Information about the GS1 standard

With more comprehensive and more secure item data, we will increase our accuracy in the service we provide to our customers. The process of making items ready for sale will also speed up.

Common standard for better cooperation

With the GS1 standard, buyers and sellers get a standardised way of exchanging digital item information – on both the local and the global market. Since everyone will be following the same set of rules, the result will be a correct, consistent and effective flow of information.

For more information, see the GS1 website.

International: https://www.gs1.org/

For Martin & Servera Restauranghandel vendors

As a Martin & Servera Restauranghandel vendor, you are required to publish item information via Dabas or Validoo. We have chosen to employ both data sources, meaning that as a vendor you must choose which database you will use to make your item information available to us.

All updates to existing items must also be updated via Dabas or Validoo.

If you are not currently following the GS1 standard and are not registered with an item information database, you may submit a VCD as an updated Excel template until you are registered.

Additional item information that is unique between the vendor and Martin & Servera Restauranghandel, as well as price information, is submitted via Martin & Servera's vendor portal.

For more detailed information, see the FAQ section below.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us or with GS1 directly.

For questions regarding item information, please contact artikeldata@martinservera.se

FAQs about GS1 and the new ways of working  

Is there anything I need to do as a supplier for Martin & Servera to receive the information we upload to Dabas or Validoo?  

We receive automatic notifications whenever vendors create a new item or update an existing one. All you need to do is add us as a recipient for the item so that our system can import the information. Our recipient GLN for item data is 7381034999991.  

An exception is additional item information, meaning information that is not required as standard, which must be submitted via Martin & Servera's vendor portal. See also the question and response below: What does additional price and item information mean?  

What should I do if I as a supplier am already in either Dabas or Validoo and have all of my items in the system? 

Great! You don't need to do anything. We at Martin & Servera will see which database your items are in and will record this as your selected database. It is important that you continue to upload the items you want to make available to Martin & Servera in that database and that you contact us if you intend to switch. 

What do I do if I have my articles in both Dabas and Validoo?  

If this is the case, please select which of these two databases you want us to take your item information from and inform us of your decision. You must make sure that all of the items you want us to have access to are registered in your selected database. This is very important for us. If you do not specify a data source, we will collect information from both sources, which will create duplicate items in our system. Please inform us which database you have chosen by emailing the supplier in question and the selected database to artikeldata@martinservera.se.  

What do I do if I am currently using a different certified input system, e.g. Prevas or Exder? 

Not a problem, you just need to make sure that you forward the information to Validoo.  

What do I do if I am not registered with GS1 and will be sending my VCDs as Excel files? 

It is important that you go to the Martin & Servera website and download an updated template for VCD. ATTENTION! This will not work if you use any old template of ours. We would also like to draw your attention to the fact that Martin & Servera wants all our suppliers to register with the GS1 standard so that we can establish security along the entire supply chain and become more economical with our time. We believe that this is in line with digitisation since more and more people are shopping online, placing ever great demands on companies to have better and more comprehensive product data. Only once we have our entire range of products passing through this workflow will we be able to fully reap the benefits.  

What does it cost me as a supplier to join Validoo/Dabas? 

The cost depends on which input system you use. Contact Validoo, Dabas or any other GS1-certified system that is on the market.  

How does this work for overseas vendors?  

The GS1 standard is global and you can look up your local organisation and register with them no matter where in the world you are. We can collect item information from anywhere in the world.  

What does additional item information mean?  

Additional item information means information that we previously obtained via our VCD, but which is not in the standard. This might be information that is particular to our specific vendor or customer relationship, or it could be information that is not submitted as standard. For example, this could be product features which are not included in the standard; this applies mainly to restaurant equipment. Other information that is not submitted as standard is price information, such as list prices, different product support offers and market discounts. You will now need to submit this via the Martin & Servera vendor portal. The function will be made available on 2 October and we will notify you via auto-generated emails and directly in the vendor portal when we request additional article information from you.  

We will make an update that affects several of our articles, how do I do?  

All updates to existing articles must be sent via your chosen input system, Dabas or Validoo, with Martin & Servera as recipient. Alternatively via Excel template if you are not yet connected to a GS1-certified input system. If you carry out an update that affects many of your articles you range with us, please let your contact person know about it in advance, so that we can prepare for a coherent update.

What is Martin & Servera's vendor portal?  

The vendor portal is our shared platform for exchanging information between us and our vendors. Most of Martin & Servera's vendors already use the vendor portal. If you haven't registered yet, we kindly ask you to do so as soon as possible. You will have received an invite from us when we began our cooperation. Once you have registered and set a primary contact, you can easily manage your contact information yourself and you can also add multiple users. Please contact your purchasing coordinator if you have any questions or cannot find your portal invite.  

What about images?  

Product images are still sent as before to productimages@martinservera.se. However, we want you as a supplier to mark your images with the articles base-GTIN followed by the informant GLN, instead of Martin & Servera´s article number as before.

Who do I contact if I have questions about the GS1 standard or the input system?  

You can always contact us at Martin & Servera. If you have questions about item information, the easiest way to reach us is at artikeldata@martinservera.se. However, GS1 themselves also have a very good customers team, tel.: 08-50 10 10 10, which is available to answer questions about the standard and input systems, etc. For local support outside Sweden, see GS1's global website: https://www.gs1.org/