Supply-chain questions, answered.

Supchara helps organizations document direct business relationships, identify the products they handle, and trace product supply chains using information confirmed by participating organizations. Brands and suppliers can use these relationships to understand the organizations connecting their products to retailers and ecommerce platforms.

Organizations declare the products they handle using Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) and establish connections with their direct business partners. A connection is established when both organizations declare the relationship. Product tracing follows those connections, with each organization in the path handling the same GTIN.

Declare organizations with which your organization conducts direct business. For example, a brand selling to a distributor declares that relationship; the distributor declares its own direct customers. Do not declare a direct connection to an organization farther along the supply chain unless you also do business with it directly.

A trace depends on participating organizations declaring the required product and business relationships. A missing connection or a missing declaration for the same GTIN can leave a gap in the path. Removing an established connection can also break an existing trace.

A Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is a GS1 identifier for a trade item, such as a product that can be ordered or sold. Supchara uses GTINs to identify the products organizations handle so that a trace follows the same product across business relationships. Enter the complete assigned GTIN, including leading zeroes.

A Global Location Number (GLN) is a GS1 identifier for a party or location, such as a company or warehouse. Supchara uses organization-level GLNs when traceability or verification requires one.

A GTIN identifies a trade item; a GLN identifies a party or location. In Supchara, product identifiers and organization identities work alongside declared business relationships to connect information about a product's supply chain.

Visibility into the organizations handling a product helps brands review their sourcing and distribution relationships. Supchara traces declared connections and lets organizations record whether they recognize supply-chain members, helping them identify unrecognized or incomplete paths for review.

No. Recognition records whether your organization recognizes a supply-chain member. An unrecognized member or an incomplete trace is a reason to review the relationship and supporting information; it is not, by itself, proof that a product is counterfeit.

Yes. Supchara's organization-specific Data Policies control whether an applicable retailer or ecommerce platform can see supply-chain member names when checking traceability back to your organization. This lets suppliers make sharing decisions for those organizations individually.