Wholechain Glossary

Here’s an overview of terms you’ll see used commonly throughout Wholechain’s desktop and mobile apps. Looking for a word that isn’t defined here? Shoot us a message and we’ll add it to the list. 

Event Types

Events are the traceability activities in Wholechain that capture a product’s movement through its supply chain. There’s a more detailed article of each event type linked in each description below, and a more detailed overview of all events, can be found here. 

Commission
  • When a product item is introduced into the supply chain. This is at the point of harvest, or simply when the first traceable instance is recorded. Learn more about how to commission product items here. 
Decommission
  • When a product item is removed from the supply chain: consumed, destroyed or decommissioned (for example: final sale, or discarded after damage). It marks the end of traceability for that product item. Learn more about how to decommission product items here. 
External Ship
  • When a product item undergoes change of custody from one from one supply chain partner to another. A External Ship event reflects when product is sent outside of your Business to a company in your Network, and must be confirmed or rejected by them upon receipt of the record. Learn more about how to external ship product items here. 
Receive
  • When a product item received by a supply chain partner matches what was sent to them in an External Ship Event. It always accompanies an External Ship event, and is simply the confirmation of the receipt  Learn more about how to receive product items here. 
Internal Ship
  • When a product item moves from one business location to another within a company. There is no change of ownership, the product is simply moved internally. Learn more about how to internal ship product items here. 
Transform
  • When one or more input items are irreversibly transformed into one or more output items. Transformations can be one to one, one to many, or many to one. Learn more about how to transform product items here. 
Aggregate
  • When multiple product items are reversibly grouped into one logistical unit, normally for shipping or storage. Aggregated products will always be disaggregated at some point later in the supply chain. Learn more about how to aggregate product items here. 
Disaggregate
  • When multiple product items are removed or unpacked from an aggregation, normally after shipping to a new location. Learn more about how to disaggregate product items here. 

Product Identifiers

Our goal is to meet the myriad needs of companies with regards to labeling and organizing their products as they move through their supply chains, so we offer a number of ways to classify your products in Wholechain. While some IDs are generated within Wholechain, others can be entered, and all are equivalent to an existing GS1 standard.

Wholechain ID

  • Unique ID assigned to any company in Wholechain
  • GS1 Equivalent: Company Prefix 6 numeric digits (123456)

Product ID

  • Unique ID assigned to any product set up in your company’s Wholechain account.
  • GS1 Equivalent: GTIN

Location ID

  • Unique ID assigned to any Business location set up in your company’s Wholechain account.
  • GS1 Equivalent: GLN

Serial ID

  • A serial ID is unique to an individually traceable product item (for example, an iPhone). You can define the unit of measure for a serialized product upon its creation, and can enter your product items’ Serial IDs when logging an event.
  • GS1 Equivalent: Serial number SGTIN

Lot ID

  • A lot (or batch) ID refers to a group of identical products that are traced together through the supply chain. When creating a new lot based product, it can either have one unit of measure, or a defined unit (ex: 10 lb cases)
  • GS1 Equivalent: Batch or Lot number

Logistical Unit ID

  • When aggregating a product for shipment, you’ll be prompted to provide a Logistical Unit ID / SSCC number with which to identify your shipment.
  • GS1 Equivalent: SSCC used for Container, Pallet or Case

Other Important Terms + Definitions


Account / Business 

  • A business is the entity in Wholechain with which your team members and locations are associated. Your plan and billing details are linked to the Business, and only team members with admin status can make changes to these details.

Blockchain 

  • Blockchain is a peer-to-peer ledger of transactions that by design is resistant to tampering or modification. The power of blockchain in supply chain traceability is that it provides an immutable chain of transactions recorded in real time, which map a product’s exact journey from source to shelf. Whereas centralized data systems allow for obscurity and data modifications, blockchain enables visibility, security and trust. 
  • At Wholechain we’ve carefully selected blockchain partners to entrust with our customers’ supply chain data. Learn more about them here. 

Blockchain Confirmation

  • The information contained in an event record for all traceability events logged in Wholechain are written onto a blockchain. One event record generated = one blockchain confirmation. 
  • Learn more about how blockchain confirmations are calculated for each traceability event type here. 

Business Location

  • There are often multiple entities or locations within one company where products are stored or processed in their journey through the supply chain. For this reason, depending on the Wholechain plan your company chooses, you can list multiple locations, including those operated by your supply chain partners (if custody is never transferred to them).
  • Learn how to add and edit business locations here. 

Company in your Network

  • A company in your Network is a supply chain partner with whom you share data about products and events in Wholechain - typically with whom you’re directly trading products. You’ll have to invite companies to connect upon setting up your account, and can accept others’ invites to connect as well. You can share templates, documents and products with companies in your Network for streamlined information gathering. 
  • Learn more about managing companies in your Network here. 

Event

  • Events, or traceability events, are the supply chain transactions logged in Wholechain that comprise every product’s journey towards consumers. Each event in Wholechain is logged using an Event Record containing key data about the event, whether for example you’re shipping a product from one location to another within your business (Internal Ship Event) or processing one traceable product into another (Transform Event). Our event types are strategically aligned with GS1 EPCIS event types to enable interoperability with our users’ existing systems.  
  • Read a summary of the different event types supported by Wholechain here.

Event Record

  • An event record is the documentation of every supply chain event recorded in Wholechain. Each event record includes the key details and claims within a traceability event: the product input(s) and output(s), identifiers, dates, blockchain data, and more. Certain events require templates that contain additional, customizable data elements. Each event record contains a single Product ID, Primary Identifier for the item, Company ID and location ID, and the record cannot be modified after it’s been confirmed.
  • Learn more about Event Records here

Item

  • A product item refers to one instance of a traceable product - whether it’s a lot or a serialized item. Each row in a product’s Current Inventory tab represents a product item. Every event logged in Wholechain is based on these traceable product items as they move through the supply chain in real-time. 

Lot

  • A lot (sometimes referred to as a batch), is a group of products unified by a specific characteristic (for example harvest date or dye lot) and traced together through the supply chain under a common identifier. Each individual unit of a batch or lot will have the same characteristics. Learn more about the difference between Lot and Serial traceability here.  

Map

  • Maps are visual representations of your supply chain data that show a product’s journey from source to store. Maps appear on every Event Record to display the locations of all the previous events logged for the item you are viewing. They also appear in the Network page so you can visualize your entire trade network. A map can also be incorporated in a Sourceview profile to show end consumers the journey of their food graphically.

Permissions

  • Permissions refer to your status in relation to a Wholechain feature - at the moment either a map or a record template. One of two permission-types will appear next to the template at hand: User (orange) or Editor (green). As a User you can view and use the feature at hand, while Editor means you have the ability to edit or delete the feature as well.

Product

  • A product is a SKU, GTIN, or specific product type that  your company is interacting with along the supply chain. Every item, or line item in your Current Inventory is a physical instance of a product moving through the supply chain. There is key information associated with a product, such as a unit of measure, GTIN or primary identifier, blockchain and master data. 
  • When referring to a specific instance-level or serial-level product, we use the term Product Item or simply Item.
  • Learn more about how to create a Product here. 

QR Code

  • A QR code is a type of machine-readable (in our case, smartphone camera-readable) barcode that is tied to information. At Wholechain we use QR codes in a few key ways: as a tool to auto-populate data fields for suppliers, as well as to tie finished products to their Sourceview profile, our supply chain storytelling tool. You don’t need a special app to scan a Wholechain QR code; you can simply point your smartphone camera at the code, and you’ll be prompted to open a web browser to view the Sourceview profile.
  • Learn more about how to add a QR Code to the Sourceview Profile / Collection here.

Sourceview

  • Sourceview is a feature unique to Wholechain that lets you bring storytelling to supply chain partners and end end consumers. Each Sourceview profile is fully customizable from within Wholechain, and appears as a series of informative cards highlighting your product’s attributes and unique journey through the supply chain. You can view a Sourceview profile using a QR code on a finished product (no app needed), or via a unique link opened in any web or mobile browser.
  • Learn more about how to create a Sourceview profile here. 

Team Member

  • A team member is an individual employee who has a Wholechain account within a business. There are three types of team member roles: owner, admin and employee, which can be specified by an owner  or admin. The features admins have access to that employees don’t are: managing business settings, managing team members, and accessing the plan and billing page. Owners have the same access but also have the ability to delete the business’s Wholechain account.
  • Learn how to add Team Members here

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