Call for Participation in Verifiable Supply Chain Community Group
The Verifiable Supply Chain Community Group has been launched:
The mission of the Verifiable Supply Chain Community Group is to accelerate the adoption of decentralized, verifiable data standards in global supply chains. We develop industry-specific profiles, interoperability frameworks, and certification guidelines that enable businesses to exchange cryptographically verifiable proofs of origin, custody, compliance, and sustainability—building trust, reducing fraud, and unlocking new efficiency across multi-party industrial networks.
Scope
This group focuses on the practical implementation, industry alignment, and certification of supply chain applications using the W3C’s Verifiable Credentials (VC) ecosystem and related protocols like UORA.
Industry-Specific Profiles: Develop and maintain VC/UORA profiles and data schemas tailored to key verticals (e.g., pharmaceuticals, automotive, food & beverage, critical minerals, luxury goods). These profiles map regulatory and business requirements to verifiable data formats.
Interoperability & Compliance: Create test suites, mapping documents, and implementation guides to ensure interoperability between verifiable supply chain systems and legacy standards (e.g., GS1 EPCIS, ISO standards, regulatory frameworks like DSCSA, CBAM, EUDR).
Certification & Trust Frameworks: Define governance models, trust anchor requirements, and conformance criteria for organizations issuing and consuming verifiable supply chain claims.
Use Cases & Business Value: Document high-impact business cases, ROI models, and reference architectures that demonstrate how verifiable credentials solve specific supply chain problems (anti-counterfeiting, ESG reporting, duty/tax compliance, recall management).
Relationship to UORA CG
This group is a downstream adopter and specializer of the UORA CG’s core technical specifications. While UORA defines the universal protocol for asset attestation, this group focuses on industry-specific constraints, business rules, and multi-stakeholder governance required for real-world supply chain deployment. The two groups will maintain a formal liaison for synchronized development.
Deliverables
Industry Blueprints: A library of public, reusable VC/UORA profiles for major supply chain verticals, starting with Pharmaceuticals and Critical Minerals.
Interoperability Toolkit: Specifications and software tools for translating between existing supply chain event data (e.g., EPCIS events) and verifiable, DID-anchored attestations.
Trust Framework Template: A customizable template for supply chain networks to establish governance, accreditation, and compliance rules for verifiable credential issuers.
Business Implementation Guide: A non-technical playbook for executives and solution architects, detailing steps to pilot and scale verifiable supply chain systems, with quantified case studies.
Success Criteria
The group will be considered successful when:
- At least two industry consortia adopt its profiles in production networks.
- Major supply chain software vendors reference its frameworks in their product documentation.
- A regulator or standards body (e.g., GS1, UN/CEFACT) formally references the group’s work.
Out of Scope
Developing new core cryptographic protocols or decentralized identifier systems.
Creating competing generic standards for VCs or DIDs (builds on W3C standards).
Mandating specific commercial platforms or blockchains.
In order to join the group, you will need a W3C account. Please note, however, that W3C Membership is not required to join a Community Group.
This is a community initiative. This group was originally proposed on 2026-02-03 by Amir Hameed Mir. The following people supported its creation: Amir Hameed Mir, Muezza Wani, Irtiqa Latif, Maimoona Bhat and Bernard Lynch. W3C’s hosting of this group does not imply endorsement of the activities.
The group must now choose a chair. Read more about how to get started in a new group and good practice for running a group.
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If you believe that there is an issue with this group that requires the attention of the W3C staff, please email us at site-comments@w3.org
Thank you,
W3C Community Development Team
