The Benefits of EPCIS for Accurate and Reliable Supply Chain Forecasting

Supply chain forecasting is essential for effective inventory management, production planning, and meeting customer demands. It enables businesses to anticipate future demand, optimize their production schedule, and ensure that they have the right products in the right place at the right time. Accurate and reliable forecasting requires accurate and timely data about the movement of goods through the supply chain. EPCIS (Electronic Product Code Information Services) is a promising new technology that can help businesses achieve accurate and reliable supply chain forecasting.

What is EPCIS?

EPCIS is a global standard for sharing information about the movement of goods in the supply chain. It provides a standardized format for capturing and sharing data about the:

• Who: the party responsible for a particular event in the supply chain (e.g., the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer)
• What: the product or item involved in the event (e.g., SKU or UPC code)
• When: the time and date when the event occurred
• Where: the location where the event occurred (e.g., the warehouse, store, or transport vehicle)
• Why: the reason for the event (e.g., shipment, receipt, return, or sale)
• How: the method or technology used to capture the data

EPCIS is designed to capture these six elements of supply chain events in a standardized way, which enables businesses to share and analyze the data in a consistent and interoperable manner.

How does EPCIS work?

EPCIS relies on two types of data:

• Event data: This is the data that describes the events that occur in the supply chain (e.g., shipment, receipt, return, sale, etc.). The event data is captured using standard tags like RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) or barcodes. These tags are attached to the products or packaging and are read by scanners or other data capture devices at various points in the supply chain.

• Master data: This is the data that describes the products, parties, and locations involved in the supply chain (e.g., SKU codes, company names, addresses, etc.). The master data is typically entered into a central database, which serves as the repository for all the data related to the supply chain.

When an event occurs in the supply chain, the relevant data is captured and stored in the EPCIS format. This data can then be shared with other parties in the supply chain who need to know about the event. For example, when a shipment is received at a warehouse, the event data is captured and stored in the EPCIS format. This data can be shared with the manufacturer, distributor, and retailer who are all involved in the supply chain.

The benefits of EPCIS for supply chain forecasting

EPCIS has several benefits for accurate and reliable supply chain forecasting:

Real-time visibility

EPCIS provides real-time visibility into the movement of goods through the supply chain. This enables businesses to track their inventory levels more accurately and to respond to changes in demand more quickly. By having up-to-date information about the movement of goods through the supply chain, businesses can adjust their production schedule and inventory levels to meet changing customer demands.

Improved data accuracy

EPCIS provides a standardized format for capturing and sharing data about supply chain events. This reduces the risk of errors, such as typos or data entry mistakes, which can lead to inaccurate forecasts. By ensuring that the data is accurate and consistent, businesses can have greater confidence in their forecast models and make more informed decisions about their production schedules and inventory levels.

Better inventory optimization

By having real-time visibility into the movement of goods through the supply chain, businesses can optimize their inventory levels more effectively. This can have significant benefits for cost savings. For example, businesses can reduce the amount of safety stock they hold by having greater confidence in their forecasts. This can result in lower storage costs and reduce waste.

Enhanced collaboration

EPCIS enables businesses to share data about supply chain events with other parties in the supply chain. This can foster closer collaboration and improve communication between different stakeholders. By working together more closely, businesses can achieve greater efficiencies and reduce supply chain risk.

Increased supply chain resilience

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of supply chain resilience. EPCIS can help businesses achieve greater resilience by providing real-time visibility into the movement of goods through the supply chain. This can enable businesses to respond more effectively to disruptions, such as stockouts, delays, or supply chain bottlenecks.

Conclusion

EPCIS is a promising new technology that can help businesses achieve accurate and reliable supply chain forecasting. By providing real-time visibility into the movement of goods through the supply chain, EPCIS enables businesses to track their inventory levels more accurately, respond to changes in demand more quickly, and optimize their inventory more effectively. This can have significant benefits for cost savings, collaboration, and supply chain resilience. As businesses continue to face increasing pressure to improve their forecasting accuracy, EPCIS is likely to become an essential tool for supply chain management.