Supply Chain
Event-Based Traceability With EPCIS 2.0
What GS1's EPCIS 2.0 standard is, which questions it answers and how supply chain events feed a Digital Product Passport.
A Digital Product Passport describes what a product is. What happened to it along the supply chain lives in a separate layer: event data. GS1's EPCIS 2.0 is the de facto answer for that layer.
What an EPCIS event records
| Dimension | Example |
|---|---|
| What | Which product, batch or item |
| Where | Which facility or location |
| When | Timestamp |
| Why | Business step: shipping, receiving, production, inspection |
Together these build the product's journey through the chain.
The relationship to the passport
The passport carries a summary of event data: production facility, production date, countries of origin. The raw event stream lives in a separate store, reachable by link when needed.
That separation matters: filling a passport with thousands of events makes it unreadable. See the DPP data model guide and what a resolver service is.
When you need EPCIS
- When you need batch or item-level traceability. See choosing granularity.
- When you want to narrow recall scope. See product recalls and the DPP.
- When origin evidence is needed across a multi-stage chain. See tier-2 and tier-3 transparency.
- When regimes such as EUDR demand origin proof. See EUDR.
Open source options
Open source stacks such as OpenEPCIS bundle an EPCIS 2.0 repository, a Digital Link resolver, a DPP module and barcode generation — a reasonable starting point for small and mid-size implementations.
The UNTP equivalent
UNTP's Digital Traceability Events component is an EPCIS-derived model that wraps events as Verifiable Credentials, an approach that stands out in cross-border scenarios. See UNTP.
Frequently asked questions
Is EPCIS mandatory?
No. The DPP standards do not require it, but it is the de facto standard when event-based traceability is needed.
Do I have to store every event?
No. Event types and granularity are chosen for your business purpose; not every scan and movement needs recording.
Should passport and event data live in the same system?
Not necessarily. They can sit in separate systems linked through the resolver, which usually scales better.
