FCPC Food & Con i.um p. • ~· Pwduct~ ol C.1n<1d<l •

Canadian I Fed&ratoon Federatoon of Canadienne Independent des Epiciers Grocers lnd<lpendanta

Retail Council of Canada

Mandate of the Protocol To ensure support, implementation and utilization of an industry-wide, standards based non competitive initiative that provides a platform for the exchange of reliable and accurate product and marketing information in the on-line/mobile environment.

;;;:.. The initiative needs to afford companies of all scales to have influence in the development of tools, roadmap and implementation process.

;;;:.. Where commercially reasonable and otherwise practical, the protocol will be incorporated into the terms and conditions of trade of the recipient of the data to promote compliance with trading partners.

Background With the growth of online and mobile commerce, Canadian industry is facing increasing demands from trading partners and governments for perpetually cleansed and updated brand­owner certified product data. Consumers are calling for enhanced reliability of published nutritional information and increased access to core product information to help support informed buying decisions.

Today, there is a wealth of online information available, but much of it is from third-party sources and is not certified or supported by brand owners, putting trading partners and consumers at risk.

In order to address these requirements, Canadian grocery industry leaders have identified the need for a centralized industry solution for item level nutritional information and images. At the request of industry, ECCnet Item Certification service was created to address these challenges and provide a central source of truth where brand owners can share certified, accurate nutrition and product information with their trading partners.

Industry Solution: ECCnet Item Certification ECCnet Item Certification is an industry-driven, non-competitive online solution for brand owner­certified item level nutrition information and images. It enables businesses to have better control of their brand and promotes consumer trust by:

• Providing perpetually-cleansed item level nutrition information and images to trading partners;

• Providing access to a 24n central source of product nutrition data and images for sales, training, and other operational functions; and

• Populating eCommerce platforms with information that consumers demand.

Industry Protocol on ECCnet Item Certification Adoption For the Canadian grocery sector to fully realize the benefits of using brand owner-certified product data, all trading partners, including manufacturers/vendors, distributors/operators and retailers, must collaborate to implement ECCnet Item Certication within their respective business processes, solutions and services.

To facilitate and drive the sector's transition, the Retail Council of Canada (RCC), Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG), Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC) and leading grocery retailers have announced their commitment to adopt ECCnet Item Certification as the centralized industry solution.

1 tll!wiJ:eof FCPC r-om! K Con,urnf'r ..&

Canadian I Fed6ratton Federation of Canadienne

1 I Independent des pieiers Grocers lndtlpendants

Produr.;t -. of Cc.~nadd 'A!$ Canada Retail Council of Canada

Implementation Next Steps To ensure alignment with this industry-established implementation protocol, trading partners agree to action the following items by March 31,2014: ManufacturersNendors (including private label)

• Get a valid GS1 Company Prefix Licence to subscribe to ECCnet Item Certification. • Submit your current product data into ECCnet Item Certification.

(Please note: Organizations must be registered to use ECCnet Registry to load product information and access ECCnet Item Certification. For details, contact GS1 Canada Membership Services at eccnetsupport@gstca.org).

• Where desirable, submit your current products for imaging through GS1 Canada's Image & Validation (I&V) Service.

• Review and certify your product data and images relevant to product details, nutrition facts, ingredients, allergens and Product Certifications (kosher, organic, halal, ACS, MSC).

• Develop/update internal processes for maintaining accurate product data and imaging within ECCnet Item Certification for your product portfolio.

• Develop/update internal processes for loading new items and deleting discontinued items within ECCnet Item Certification.

• Assign an Executive Sponsor to lead this initiative within your organization.

Retailers/Operators/Distributors • Where commercially reasonable and otherwise practical, modify your standard terms

and conditions of trade to include the use of item-level nutrition information through the ECCnet Item Certification service. (Please note: Implementation and utilization of ECCnet Item Certification should be discussed between individual trading partners).

• Communicate your requirements to your trading partners to drive compliance with this protocol.

• Implement a mechanism to promote compliance among applicable vendors with your standard terms and conditions of trade.

• Assign an Executive Sponsor to lead this initiative within your organization. • Support industry efforts to streamline costs and deliver efficiencies through the

integration and utilization of ECCnet Item Certification within your organization.

GS1 Canada, in partnership with FCPC, RCC, and CFIG will continue to assist industry implementation by providing education and on-boarding support. Industry stakeholders involved in this protocol are invited to share comments and concerns with your industry associations or GS1 Canada directly to assist in the development of implementation tools and roadmaps. For more information, contact GS1 Canada at 1.800.567.7084 or email ECCnetSupport@gs1ca.org.

FCPC Food 8. Con-;umN "i:

J..lroduct!. ol C .. JilLJda • ~

voice of

Canadian I Federaloon Federation of Canadlenne lndapandenl des piciers Grocers lndopendanta

Retail Council of Canada

We, the undersigned, agree to the ECCnet Item Certification Industry Protocol:

Sign~ Print ~ ~h't Tille~ --:;:::7

Dated ~(' ~ /! 3 }

Retail Council of Canada

~ .. , Signed: --~~7fC----------Print: Ward Hanlon Dated: November 27,2013

Title: VP Industry Relations and Business Services

Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers

Signed: --Hit~~'"'"---Print: Derek Nighbor Dated: December 05 ,2013

Title: Senior Vice President

Food and Consumer Products of Canada

Signed: -=- '"""~'-"'-------------­~

Print: Lesley McKeever Dated: December 03 ,2013

Title: Senior Vice President, Industry Relations

GS1 Canada