GS1 Sweden and Byggmaterialhandlarna agreed to collaborate on the management and development of the Vilma standard. The cooperation aims to increase knowledge and expertise between the parties’ activities.
Byggmaterialhandlarna is a trade association for the building materials trade in Sweden, which works to help position the building trade towards suppliers, customers and society.
GS1 Sweden works to develop standards that create a global business language for buyers, sellers, distributors and others. GS1 standards enable companies to identify, capture and share unique information across the value chain. Among these standards, the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is one of the most widely used for unique product identification globally.
The parties have now agreed to cooperate on the management and development of the standard Vilma, which was developed and is owned by Byggmaterialhandlarna. The Vilma standard consists of a set of rules for trade item information and the commodity grouping code BK04 and thus regulates the requirements for product information from suppliers to the building materials trade. To sell products in the building materials trade, suppliers are required to distribute their product information according to the Vilma information standard.
– The Vilma industry standard was created in 2006 to provide suppliers with structured information about the products they sell. From the very beginning, GTIN requirements have been part of the standard, as GTIN makes it possible to link more information about the products,” says Monica Björk, CEO of Byggmaterialhandlarna.
GS1 Sweden has been active in the construction industry for many years and is very positive about the cooperation with Byggmaterialhandlarna.
– The construction industry is at a stage where a lot is happening, and the demands on how information about the life cycle of products should be managed are increasing. By working with Byggmaterialhandlarna we are taking a step in the right direction for the construction industry and I look forward to all the insights and lessons we will learn along the way, says Jonatan Tullberg, CEO of GS1 Sweden.
Common forces
The cooperation between the Byggmaterialhandlarna and GS1 Sweden is aimed at ensuring that the Vilma standard continues to develop in order to be constantly updated with the requirements and regulations that will come in the future. They will also look at processes for product launches, revision processes around standards development and how to achieve higher data quality.
In addition, the parties will jointly analyse and evaluate how data sharing between Swedish and international actors can best take place.
– Many of our members are part of international groups and the importance of being able to manage data flow on a global level is becoming increasingly important. Together with GS1 Sweden, we will explore how we can move towards more international standardisation to make data management as efficient as possible for our members and for the construction industry in general,” says Monica Björk.
The construction industry’s big challenge
The importance of the construction industry having a common language is becoming increasingly clear, not least in sustainability where digital product passports and climate declarations are knocking at the door.
– There are more and more demands for sustainable products/buildings with circular value chains where a common business language becomes a necessity to manage the flow of information using global standards. GTIN enables the tracking of products and information, which is needed to achieve a sustainable society with an uninterrupted flow of information throughout the life cycle. That’s why the work that we and Byggmaterialhandlarna are doing is very important for us and, by and large, for the entire construction industry,” says David Almroth, who represents the construction industry within GS1 Sweden.
The cooperation between GS1 Sweden and Byggmaterialhandlarna will last for one year with the possibility of extension for one year at a time.
For more information, please contact:
David Almroth, Head of Expansion/Senior Sales & Client Manager, GS1 Sweden
Mail: david.almroth@gs1.se
Tel: +46 76-114 00 66
Monica Björk, CEO, Byggmaterialhandlarna
Mail: monica@byggmaterialhandlarna.se
Tel: +46 70-304 84 21
About GS1 Sweden
GS1 is a global standards organisation, of which GS1 Sweden is one of 116 member organisations. We offer companies a common digital business language through unique identification, accurate capture and automatic data sharing for products, locations and other physical objects. Companies can use GS1 to improve efficiency, security, sustainability and traceability. GS1 is neutral, user-driven and a not-for-profit organization.
About Byggmaterialhandlarna
Byggmaterialhandlarna is a trade association for the country’s building materials retailers. Our mission is to help position the construction trade towards suppliers, customers and society, thereby increasing the attractiveness of the sector.
We focus on sustainability, digitalisation, sales statistics, lobbying and creating common meeting places. Our members are AB Karl Hedin, Ahlsell, Beijer Byggmaterial, Bygma AB, Derome Bygg & Industri AB, Happy Homes AB, Nordströms bygghandel, Optimera Sverige AB, Kesko AB, Mestergruppen Sverige AB, Woody Bygghandel and about 30 independent building material dealers.