EPCIS, short for Electronic Product Code Information Services, is the GS1 standard for sharing visibility events: records of what happened to products as they move through a supply chain. A factory records that a batch was made, a warehouse that a pallet was received, a retailer that a unit was sold. Because every company uses the same event structure, the records can be joined into one history across company lines.
EPCIS is the event layer of traceability. Identifiers such as the GTIN, batch numbers and serial numbers say which product an event is about. EPCIS says what happened to it.
EPCIS 2.0
GS1 ratified EPCIS 2.0 in June 2022, together with version 2.0 of the Core Business Vocabulary (CBV). The main changes from version 1.2 were:
- JSON and JSON-LD alongside XML, so events are easier to use in web applications and can be read as linked data.
- REST interfaces alongside SOAP for capturing and querying events.
- A new AssociationEvent for persistent parent-child links.
- A new "how" dimension that carries sensor data, such as temperature during transport.
- Certification information on every event and a persistent disposition for lasting states.
Identifiers in EPCIS 2.0 events can be written as EPC URNs or as GS1 Digital Link URIs, the same web addresses used in GS1 QR codes.
What, when, where, why and how
Every EPCIS event describes five dimensions:
- What: the objects the event is about, such as serialized units, batches or quantities of a product class.
- When: the date and time of the event and its time zone.
- Where: the read point where it happened and the business location where the goods are afterwards.
- Why: the business context, such as the business step (shipping, receiving, inspecting), the disposition (in transit, recalled) and linked business documents.
- How: the condition of the objects, from sensor readings.
The CBV gives standard values for the why dimension, so "shipping" or "recalled" mean the same thing in every system.
The event types
- ObjectEvent: something happened to one or more objects, such as a unit being inspected or shipped.
- AggregationEvent: objects packed together, such as cases put on a pallet, or unpacked.
- TransactionEvent: objects linked to or unlinked from a business transaction, such as a purchase order or invoice.
- TransformationEvent: inputs consumed and outputs produced, such as fibre spun into yarn or parts assembled into a product.
- AssociationEvent: objects linked to a persistent parent, such as a sensor fitted to a machine.
TransformationEvent matters most for product passports, because it connects a finished product back to the materials and batches it was made from.
EPCIS, UNTP and the Digital Product Passport
The UN Transparency Protocol uses EPCIS 2.0 as the event model for its Digital Traceability Events. A Digital Traceability Event carries one or more EPCIS 2.0 events, issued as a W3C Verifiable Credential, and records what was made, moved or modified, where and when. Because the events reference products and facilities by resolvable identifiers, they link to the product's passport and to facility records. UNTP uses EPCIS without requiring GS1 identifiers: any identifier scheme works as long as each identifier is a URI.
No EU regulation names EPCIS. The Digital Product Passport under ESPR is built around a persistent product identifier, and EPCIS is one of the established ways to record the supply chain events behind it, in sectors from food and pharmaceuticals to textiles.
How to get started
- Fix your identifiers first. Use GTINs with batch or serial numbers, or another URI-based scheme, and give your sites location identifiers.
- Start with the events you already record, such as production and shipping, and map them to ObjectEvent and TransformationEvent.
- Use CBV values for business steps and dispositions instead of your own codes.
- Use JSON-LD for new integrations, and ask suppliers whether they can send events the same way.
- Link events to your passports through the same product identifier on the QR code.
How Veribl helps
Veribl publishes a production event for each batch and serialized unit that has a production date, as a UNTP Digital Traceability Event linked from the product's passport and its production facility. Each batch and unit also gets its own GS1 Digital Link QR code.
See Veribl Digital Product PassportsOfficial sources
Frequently asked questions
What is EPCIS?
EPCIS (Electronic Product Code Information Services) is a GS1 standard that lets companies record and share supply chain events in a common format. Each event says what happened to which products or batches, when, where and in what business context, so partners can follow products across companies.
What is new in EPCIS 2.0?
EPCIS 2.0, ratified in June 2022 together with CBV 2.0, added a JSON and JSON-LD syntax alongside XML, REST interfaces alongside SOAP, a new AssociationEvent, a new how dimension with sensor data, a persistent disposition, and certification information on every event.
What are the EPCIS event types?
There are five: ObjectEvent (something happened to objects, such as shipping or inspection), AggregationEvent (objects packed together, such as cases on a pallet), TransactionEvent (objects linked to a business transaction such as a purchase order), TransformationEvent (inputs consumed to make outputs) and AssociationEvent (objects linked to a persistent parent, such as sensors on an asset).
What is the difference between EPCIS and CBV?
EPCIS defines the structure of events and the interfaces to capture and query them. The Core Business Vocabulary (CBV) is a companion GS1 standard that defines the shared values used inside events, such as business steps like shipping and receiving and dispositions like in transit or recalled, so different systems use the same words.
Is EPCIS required for the Digital Product Passport?
No EU law requires EPCIS by name. It is one of the main open formats for traceability events, and the UN Transparency Protocol uses EPCIS 2.0 as the event model for its Digital Traceability Events, which link to product passports.
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