A product authentication system is more than a scannable code: it connects a physical item to trustworthy identity data, records relevant handoffs, and gives authorized partners a way to verify and respond to problems. Build it by defining the risk first, choosing the right identity level, binding identifiers to products, agreeing on shared event data, and operating verification procedures across the chain.
Start with the risk, product scope, and decisions to support
Before selecting labels, tags, software, or a ledger, define what the system must help people decide. A recall workflow may need reliable lot tracing; counterfeit detection may require identifying individual units; warranty service may need an item’s identity and relevant history. A single system can support several objectives, but each adds requirements for what gets identified, recorded, shared, and checked.
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Map the product families, components, packaging levels, organizations, locations, and handoffs in scope. Then identify the plausible failure or abuse cases: a substituted item, duplicated serial, missing shipment event, incorrect lot association, compromised account, or mismatch between a physical pack and its electronic record. Decide who will verify products—such as a receiving operator, service technician, regulator, or consumer—and what evidence that person needs to see.
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GS1’s traceability guidance says the objective and the supply chain are key criteria for choosing the level of identification. The right design is therefore sector- and jurisdiction-specific, not a universal package of controls. GS1 Global Traceability Standard
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Choose the identity level: product class, lot, or individual item
Identity granularity determines what a system can distinguish. More precise identity can support more specific verification, but it also increases marking, data-management, and partner-coordination work. Choose the least costly level that meets the threat and traceability objective; do not serialize every item by default or expect a lot number to distinguish one unit from another.
| Identity level | What it distinguishes | When it can fit | Main limitation or trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product class | A product type or trade item, typically identified with a product-class key such as a GTIN. | Inventory and product identification when unit-level differentiation is not required. | It identifies the type, not a particular production lot or individual unit. |
| Batch or lot | A group of products associated with a production batch or lot. | Lot-level traceability, such as locating affected production for an investigation or recall. | Units within the same lot are not individually distinguished. |
| Unique instance | One specific item, commonly represented in GS1 approaches by a product identifier plus a unique serial number. | Item-specific authentication or a product-specific traceability path. | It adds serialization, marking, data-management, and partner-coordination costs. |
GS1’s digital-signatures guidance explains that pairing an item’s product identifier with a serial number lets its traceability history refer to that specific product and supports unique authentication data. That capability is useful only if downstream systems and partners preserve the item-to-record association. GS1 Digital Signatures
Bind each physical product to verifiable identity data
Assign identifiers not only to products, but also to any components, cases, pallets, locations, or organizations that need to appear in events. Put product identifiers into a carrier that can be captured at manufacture and at later handoffs. Depending on the product and operating environment, that may be a supported barcode or an EPC/RFID tag. The carrier must work with the actual packaging, scanners or readers, line speed, and partner systems.
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For authentication, issue data that a verifier can check using a trusted public key and the identity of the item. A digital signature can help show that signed data has not been altered and was signed by a key the verifier trusts. It does not, by itself, prove that the physical object bearing the code is the original object: a copied label or substituted product can break that physical-to-digital link.
Where the risk warrants it, combine unique serials and signed data with physical measures such as tamper-evident packaging or security marks, plus checks for duplicated, invalid, revoked, or unexpected identifiers. GS1 describes signed data and security markings as possible design components; no single mark or code guarantees that counterfeiting is impossible. The signing profile, key custody and rotation, revocation process, and verifier trust configuration must be defined for the implementation rather than assumed.
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Record handoffs and packaging relationships as shared events
An identifier says what an object is; event records describe what happened to it. Define which events matter in the chosen workflow, such as commissioning, shipping, receiving, transformation, aggregation, disaggregation, or a relevant status change. For each event, specify the identifiers, timestamp, location, business step or reason, and transaction context required by the implementation. Also define how corrections and missing events are handled.
Aggregation records connect child objects—such as items or cases—to a parent logistic unit, such as a case or pallet. That relationship lets a receiving partner scan a parent unit while maintaining a record of the contents, provided the relationship is accurately created and updated when packages are opened or rebuilt. Transformation events can connect inputs to outputs when production changes the product or its packaging.
GS1’s EPCIS standard provides a common way to share visibility events describing the “what, when, where, why and how” of products and other assets; CBV supplies shared vocabulary for business steps, states, and dispositions. EPCIS 2.0 includes JSON/JSON-LD, REST, sensor data, certifications, and GS1 Digital Link support. Use the features that fit the agreed exchange rather than treating every capability as a requirement. GS1 EPCIS & CBV
Agree on partner exchange before relying on the data
Standards make data easier to structure consistently, but they do not ensure that every partner captures complete or accurate records. For each trading partner, agree on organization and location identities, exchange endpoints or transfer methods, which event details each party may see, test scenarios, operational contacts, and procedures for failed exchanges.
- Specify the exchange. Agree on the event types, identifiers, required fields, permitted values, packaging relationships, and access rules.
- Test real flows. Include normal shipments, multiple packaging levels, split or rebuilt cases, corrections, and missing or mismatched data.
- Monitor operations. Track failed, delayed, duplicate, or rejected exchanges and route them to named partner contacts.
- Reconcile physical and electronic records. At handoff, compare the scanned product and packaging relationships with the expected transaction or event data, then resolve discrepancies under an agreed procedure.
GS1 US’s U.S. pharmaceutical implementation material illustrates this operational work: partner onboarding, EPCIS test-file exchange, master-data upkeep, aggregation handling, monitoring failed exchanges, and resolution of product/data mismatches. Its DSCSA example uses a 2D barcode carrying a product identifier with GTIN and embedded NDC, serial number, lot/batch, and expiration data. Those are sector-specific details, not universal requirements; organizations must check current regulatory requirements for their product and jurisdiction. GS1 US DSCSA guidance and GS1 US pharmaceutical chain-of-custody guideline
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Define verification outcomes and exception handling
A useful verifier does more than display a green “valid” result. Specify what evidence is checked, what each outcome means, and who is responsible for the next action. Distinguish a valid signature from a valid physical product: the system may establish that data matches a trusted signature while still leaving uncertainty about whether the label is attached to the original item.
- Valid: the identity and signed data pass the defined checks and the expected record or status is present.
- Suspicious or duplicated: an identifier appears in an unexpected context or duplicate scans suggest possible copying or misuse.
- Invalid or revoked: the identifier or signing authority fails the configured trust or status checks.
- Inconclusive: required data is unavailable, stale, or inconsistent, so the verifier cannot establish the expected result.
For each outcome, define whether to hold or quarantine product, whom to contact, how to preserve relevant event and scan records, and when to escalate to investigation, audit, or recall procedures. Avoid treating a network outage or missing partner event as proof of counterfeiting; it is an exception that needs triage. GS1 US’s pharmaceutical guidance offers one regulated-sector example of product-identifier verification and mismatch response, not a universal legal workflow. GS1 US DSCSA guidance
Control access without exposing unnecessary supply-chain detail
Decide which participants can submit, correct, query, or view each class of record. A manufacturer, logistics provider, distributor, and verifier may need different levels of detail. Fine-grained event histories can reveal trading relationships, inventory positions, or production volumes, so share only what each participant needs and is entitled to access.
A GS1 AISBL draft white paper dated 1 April 2022 proposes using signed verifiable credentials and sanitized EPCIS event data to demonstrate chain connectedness while obscuring some intermediate identities. It is a design proposal, not a universal implementation prescription; assess any selective-disclosure approach against current standards, governance, and the capabilities of participating systems. GS1 draft white paper on verifiable credentials and end-to-end traceability
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A conventional shared database, a federated exchange, or a distributed ledger may be appropriate depending on who operates the system, how parties trust one another, who controls data, and what performance and operating constraints apply. Make that decision after settling identifiers, event semantics, access, correction, and dispute rules. Preserve interoperable identifiers and event structures so partners can exchange data across different tools.
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Blockchain can be one way to share or reference data, but it cannot establish that a source scan was truthful, ensure a code remains attached to its original product, or replace common event standards. GS1 identifies EPCIS and CBV as structures that can be used with blockchain networks; the ledger choice does not remove the need for reliable inputs and partner processes. GS1 Blockchain
Check the operating fit before deployment
Evaluate the full workflow, not just whether a code scans in a demonstration. The choice of identifier carrier and infrastructure should fit product risk, throughput, environmental conditions, packaging, partner readiness, and verification needs.
- Can the chosen identity level support the actual counterfeit, recall, service, or inventory objective?
- Can production and receiving equipment capture the identifier reliably at the required line speed and under expected handling conditions?
- Do partners support the agreed identifiers, event semantics, packaging relationships, and exchange method?
- Can verifiers work when a connection or partner record is unavailable, and what evidence is available offline?
- Are access permissions, signing-key governance, identifier revocation, exception ownership, and lifecycle maintenance assigned?
If the workflow calls for serialized 2D codes, a 2D barcode scanner may be needed, but confirm the required symbologies—such as GS1 DataMatrix in the cited U.S. pharmaceutical context—along with interface, throughput, durability, and software integration before choosing equipment. No scanner model is implied by the standard or example.
Build in sequence, then prove the handoffs
- Set the product scope, threat scenarios, intended verifiers, and decisions the system must support.
- Assign identifiers to the products, components, parties, locations, and packaging units that need to be distinguished.
- Select class-, lot-, or instance-level identity and choose a carrier that can be captured throughout the intended workflow.
- Bind identifiers to trusted data; define signatures, physical protections, trust configuration, and revocation handling appropriate to the risk.
- Specify the lifecycle events, required fields, vocabulary, and aggregation or transformation relationships.
- Agree with every partner on access, exchange, testing, monitoring, reconciliation, and exception ownership.
- Run end-to-end tests that include both normal handoffs and failure cases before relying on the records for verification or response.
The core design principle is layered trust: unique identity where warranted, trustworthy signed data, accurate physical-to-digital binding, shared event semantics, controlled visibility, and operational procedures that catch and resolve gaps. Traceability can expose inconsistencies in a product’s history, while a valid identifier or signature can support verification; neither replaces the other or guarantees that the physical product is genuine.
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