GS1-Compliant Traceability: How to Connect Factory, Warehouse, and Market in One System
Global supply chains no longer fail quietly. When a batch recall escalates into a reputational crisis, or when counterfeit products surface on a marketplace within weeks of launch, the root cause is often the same: fragmented traceability. For many brands, supply chain management still operates across disconnected systems that do not share a common language. Data exists, but it does not flow.
GS1-compliant traceability addresses this problem at its foundation. It enables a single, standardised system that connects the factory floor, warehouse operations, and downstream markets into one continuous source of truth. More importantly, it does so in a way that supports product authentication, product verification, brand protection, and long-term customer trust.
This article explores how GS1 traceability works in practice, how to design a serialised supply chain using global standards, and why this approach has become essential for product safety, regulatory readiness, and anti-counterfeiting solutions across industries such as pharma, FMCG, electronics, and automotive.
Understanding GS1 Traceability in a Modern Supply Chain
At its core, GS1 traceability is the ability to follow the physical movement and status of products, parts, and raw materials through standardised identification and event data. Unlike proprietary track and trace systems, GS1 standards are globally recognised and interoperable, allowing different organisations, platforms, and geographies to exchange information without friction.
GS1 provides the backbone for this ecosystem through a set of identifiers and data-sharing frameworks that include:
GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) for identifying products
GLN (Global Location Number) for identifying locations
Serialisation for unit-level product traceability
EPCIS for capturing and sharing supply chain events
Together, these standards form the basis of a connected, serialised supply chain that can support everything from inventory accuracy and recall management to brand authentication and IP protection.
What Are the Different Types of Traceability Systems?
Before diving into GS1 compliance, it is important to understand how traceability systems are typically classified.
Internal Traceability
This focuses on visibility within a single organisation. Manufacturers track raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods across production lines and warehouses. While useful, internal traceability alone cannot prevent downstream risks such as grey market diversion or counterfeiting.
Chain Traceability
Chain traceability links multiple supply chain partners, such as manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. Data is shared across organisational boundaries, often through agreed standards. GS1 traceability sits firmly in this category.
End-to-End or Market Traceability
This extends traceability to the point of sale and even post-purchase. Consumers, regulators, and brands can verify product authenticity, safety, and origin. This model is increasingly critical for brand protection, product verification, and customer satisfaction.
What Is the GS1 Traceability Standard?
The GS1 traceability standard defines how identification keys and event data should be captured and shared across the supply chain. It does not mandate a specific software platform. Instead, it ensures that systems remain interoperable.
Key characteristics include:
Standardised identifiers for products, locations, and logistics units
Event-based visibility using EPCIS
Compatibility with barcodes, 2D codes, and RFID
Scalability across regions and industries
This flexibility is what allows GS1-based systems to support regulatory requirements, such as pharma serialisation, food safety mandates, and emerging sustainability frameworks like EUDR, while also enabling brand authentication and anti-counterfeiting technologies.
Building a Serialised Supply Chain with GS1 Standards
Serialisation transforms traceability from batch-level oversight into item-level intelligence. Each individual product carries a unique serial number linked to its GTIN, creating a digital identity that follows it throughout its lifecycle.
How Traceability Is Maintained for Raw Materials and In-Process Inventory
Traceability begins well before the finished product exists. Raw materials and components are identified using batch or lot numbers and linked to production events through EPCIS transformation records. As materials move through production stages, their identities are preserved and associated with the finished product serials.
This approach is particularly important in regulated sectors such as pharma, where product safety and recall precision depend on knowing exactly which inputs went into which outputs.
Mapping GTIN and Serialisation Across Systems
One of the most common challenges brands face is aligning identifiers across ERP, WMS, MES, and marketplace platforms.
Practical Steps to Mapping GTINs and Serials
Establish a single GTIN governance model
Define who owns GTIN creation, lifecycle management, and versioning.Define serialisation rules early
Decide whether serials are generated at the line level, plant level, or centrally.Align master data across systems
ERP systems should act as the master for product definitions, while WMS and MES consume and enrich this data.Link serials to EPCIS events
Every movement, aggregation, or transformation must reference the same GTIN-serial structure.
When done correctly, this mapping enables seamless track and trace, reduces reconciliation errors, and lays the foundation for product authentication and brand verification downstream.
Designing EPCIS Events for Factory-to-Market Visibility
EPCIS is the language that allows traceability data to be understood across systems and organisations.
Core EPCIS Event Types
Object Events track individual items or serials
Aggregation Events link items to cases or pallets
Transformation Events capture manufacturing or rework processes
Transaction Events associate physical movements with business documents
Each event answers four essential questions: what happened, when it happened, where it happened, and why it happened.
Designing for Real-World Visibility
To achieve meaningful factory-to-market visibility:
Capture events at operationally relevant points, not just compliance checkpoints
Use GLNs consistently for locations
Include business context that supports audits, recalls, and dispute resolution
Well-designed EPCIS data not only improves operational efficiency but also strengthens IP protection by creating an auditable trail that counterfeiters cannot easily replicate.
Barcode and RFID Integration in Warehouses
Warehouses sit at the intersection of physical movement and digital records. Best-in-class GS1 supply chain implementations treat barcodes and RFID as complementary, not competing, technologies.
Best Practices for Integration
Use GS1 DataMatrix or QR codes with serialisation for item-level tracking
Apply RFID at the case or pallet level where speed and automation are critical
Ensure scanners and readers feed directly into EPCIS-enabled systems
Validate data capture at aggregation and de-aggregation points
This hybrid approach improves inventory accuracy, reduces shrinkage, and supports faster authentication checks when goods enter or exit controlled environments.
Synchronising Master Data Between ERP, WMS, and Marketplaces
Disconnected master data is one of the silent killers of traceability initiatives.
Principles for Synchronisation
Maintain a single source of truth for product attributes
Use GS1 identifiers consistently across all platforms
Automate updates to downstream systems and marketplaces
Validate data integrity before publishing to external partners
Synchronised master data ensures that serialised traceability remains intact even when products move across borders, channels, or ownership models.
Security and Privacy Controls for Sharing GS1 Trace Data
As traceability data becomes richer, concerns around security and privacy increase.
Key Controls to Implement
Role-based access to EPCIS data
Event filtering to share only relevant information with partners
Encryption of data in transit and at rest
Audit logs for data access and changes
These controls allow brands to collaborate without exposing sensitive commercial or IP-related information, supporting both transparency and brand protection.
The Role of Authentication and Brand Protection
Traceability and authentication are closely linked but not identical. Traceability answers where a product has been. Authentication answers whether it should exist at all.
Serialised GS1 identifiers provide the foundation for product verification, but additional layers are often required to combat sophisticated counterfeiting. Non-cloneable identifiers, for example, strengthen the integrity of serialised products by making duplication economically unviable.
When combined with verification platforms and customer-facing tools, traceability data can support brand authentication, warranty validation, and post-purchase engagement. Loyalty-driven interactions, such as reward-based verification experiences, also improve customer engagement and long-term satisfaction while reinforcing trust.
Which Dimensions of Traceability Data Can GS1 Capture?
GS1 standards are designed to capture multiple dimensions of traceability data, including:
Product identity and hierarchy
Location and ownership changes
Time and sequence of events
Business context and documentation
Condition and status indicators
This multidimensional visibility is what enables brands to move beyond reactive compliance towards proactive risk management, product safety assurance, and strategic brand protection.
Why GS1-Compliant Traceability Is a Strategic Imperative
The business case for GS1 traceability is no longer theoretical. Studies consistently show that organisations with mature track and trace capabilities experience fewer recalls, faster dispute resolution, and higher levels of consumer trust. In an era of heightened regulatory scrutiny, rising counterfeiting risks, and growing expectations around transparency, GS1 compliance has become a competitive necessity.
More importantly, it provides the infrastructure required to protect trademarks, safeguard IP, and ensure that only genuine products reach the market.
From Connected Data to Trusted Brands
GS1-compliant traceability is not just about connecting systems. It is about connecting intent with execution. When factory events, warehouse movements, and market interactions speak the same language, brands gain clarity, control, and credibility.
A serialised, standards-based supply chain strengthens product safety, enables robust product authentication, and delivers measurable improvements in customer satisfaction. It also positions brands to respond confidently to future regulations, emerging technologies, and evolving consumer expectations.
For organisations serious about track and trace, brand protection solutions, and long-term trust, GS1 traceability is no longer optional. It is foundational.
Interested to learn more about how GS1-compliant traceability, product verification, and anti-counterfeiting technologies can work together to protect your brand and engage your customers? Get in touch with us to explore what is possible.