Overview
ISO/IEC 19988:2024 - Information technology - GS1 Core Business Vocabulary (CBV) (CBV 2.0) defines a standardized vocabulary and value sets to be used with the GS1 EPCIS (Electronic Product Code Information Services) standard for sharing event data within and across enterprises. Published as the third edition of the standard, CBV 2.0 specifies the structure of vocabularies, URIs and master‑data attributes to improve the semantic clarity and interoperability of EPCIS events.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Vocabulary structure and value sets: Defines standard vocabularies (business steps, dispositions, transaction types, source/destination types, error reasons, sensor types, etc.) and rules for compliant usage.
- URI usage and Linked Data: Introduces the ref.gs1.org/cbv namespace, supports GS1 Web Vocabulary and owl:sameAs relationships, and recommends HTTP/HTTPS URIs (alongside EPC URNs and GS1 Digital Link URIs) for identifiers.
- Event and identifier enhancements: Adds EPCIS Event Hash ID, Hash URI for transactions, and expanded support for class/instance identification using GS1 Digital Link.
- Sensor and measurement support: Adds sensor measurement types, sensor alert/component types and machine‑readable examples for IoT integration.
- Master data rules: Restricts date and datatype usage to a subset of W3C primitives, extends QNames for attributes, and updates trade item, location and party master data (geoLocation/geoFence, AdditionalPartyIDList).
- Governance and compatibility: Defines what it means to be CBV‑Compliant or CBV‑Compatible and notes deprecations and clarifications from prior releases (e.g., business step clarifications, new dispositions like available, non_conformant, etc.).
Practical applications
- Supply chain traceability and provenance (retail, food, pharma)
- IoT and sensor data integration for temperature, humidity, quality monitoring
- Cross‑enterprise event sharing for logistics, manufacturing and recalls
- Master‑data harmonization across ERP, WMS and cloud data platforms
- Enabling Linked Data and semantic interoperability for digital supply networks
Who should use this standard
- Software developers and system integrators implementing EPCIS 2.0
- Data architects and solution owners responsible for supply‑chain data models
- GS1 implementers, manufacturers, retailers, logistics providers and regulators needing consistent event semantics
- IoT and sensor solution providers integrating measurements into EPCIS
Related standards
- ISO/IEC 19987 (EPCIS) - event model and exchange mechanisms
- GS1 Digital Link - identifiers for web and linked‑data integration
ISO/IEC 19988:2024 (CBV 2.0) is essential for organizations aiming to standardize EPCIS event semantics, enable cross‑company data sharing, and adopt Linked Data practices in supply‑chain systems.