E.P.S.A. Corporation Limited

"Having the support of GS1 barcode, we are more confident to expand our global footprints."

-- Mr. Simon Hui, CEO

Challenges

A superior inventory management not only enhances operational efficiency and customer satisfaction, but also improves cash flow and the bottom line. ecHome, the subsidiary brand of E.P.S.A. Corporation Limited, carries a growing diverse range of electric appliances in store, each with different colours and sizes for customer choices. This invariably leads to difficulty in inventory management, creating pressure on operation, cost and resources.

ecHome is looking for a universal set of product codes to streamline its product management, simplify internal process and improve logistics management. The company is also actively expanding its online sales channels, in hope to capture a share in the global e-commerce market.

GS1 standards used or solution (s) / service (s) applied Global Trade Item Number (GTIN)

Solutions

Much to ecHome delight, it discovered that GS1 system of standards are the ideal solution for their inventory management. The company now applies Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) on every product, integrating it into its own sales and warehouse management system, to increase the inventory efficiency. GTIN also enables improved sales data analysis, so that ecHome can adjust inventory and marketing strategy according to consumption pattern based sales data.

E-commerce has been one of the domains that ecHome set to expand, GTIN thus becomes the essential bullet for the company in this battlefield. Major e-commerce platforms like Alibaba, Amazon and eBay either require or request e-tailers to provide GTIN, so that there is a standardised way to identify products, faciliating consumers convenience for buyers to compare and purchase.

With GTINs, ecHome is enabled to list their products on various e-commerce platforms rapidly, increasing the product web page traffic and searchability. Since each GTIN is unique globally, the counterfeit products or unauthorised sellers bearing the same look-alike GTINs will be visible on the online platforms, helping to resolve copyright infringement issues by brand owners in case they arise. 

Benefits

ecHome achieves a number of efficiency boosts after adopting GS1 GTIN standard:

1. Supports more efficient inventory management and scale down manpower resources needed;
2. Product listing is made easier on e-commerce platforms, opening up new sales channels;
3. Helps increase product online exposure and potentially driving online sales growth. 

About the Company

Founded in 1988, E.P.S.A. Corporation Limited has worked in co-operation with various major chain stores in Hong Kong on an electric appliances redemption scheme under the brand name “ecHome”. In July 2010, the retail brand ”ecHome” was officially launched, signifying the company’s commitment into retail business market, with the company experience and wisdom in bringing the best of products to customers.