASS (formerly eCl@ss) is an ISO/IEC-compliant classification system for products and services maintained by a cross-industry consortium