PhotoSVR at GS1 INDABA '26

This week at the GS1 Indaba, the plenary conversation centred around listing requirements, data quality and traceability – but what became clear very quickly is that the real issue isn’t standards. The issue is scale.

Across the session, and in the conversations that followed at our stand, one thing kept coming up: the current model is fragmented. Suppliers create, agencies rework, retailers adapt – and the same work gets repeated over and over again.

The result is duplication, inconsistency, and unnecessary cost across the entire ecosystem.

What resonated strongly with the room was a simple shift in thinking:

At scale, product imagery doesn’t behave like creative output. It behaves like infrastructure.

Once you look at it that way, the solution becomes more obvious - capture once, standardise the assets for multiple outputs and compliance requirements, and then distribute everywhere. Add to that platform-based distribution, 360°3D, and the protection of legacy assets, and it starts to sound too good to be true. But this isn’t theoretical.

The capability already exists locally, and it’s been proven in practice.

The gap now isn’t capability – it’s adoption. The real question is how much longer brands are willing to keep paying more for less in a fragmented system.

It was great connecting with so many retailers, suppliers and partners after the session. Many thanks to GS1, the organising team and plenary co-presenters, plus everyone who shared their challenges and use cases. We look forward to continuing those conversations in the weeks to come.