In a world that increasingly craves transparency, a new concept is emerging that is revolutionizing the way we track and manage products – the digital product passport.
But what exactly is a digital product passport, why is it becoming increasingly important in today’s society and where does the data come from? We took a closer look at the topic and found some answers.
An introduction to the seamless life cycle of products.
What is a digital product passport?
A digital product passport (DPP) is basically a digital identity of a physical product. This passport contains all relevant information about the product, from its origin and composition to its entire life cycle.
This can range from production and use to disposal or recycling of the product. It is as if every product has its own seamless “life cycle” that is accessible in digital form.
The digital product passport contains information on the optimal use, materials and composition, as well as disposal and recycling of a product. Relevant product data is recorded at every stage of the product life cycle.
Importance of the digital product passport
This is particularly relevant as a legal obligation to introduce digital product passports will come into effect in the EU from 2027.
This legal change reflects a larger movement in our society: sustainability and transparency are becoming increasingly important in our world, and therefore tools such as the digital product passport are becoming more and more important.
The digital product passport offers numerous advantages. It enables consumers to make more informed decisions by learning more about the products they buy. At the same time, it offers companies the opportunity to track and manage their supply chains more effectively.
Advantages of a digital product passport
- Transparency: The digital product passport gives consumers and companies full insight into the entire life cycle of a product. This not only promotes trust, but also enables consumers to make more conscious purchasing decisions.
- Efficiency: For companies, the digital product passport offers the opportunity to design and manage supply chains more efficiently. The availability of data allows them to better understand where improvements or adjustments are necessary.
- Sustainability: As the digital product passport tracks the entire life cycle of a product, it also promotes more sustainable production and consumption practices. It makes it possible to better plan and implement the recycling and reuse of products.
Areas of application of the digital product passport
The digital product passport is used in all industries and sectors that manufacture goods and products. Here are some examples of industries in which the digital tracking and documentation of product information is particularly important.
- Mechanical engineering: Machines and systems often consist of many components and individual parts. A digital product passport helps to collect and provide all important information about each individual part and to check whether processes have been adhered to.
- Food industry: In the food industry, a digital product passport helps to trace the origin of raw ingredients and provide consumers with transparent information about the production conditions and origin of food.
- Automotive industry: In the automotive industry, digital product passports can be used to document information about every single part and every maintenance of a vehicle. They enable complete traceability of all parts and materials and facilitate maintenance and compliance with regulations.
- All other manufacturing industries: The digital product passport is a versatile tool that can be used in almost any industry to manage product information and increase transparency.
It is important that the data that flows into the digital product passport is recorded in a reliable and structured manner. A solution such as Testify helps to optimize process data acquisition and close gaps in traceability.
This is how the digital product passport should work:
Introduction: The digital product passport is designed to bundle a wide range of information and make it transparent. It is intended to enable the various parties involved in the supply and user chain to provide and retrieve specific data.
The following chart illustrates which data is provided and obtained in each case.
According to the Federation of German Industries, “the data […] should be recorded decentrally along the value chain and only be accessible to authorized recipients in accordance with the “need to know” principle”.
As a company, where do I get the data for the product passport?
The data for a company’s digital product passport comes from various sources. One challenge when compiling a digital product passport is to record, collect and merge all relevant data.
Data from external sources:
External data sources may include suppliers and partner companies. They could include the following:
- Supplier data: This data is provided by the suppliers and contains information on the origin and previous processing of the materials.
- Partner data: Partner companies can provide data on the disposal or maintenance of products or similar. This information depends on the specific product and company organization.
Data from internal company sources:
Internal data collection includes information generated throughout the value creation process within the company. This could include
- Production data: This data originates from the production phase and can contain information on materials used, production processes, machine and energy consumption and much more.
- Quality control data: This information is generated during quality inspection and assurance and can include details on product performance, testing and compliance issues.
- Service data: This data includes information about the sale, delivery and service of products.
The origin of the data required for the digital product passport can be diverse, from ERP systems to other data sources in the company. It is essential to establish clean and structured digital processes in the company in order to capture and manage this data efficiently. Unstructured data in the form of text or analog data recorded on paper is not suitable.
Conclusion
It is exciting to see how the topic of digital product passports will continue to develop. Although there have already been some successfully implemented projects, this is more the exception than the rule.
From our point of view, preparations for this should start now with regard to digital process data acquisition, because there is still a lot of catching up to do, as paper and clipboards are still faithful companions for all types of quality inspections and tours in the industrial environment.
