EPCIS: A Step Towards Achieving Global Supply Chain Visibility
Supply chain visibility is a critical cog in the machine of efficient and effective business operations. Without visibility, businesses cannot pinpoint inefficiencies, optimize their processes, meet customer demands, or handle disruptions promptly. Achieving complete visibility in supply chain management has long been a challenge for global companies due to various factors, including information silos, resource constraints, and disparate systems.
However, a global standard known as Electronic Product Code Information Services (EPCIS) is changing the game by providing companies with real-time, end-to-end visibility of their supply chain operations. In this post, we will explore what EPCIS is, how it works, and its significant benefits for businesses and consumers.
What is EPCIS?
EPCIS is a global standard for capturing and sharing real-time supply chain events and enabling businesses to track the movement of goods and assets across the entire supply chain. It provides a standardized format for sharing supply chain data within and between enterprises to ensure that data can be easily exchanged, understood, and acted upon in real-time.
EPCIS uses Electronic Product Code (EPC) technology and other global standards such as GS1 and ISO to provide a consistent and interoperable foundation for exchanging supply chain information across organizations. This allows companies to gain real-time insights into their supply chain operations, leading to better decision-making and operational excellence.
How does EPCIS work?
EPCIS works by providing a common format for capturing and sharing supply chain events across multiple organizations. The standard consists of three parts: capture, query, and exchange.
Capture
The capture phase involves collecting supply chain events from internal and external sources, such as RFID readers, barcodes, and sensors. Events can include location data, movement, condition, status, and other relevant information.
EPCIS uses a set of standard event types to capture a broad range of supply chain events that can be easily shared between organizations. These event types include:
- Object Event - tracks the movement of an object through the supply chain
- Aggregation Event - tracks the relationship between objects
- Transaction Event - tracks the transfer of ownership or possession of an object
- Transformation Event - tracks changes to an object or its attributes
Captured events are stored in a standardized format to ensure that they can be understood across the supply chain.
Query
The query phase involves retrieving supply chain events from internal and external sources to gain a holistic view of the supply chain. EPCIS provides a standard interface for querying data across multiple organizations, enabling companies to access information from a variety of sources.
Exchange
The exchange phase involves sharing supply chain events with other organizations using a standardized format to ensure the interoperability of data. EPCIS supports multiple communication protocols, including REST and SOAP, to provide a flexible and secure method for exchanging data between enterprises.
Benefits of EPCIS
EPCIS provides several benefits for businesses and consumers, including:
Improved Supply Chain Visibility
With EPCIS, businesses can gain real-time visibility of their supply chain operations, including the location of goods, their condition, and other relevant information. This allows companies to optimize their processes, identify inefficiencies, and respond quickly to disruptions.
Enhanced Inventory Management
EPCIS enables companies to track the movement of inventory across the supply chain, providing a clear view of inventory levels and reducing the risk of stockouts. This, in turn, allows businesses to improve their inventory management processes, minimizing waste and ensuring that customer demands are met.
Increased Efficiency
With EPCIS, businesses can automate their supply chain processes, reducing manual processes and increasing efficiency. This results in higher productivity, lower costs, and improved customer satisfaction, as companies can respond more quickly to customer demands and disruptions.
Better Decision Making
EPCIS provides businesses with real-time insights into their supply chain operations, enabling them to make informed decisions based on accurate and up-to-date data. By having access to this information, companies can improve their decision-making processes, leading to better outcomes and improved business performance.
Conclusion
EPCIS is a critical step towards achieving global supply chain visibility. It provides businesses with a common format for capturing and sharing supply chain events, enabling real-time visibility across the entire supply chain. With improved supply chain visibility, enhanced inventory management, increased efficiency, and better decision-making capabilities, businesses can improve their processes, reduce costs, and meet customer demands more effectively.
As the adoption of EPCIS continues to grow, it is clear that businesses and consumers alike stand to benefit from increased supply chain visibility and operational excellence. Whether you are a manufacturer, retailer, or logistics provider, implementing EPCIS can help your business achieve supply chain excellence and drive competitive advantage.