GS1 2D Barcode Traceability for Medical Supplies
Date: July 2025
Location: Kuala Lumpur → Sarawak (Kuching), Malaysia
About the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur
The U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur represents the Government of the United States in Malaysia and supports strategic, humanitarian, educational and economic partnerships. Through collaborative programmes with Malaysian institutions, the Embassy advances public health and resilience, including support for medical supply chain initiatives.
About GS1 Malaysia
GS1 Malaysia is a member of GS1, a global not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the design and implementation of global standards to improve the efficiency and visibility of supply and demand chains. GS1 Malaysia is the only authorised issuer of GS1 barcodes and identifiers in Malaysia, supporting over 9,000 businesses across retail, healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing with trusted, interoperable identification and traceability solutions.
Project Overview
GS1 Malaysia, in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, conducted a joint pilot to demonstrate end-to-end visibility for humanitarian consignments using GS1 2D barcodes, powered by GS1 Malaysia’s 2D Repository Platform. Every carton of medical supplies was labelled with a GS1 2D DataMatrix encoding the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), batch/lot number, and expiry date. At each control point—initial dispatch at the U.S. Embassy compound, export clearance, arrival in Sarawak, and final handover to the Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (Sarawak)—operators performed scans that updated a live, tamper-evident digital passport.
The Challenge
Humanitarian supply chains often rely on mixed labelling and manual documentation, making it hard to verify product identity, trace chain-of-custody, and accelerate customs clearance. Without standardised identifiers and a shared data backbone, stakeholders face delays, diversion risks, and limited transparency from donor to recipient.
The Solution: GS1 2D Traceability Pilot
The pilot implemented GS1 2D DataMatrix labelling and the GS1 Malaysia 2D Repository Platform to create a single source of truth across control points:
- Carton labelling: Each carton carried a GS1 2D DataMatrix with GTIN, batch/lot, and expiry.
- Scan at control points: Dispatch, export clearance, arrival in Sarawak, and final handover to KKM (Sarawak) were recorded using handheld scanners linked directly to the Repository.
- Digital passport: Each scan immediately updated the consignment’s digital passport, creating a live, tamper-evident chain of custody.
- Secure dashboard: Stakeholders accessed a secure portal to track movement and verify authenticity; on arrival, U.S. Embassy staff performed the same scan-and-verify process before acceptance.
Key Benefits
- Real-time visibility of every carton from U.S. Embassy dispatch to the Ministry of Health site in Kuching.
- Trusted data for customs, helping accelerate clearance of donated goods.
- On-arrival authentication to deter diversion and detect tampering.
Project Rationale and Barcode Implementation Objectives
The pilot aimed to prove that a humanitarian shipment can maintain full data transparency and product integrity from donor to recipient using global, interoperable standards:
- Establish end-to-end traceability with standardised GS1 identifiers and GS1 2D DataMatrix.
- Strengthen chain-of-custody evidence with scan events captured at each control point.
- Provide customs and receiving parties with trustworthy, structured data to streamline processing.
- Enable authentication at arrival to reduce diversion/tampering risks.
- Lay the groundwork for scalable reporting and analytics for future aid consignments.
Future Plans
Building on the pilot, partners plan to extend GS1 2D implementation to additional humanitarian shipments, apply the same approach to pallet/case levels, and integrate with external systems via APIs. Enhancements under consideration include offline-first scanning, EPCIS event sharing, and expanded dashboards for customs and receiving facilities.
Conclusion
The joint pilot demonstrates that GS1 standards and GS1 Malaysia’s 2D Repository Platform can deliver practical, real-time traceability for humanitarian medical supplies. By aligning all parties on trusted identifiers and shared data, the approach improves transparency, speeds clearance, and strengthens integrity from donor to recipient.
Find Out More
For full coverage of this pilot, see:
