Slingshot Announces Support for GS1 Electronic Product Code Information Services (EPCIS)

GS1 (Global Standards 1) is an international standards organization with member bodies in more than 100 countries worldwide (GS1 US, GS1 CANADA, GS1 FRANCE, etc.).  GS1 standards are the most widely used system of standards in the world.  In addition to defining standards, GS1 offers an array of tools to facilitate the adoption of these standards.  

GS1 has developed EPCIS as an open standard allowing businesses to capture and share supply chain information about the movement and status of goods.  EPCIS provides a single language for sharing information on supply chain events as materials travel throughout the supply chain — from business to business and ultimately to consumers.

The EPCIS standard makes it easier for pharmaceutical companies to meet the requirements of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA).  These include pedigree tracking, sell unit serialization, customer returns verification among other requirements.

Slingshot is now utilizing GS1 identifiers for Products (GTIN), sell unit serial numbers (SGTIN), Supply Chain Address (SLCC), Aggregate Units, Pallets and Containers (SSCC) and Companies and Locations (GLN).

Slingshot uses the EPCIS language to record lot creation (Commissioning), packing or combining units (Aggregation), Shipping and Receiving events.  To accomplish this, the EPCIS language was added to Slingshot’s Connect tool.  Connect captures events, logs them in a database, and exports them to commercial repositories using GS1 standard web services (JSON or XML format).  EPCIS queries allow Slingshot to receive the complete history of a lot from manufacture, changes in ownership, consumption by another product, to the final consumer.  Serialized units returned by a customer are checked for “salability” using an EPCIS query (verification router service).

Slingshot has validated its EPCIS extensions using the GS1 development environment.  Implementation with a future repository will require certification for the specific repository selected.  For more information, email us at sales@slingshotsoftware.com‍