“‘A Piece of Paradise’ to record the paradise significance of our island”

In his address marking the 30th anniversary of GS1 Mauritius, Chairperson Sonny Wong Lun Sang highlighted the organization’s pivotal role in driving technological innovation and supporting the Mauritian economy. He underscored the significant contributions of GS1 standards in supply chain management, retail, and logistics, emphasizing the transformative impact of globally recognized compliance barcodes. Mr. Wong Lun Sang outlined a bold vision for the future, focusing on engaging SMEs, embracing digital transformation, and positioning Mauritius as a leader in global trade and innovation. 

“GS1 Mauritius has been a leading advocate for technological innovation, playing a key role in pushing the development and usage of innovative solutions in supply chain management, retail, and logistics,” stated Sonny Wong Lun Sang, Chairperson of GS1 Mauritius. From the familiar beeping barcode at supermarket checkouts to enabling SMEs to access mainstream retail and export markets, GS1 standards have been the silent force driving our economy forward.

Mr. Wong Lun Sang highlighted the organization’s pivotal role in driving technological innovation and supporting the Mauritian economy in his address marking the 30th anniversary of GS1 Mauritius. He underscored the significant contributions of GS1 standards in supply chain management, retail, and logistics, emphasizing the transformative impact of globally recognized compliance barcodes.

GS1 Mauritius’s journey began in 1994, with the introduction of barcodes in Mauritius. Today, barcodes are scanned over 6 billion times a day worldwide, serving 25 industries across 150 countries. “For three decades, GS1 Mauritius has been a key enabler of economic growth, facilitating access to new markets and enhancing supply chain visibility. Our standards have empowered businesses across all sectors, from retail to healthcare, driving efficiency and fostering international trade,” the Chairperson said. 

We aim to transform our industry’s embedded quality, sustainability and innovation into the very fabric of our products and services.

“Our standards have revolutionized the retail and logistics sectors, enhancing product identification, improving inventory accuracy, and optimizing supply chain visibility,” Mr. Wong Lun Sang noted. These advancements have been crucial in reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and opening doors to foreign markets for Mauritian businesses.

Reflecting on the future orientation of GS1 Mauritius, the Chairperson of GS1 shared the organization’s ambitions and vision. “As we celebrate our 30 years, it is an interesting time to reflect on our future orientation. Our partnership with MNS as a technological enabler, and the support of Midas for providing the best hardware solutions, are key to our strategic thrust.”

He outlined GS1 Mauritius’s bold and transformative vision for the future, emphasizing the importance of engaging SMEs, cooperatives, and small planters in the GS1 ecosystem. “Our ambition is to empower them to better enter the mainstream retail distribution and export ecosystem. We aim to provide cutting-edge services in asset tracking, document tracking, document identification, and KYC analysis using GS1 standards.”

GS1 Mauritius plans to create a national ecosystem using a standardized system of barcodes to integrate tracking, recognition, system process, and optimization services. “Such compliance and process efficiency services, based on GS1 standards, shall further enable our industries to build their way seamlessly, particularly in terms of export of goods and services in an integrated global ecosystem,” he explained.

As Mauritius moves into a digital age, GS1 codes offer immense opportunities in automating and digitalizing national systems. “In the UK, GS1 barcodes seamlessly allow for connecting different components of the healthcare sector for interoperability and productivity improvement,” Mr. Wong Lun Sang said. “Several countries are also adopting GS1 barcodes in their circular economy strategies to ensure strict compliance and international integration.”

Mr. Wong Lun Sang also highlighted the GS1 Sunrise Strategy 2027, which aims to enable users to graduate from one-dimensional to two-dimensional barcodes. “At GS1 Mauritius, we believe that we can translate our sometimes wrongly called sunset industries into sunrise industries by leveraging the immense forthcoming opportunities.”

Positioning Mauritius for Global Leadership

“As Mauritius stands at a crucial juncture in its economic development, facing the dual challenge of accelerating growth and navigating intense global competition, GS1 Mauritius is poised to play a key role,” he asserted. The innovative GS1 Sunrise Strategy aims to integrate advanced quality standards, regulatory compliance, and industry know-how into two-dimensional barcodes, enhancing the competitiveness of Mauritian products and services on the global stage.

Positioning Mauritius at the forefront of global trade and innovation.

“Working with MCCI and its stakeholders, both public and private, we aim to integrate with the Sunrise Strategy a branding of local goods and services under the umbrella title of ‘A Piece of Paradise’, recording the paradise significance of our island as well as the quality and sustainability considerations for our products and services within a two-dimensional GS1 barcode. Our vision is also to create a fully integrated digital ecosystem that not only enhances efficiency and traceability, but also promotes the Mauritian product on the global stage. Through the power of 2D barcodes and our Sunrise Strategy, we aim to transform our industry’s embedded quality, sustainability and innovation into the very fabric of our products and services. The vision is not just about technology. It is about positioning Mauritius at the forefront of global trade and innovation. It’s about creating a future where our businesses, large and small, can seamlessly integrate into the global value chain where our products are instantly recognized for their quality and sustainability, and where our economy thrives on the power of standardized and intelligent data,” the Chairperson emphasized.

Mr. Wong Lun Sang, who also expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development for the budget support to SMEs, small planters, and cooperatives, enabling them to use these standards to pursue their growth strategy, called on all stakeholders to join GS1 Mauritius in this journey of innovation and transformation. “Together, we can position Mauritius at the forefront of global trade, leveraging GS1 standards to drive economic growth, sustainability, and international competitiveness.”

He concluded by saying that “30 years is indeed a landmark to celebrate. To recognize failures and successes, and build a bright future which we are all optimistic and thrilled about”.