{
 "url": "https://activatedigital.ai/knowledge/guides/supply-chain-mapping-traceability-chain-of-custody",
 "title": "Supply-chain mapping, traceability and chain of custody: what is the difference?",
 "description": "The practical difference between supply-chain mapping, visibility, provenance, traceability and chain of custody, and which capability fits which job.",
 "territory": "impl",
 "category": null,
 "direct_answer": "**Supply-chain mapping** shows the structure of the chain: the organisations, sites, roles and flows you know about. **Visibility** is the ability to see relevant information about what is happening within a defined part of that chain. **Provenance** concerns origin and history.",
 "last_verified": "2026-09-10",
 "datePublished": "2026-09-10",
 "dateModified": "2026-09-10",
 "legislation": [],
 "primary_sources": [
  {
   "url": "https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/enhancing-resilience-through-traceability_a898687d-en.html",
   "name": "Enhancing Resilience Through Traceability, OECD"
  },
  {
   "url": "https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/ir/8536/final",
   "name": "NIST IR 8536, Supply Chain Traceability: Manufacturing Meta-Framework"
  },
  {
   "url": "https://www.iso.org/standard/72532.html",
   "name": "ISO 22095:2020, Chain of custody: General terminology and models"
  },
  {
   "url": "https://www.iso.org/standard/84427.html",
   "name": "ISO 22095-2:2026, Chain of custody: Mass balance"
  },
  {
   "url": "https://www.iso.org/standard/84426.html",
   "name": "ISO 22095-3:2026, Chain of custody: Book and claim"
  },
  {
   "url": "https://ref.gs1.org/standards/global-traceability/",
   "name": "GS1 Global Traceability Standard"
  }
 ],
 "glossary_terms": [
  "https://activatedigital.ai/knowledge/glossary#digital-product-passport",
  "https://activatedigital.ai/knowledge/glossary#espr",
  "https://activatedigital.ai/knowledge/glossary#granularity",
  "https://activatedigital.ai/knowledge/glossary#gs1",
  "https://activatedigital.ai/knowledge/glossary#item-level-identity",
  "https://activatedigital.ai/knowledge/glossary#traceability"
 ],
 "watch": [],
 "decisions": [],
 "alternates": {
  "html": "https://activatedigital.ai/knowledge/guides/supply-chain-mapping-traceability-chain-of-custody",
  "markdown": "https://activatedigital.ai/knowledge/guides/supply-chain-mapping-traceability-chain-of-custody.md",
  "json": "https://activatedigital.ai/knowledge/guides/supply-chain-mapping-traceability-chain-of-custody.json"
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}