GS1 US has appointed Kraig Adams vice president, blockchain. In this newly created role, Adams will strengthen the organization’s strategic partnerships with leaders exploring distributed ledger technology, including blockchain, across multiple industries, including foodservice, retail grocery, apparel, general merchandise, healthcare and others. He and his team will focus on driving the use of GS1 Standards for systems interoperability and improved data quality, which are two foundational aspects of a successful blockchain implementation.

Adams joins the GS1 US team one year after the launch of the GS1 US Blockchain Discussion Group, a cross-industry collaboration focused on identifying challenges with blockchain implementation and investigating opportunities to leverage GS1 Standards with blockchain.

“As a transformative technology that could potentially improve trading partner relationships and business processes, blockchain has become top-of-mind for GS1 US members,” said Siobhan O’Bara, senior vice president, community engagement, GS1 US. “After collaborating with Kraig for many years over the course of his tenure with Coca-Cola, we have confidence that he is the right leader to help industry understand the complexities of blockchain implementation and achieve alignment on GS1 Standards for improved interoperability.”

Adams has extensive manufacturing, supply chain, sales and customer development expertise, having spent more than 25 years with Coca-Cola North America. He was most recently the beverage company’s vice president of national foodservice distribution, overseeing a robust foodservice distribution and operations network. In prior roles at Coca-Cola, including vice president of customer solutions and director of collaborative customer capabilities, Adams engaged with business teams focused on improving efficiencies through data synchronization, product identification and barcode technology.

Adams served on the Executive Leadership Committee for the Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiative in 2018 and 2019. He has also been a member of several industry groups, including the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA), where he participated in numerous supply chain optimization workgroups; the International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA); the National Restaurant Association (NRA) as contributor to the Supply Chain Management Executive Study Group; and with Conexxus (formerly the Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards) as Board Secretary for two years. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Computer Information Sciences from Georgia State University.

For more information about how GS1 Standards support blockchain success, please visit www.gs1us.org/blockchain.

Source: GS1 US