In 2014 a student of Wageningen University performed research into the experiences in practice with the use of GTIN article coding (Global Trade Item Number) in the Dutch plant branche. Growers, traders and garden centers have been asked to share their experiences up till now. It became clear that GTIN codes in the sector -  besides the already known VBN product code – are not commonly in use yet. There are too many obstructions which hinder optimal usage.

On the other hand, also good examples  were found in practice. Especially pot plant growers more often code their products with GTIN (often with additional value)  and print the barcodes on covers or labels. This means that when selling the product in the garden center, this can be scanned at the till. This is the basis for sharing sales information in the retail chain. Before this can be done however, most of the assortment must be coded. The package and labels which the grower uses, must stay in tact and the garden center needs to have sufficient automated means.

The research showed that not all conditions are met yet. Some recommendations to help improve the situation on nurseries in practice have been given. In 2015, with these recommendations  Floricode and GS1 will help nurseries and initiatives to apply GTIN coding in a proper way. You can download the complete research report here: Download report