EPCIS — GS1 traceability events

EPCIS (EPC Information Services, ISO/IEC 19987) is the GS1 standard that captures and shares the physical events of the supply chain: what (which objects), when, where, why (which business step). Where EDI describes transactions, EPCIS describes what actually happened.

What is EPCIS?

Born from the EPC/RFID ecosystem (the Electronic Product Code), EPCIS became the generic language of supply-chain visibility, independent of the capture technology (RFID, barcodes, manual entry). An EPCIS system records timestamped events about serially-identified objects and exposes them to partners through a query interface — letting each actor reconstruct a product's full path.

The events: what, when, where, why

json epcis-2.0-object-event.json

{
  "@context": "https://ref.gs1.org/standards/epcis/2.0.0/epcis-context.jsonld",
  "type": "EPCISDocument",
  "schemaVersion": "2.0",
  "epcisBody": {
    "eventList": [
      {
        "type": "ObjectEvent",
        "eventTime": "2026-07-05T10:30:00Z",
        "eventTimeZoneOffset": "+02:00",
        "epcList": ["urn:epc:id:sscc:341234567.0000004127"],
        "action": "OBSERVE",
        "bizStep": "shipping",
        "disposition": "in_transit",
        "readPoint": { "id": "urn:epc:id:sgln:341234567.00001.0" },
        "bizTransactionList": [
          { "type": "desadv", "bizTransaction": "urn:epcglobal:cbv:bt:341234567:DESADV-4127" }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Type	What it captures
ObjectEvent	Observation of objects (shipping, receiving, disposal…)
AggregationEvent	Packing / unpacking (cases onto an SSCC pallet)
TransactionEvent	Linking objects to a transaction (order, DESADV)
TransformationEvent	Inputs transformed into outputs (production, cutting)
AssociationEvent	Durable physical link (a sensor fixed to a container) — new in 2.0

CBV: the shared vocabulary

The CBV (Core Business Vocabulary, ISO/IEC 19988) pins down the semantics of values: bizStep (shipping, receiving, packing…), disposition (in_transit, expired, recalled…), transaction types. Without CBV every actor would invent its own codes and cross-company traceability would collapse — it is the equivalent of EDIFACT's UNTDID code lists.

EPCIS 2.0: JSON-LD and REST

Version 2.0 (2022) modernises the standard: a JSON/JSON-LD representation (the historical XML stays valid), a REST capture-and-query API, sensor data integration (temperature, humidity — key for cold chains), and the Association event. JSON-LD opens the door to knowledge graphs and the semantic web.

The mandates: DSCSA, FMD, FSMA 204

DSCSA (United States) — serialised drug traceability is exchanged largely as EPCIS between manufacturers, wholesalers and pharmacies.
FMD (EU) — medicine verification relies on GS1 serialisation (Data Matrix), with EPCIS serving the associated logistics flows.
FSMA 204 (United States, food) — traceability requirements for high-risk foods are driving EPCIS adoption in the food industry.

EPCIS vs transactional EDI

The two are complementary, not competing: the DESADV announces what should arrive; EPCIS events prove what actually shipped, arrived, was aggregated or transformed — down to the serial number. Mature architectures link both: the EPCIS event references the EDI transaction (bizTransactionList), and the gap between announced and observed drives the alerts.

Foundations

Standards

Flagship messages

Tools