Major retailers and mass merchandisers are turning up the pressure on their trading partners and even other retailers to implement Global Data Synchronization (GDS) within their organizations. These advocates see GDS and participation in the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) as the best path to improving the timeliness and accuracy of their supply chains, particularly once these efforts are broadly supported across the retail supply chain landscape.

The GDSN industry initiative promotes the concept of a unified global data synchronization effort, coordinated and implemented by standards organizations. The premise is that businesses should implement now, and then wait to see eventual benefit once end users and commercial service providers have worked through all of the obstacles.