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Wholechain and EPCIS 2.0 Integration

What is EPCIS?

EPCIS (Electronic Product Code Information Services) is a global GS1 standard designed to enable the exchange of event data related to the movement and status of products throughout the supply chain.
It provides a standardized framework for capturing, sharing, and querying data about physical objects at key points in the supply chain — ensuring traceability, transparency, and visibility across industries.

Key Event Data Elements

EPCIS event data typically includes information about:

  • What: The objects involved in the event (e.g., product IDs, lot numbers).
  • When: The time the event occurred.
  • Where: The location where the event happened (e.g., shipment, receipt location).
  • Why: The business context of the event (e.g., a shipping or receiving activity).

By capturing this data in a consistent format, EPCIS enables companies to share information seamlessly with their partners, ensuring interoperability and enhancing supply chain visibility.

Example Use Case

When a product is shipped from one company to another, the shipping company can generate an EPCIS event that details the product being shipped, the time and location of shipment, and the business reason (e.g., shipping to a customer).
The receiving company can then use this data to track when and where the product was shipped and correlate it with their receiving events.

Wholechain’s EPCIS 2.0 Implementation

Wholechain supports interoperable data exchange through the GS1 EPCIS 2.0 standard, enabling transparent, event-based traceability across global supply chains.

By adopting EPCIS 2.0, Wholechain ensures that traceability data can be shared both within Wholechain and with external partners—such as retailers, processors, or certification systems—regardless of which traceability platform they use.

How Wholechain Supports EPCIS

Wholechain enables EPCIS-compliant data exchange through standardized digital link endpoints and secure API authentication.

When a Wholechain user (such as a supplier or exporter) records a shipping event, they can automatically send EPCIS 2.0 event data—such as:

  • ObjectEvent
  • TransformationEvent
  • AggregationEvent
  • TransactionEvent

…directly to your EPCIS-compliant system.

This allows non-Wholechain partners (like retailers) to receive shipment, processing, and transformation events directly into their own EPCIS repositories.

All transmitted data follows the GS1 Core Business Vocabulary (CBV) for consistency, including fields like:

  • eventTime
  • bizStep (e.g., shipping, receiving)
  • epcList (identifiers)
  • readPoint and bizLocation
  • disposition
  • certification or traceability references

Supported Features

Wholechain’s EPCIS implementation supports:

  • JSON-LD and XML formats
  • Secure API key–based authentication
  • Digital link endpoints for direct event sharing
  • Integration with FSMA 204 and GDST traceability frameworks

Why Wholechain Supports EPCIS

Traceability interoperability is no longer optional—it’s essential.
With new regulations and sustainability initiatives like:

  • The FDA’s FSMA 204 rule
  • The EU Digital Product Passport
  • Global environmental and ethical sourcing requirements

…companies must exchange data in standardized formats.

Benefits of Wholechain’s EPCIS Support

  • Regulatory compliance for suppliers exporting to regulated markets
  • Seamless cross-platform visibility between partners using different systems
  • Reduced data silos through open, standards-based interoperability
  • Industry-wide collaboration powered by globally accepted standards

This approach eliminates barriers between systems while maintaining event-level traceability and product provenance throughout the supply chain.

Alignment with GDST (Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability)

Wholechain’s EPCIS integration is directly aligned with the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) standard, which builds upon the GS1 EPCIS 2.0 framework.

GDST defines Key Data Elements (KDEs) and Critical Tracking Events (CTEs) specifically for the seafood industry, enabling verifiable, end-to-end traceability from catch or harvest to retail.

Wholechain’s EPCIS + GDST Integration

Wholechain’s EPCIS data exchange supports GDST by:

  • Capturing KDEs such as species, catch method, vessel, harvest area, and certifications.
  • Structuring data around GDST-defined CTEs (e.g., harvest, landing, processing, shipping).
  • Allowing non-Wholechain retailers and buyers to receive this information through standard EPCIS event payloads.

By adhering to GDST and EPCIS together, Wholechain ensures global seafood traceability interoperability, connecting producers, processors, distributors, and retailers under one unified framework.

Summary

Wholechain’s support for EPCIS 2.0 and GDST empowers any retailer or buyer to receive standardized traceability data directly from Wholechain suppliers — no matter what system they use.

This enables:

  • Global interoperability
  • Regulatory compliance
  • Transparent product histories

across complex, multi-platform supply chains — ensuring that the story of every product remains verifiable, connected, and trusted throughout its journey.