In today’s world of fragmented value chains and increasing uncertainty, supply chain disruption is no longer an exception – it’s sadly, often, the norm. Whether due to global conflicts, climate events, pandemics, or regulatory pressure, businesses must now operate with agility and foresight. And at the heart of this transformation lies a simple but critical need: data.
More specifically, the ability to capture, share, and interpret granular supply chain data in real time is becoming a cornerstone of operational resilience, sustainability, and regulatory compliance. That’s where EPCIS 2.0, GS1’s visibility data standard, comes into play.
Unlike its predecessor, EPCIS 2.0 reflects the reality of modern supply chains. It supports richer, more structured data, enabling interoperable traceability across systems, stakeholders, and borders.
Digital traceability is no longer optional
The demand for traceability is growing exponentially. Consumers expect to know where their products come from, under what conditions they were made, and how they can be reused or recycled. Regulators, particularly in the EU, are implementing frameworks like the Digital Product Passport (DPP) to enforce such transparency.
These shifts introduce massive data requirements that legacy systems were never designed to handle. Fragmented systems, paper-based processes, and non-standard formats not only increase inefficiencies, but they also make compliance, sustainability, and recall management nearly impossible to scale.
EPCIS 2.0 is built to address this. It provides a common language for supply chain events, allowing businesses to capture detailed, event-based data such as where an item was shipped, under what temperature conditions, or which batch of raw material was used. This level of insight can be the difference between a swift product recall and a full-blown crisis.
From compliance to circularity: What EPCIS 2.0 enables
The relevance of EPCIS 2.0 extends far beyond compliance. Its core capabilities are based on capturing the ‘what, when, where, why, and how’ of each product movement or transformation, making it a foundational tool for the circular economy.
- Sustainability: By embedding certifications, sustainability claims, and environmental data into digital events, companies can provide transparent proof of product provenance and lifecycle impacts.
- Recall and risk management: When a problem arises, whether a contaminated food ingredient or faulty component, companies can immediately isolate and trace the affected batches, minimising financial and reputational damage.
- Product lifecycle management: By tracking items from production through repair, resale, and recycling, EPCIS 2.0 supports extended producer responsibility and enables efficient returns or refurbishment programs.
Crucially, this level of traceability is achieved not through bespoke integrations or proprietary software, but through global standards, enabling seamless interoperability across borders and industries.
A real-world example: Building a data marketplace at scale
The journey toward end-to-end digital traceability can be complex. But when done right, the benefits extend far beyond logistics.
Take the case of Migros Group, Switzerland’s largest retailer. Facing challenges around fragmented data, inefficient returns processes, and lack of supply chain visibility, Migros set out to modernise its operations – not through piecemeal tools, but through the creation of a centralised Logistics Data Marketplace based on EPCIS 2.0.
This initiative involved:
- Assigning unique digital identities to each returnable transport item (RTI), enabling precise tracking and reuse.
- Automating data capture using RFID, which reduced reliance on manual entry and minimized errors.
- Capturing EPCIS event data for key steps like aggregation, shipping, and receiving – allowing for full visibility of every batch, pallet, and shipment.
The result? Improved shelf availability, reduced waste, faster goods receiving, and a stronger foundation for sustainability reporting. Most notably, the data was not siloed – it was made available through a collaborative platform where all stakeholders, from manufacturers to distributors, could access the same real-time insights.
How supply chain leaders can prepare
While EPCIS 2.0 is technically advanced, its real power lies in its simplicity: using shared standards to enable shared visibility. But to implement it successfully, companies need to follow some strategic steps:
- Start with your business problems: Whether it’s improving inventory accuracy, meeting regulatory demands, or enabling product take-back schemes, your use case should drive your data model – not the other way around.
- Map your critical process steps: Identify where visibility matters most. For example, in a cold chain, temperature monitoring at transit points may be critical. In manufacturing, the transformation of raw materials into finished goods is key.
- Model visibility events: Using EPCIS’s event types you can structure how each step is tracked, verified, and shared.
- Use the Core Business Vocabulary (CBV): Adhering to standardised vocabulary ensures your data can be understood and used by partners and regulators alike.
- Enable interoperability through Digital Link: Combining EPCIS 2.0 with the GS1 Digital Link standard allows serialized product data to be directly embedded into on-pack codes, creating a bridge between physical products and digital data.
Looking ahead: A foundation for resilience
The convergence of regulation, consumer expectation, and technology is changing how businesses think about supply chains. What was once an operational back end is now a strategic asset – central to reputation, revenue, and resilience.
By adopting EPCIS 2.0, companies are not simply responding to change – they are laying the groundwork for a future-ready infrastructure. This approach enables real-time, data-driven decision-making, facilitates transparent product journeys that help build consumer trust, and allows for faster, more accurate responses to disruptions. Additionally, it fosters smarter collaboration across supply chain networks, ensuring all stakeholders can operate with a shared understanding and greater agility.
The stakes are high, but the opportunity is greater. For those willing to embrace data standardisation and traceability, EPCIS 2.0 offers a clear and powerful path forward.