Why manufacturers should treat the Digital Product Passport as a business-data project—not a QR-code project.
“The future of manufacturing is not only about making products. It is about being able to prove what they contain, where they came from, how they were made, and what happens to them next.”
For decades, manufacturers have focused on producing a reliable product, delivering it on time, and keeping costs under control. Those priorities remain essential. But Europe is adding another expectation: companies must increasingly be able to provide trusted, structured information about the product throughout its lifecycle.
This is the purpose of the Digital Product Passport, commonly called a DPP.
A Digital Product Passport is a digital record that provides relevant information about a product, its materials, its origin, its performance, repair options, sustainability information, and end-of-life handling. It can be accessed through a data carrier, such as a QR code, NFC tag, barcode, or product identifier.
But the QR code is not the passport.
The QR code is only the doorway. The real Digital Product Passport is the reliable data behind it.
For manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers, repairers, recyclers, and customers, this change will be significant. It will affect product design, purchasing, warehousing, production, quality control, compliance, customer service, and reporting.
Companies that prepare early can turn DPP readiness into a business advantage. Companies that wait may face a difficult and expensive reality: trying to reconstruct years of product, supplier, and production data after customers or regulators begin asking for it.
What Is a Digital Product Passport?
A Digital Product Passport is a structured digital record connected to a specific product, batch, or product model.
Depending on the product category and the final legislation, it may include information such as:
- Product identity and model details.
- Manufacturer and responsible economic operator.
- Material composition.
- Origin and supplier information.
- Technical specifications.
- Repair and maintenance information.
- Spare-parts availability.
- Product durability and performance data.
- Carbon, environmental, or circularity-related information.
- Recycled-content information.
- Safety and compliance documents.
- Instructions for reuse, refurbishment, recycling, or disposal.
- Batch, serial number, or production traceability.
- Certificates, declarations, and test results.
The exact data requirements will differ by product group. A battery passport will not contain the same information as a furniture passport, textile passport, tire passport, or industrial equipment passport.
That is important because there will not be one universal DPP template for every product.
The EU’s Digital Product Passport framework is being developed under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, also known as ESPR. Product-specific requirements will be introduced through separate delegated acts and technical rules. European Commission: Digital Product Passport
Why Europe Is Introducing Digital Product Passports
The EU wants to create a more transparent, durable, repairable, reusable, and circular product economy.
Today, valuable product information is often scattered across supplier emails, product sheets, PDFs, Excel files, laboratory documents, production records, and disconnected systems. When a customer, repairer, authority, or recycler needs information, finding it can be slow and unreliable.
The DPP model aims to change this.
It is designed to make product information more available across the lifecycle—from raw material and production through sale, use, repair, reuse, and recycling.
The EU expects DPPs to support several major goals:
- Better product traceability.
- More informed purchasing decisions.
- Improved repair and reuse.
- Better access to recycling information.
- Stronger environmental and sustainability reporting.
- Greater supply-chain transparency.
- More effective market surveillance and compliance controls.
- Reduced greenwashing through more verifiable product information.
In simple terms: the EU wants products to carry a trustworthy digital story.
The Digital Product Passport Is Not Only About Sustainability
Many companies first hear “Digital Product Passport” and think it is only an environmental or marketing topic.
That is too narrow.
A DPP is also about:
- Product quality.
- Compliance.
- Customer trust.
- Supplier management.
- Warranty service.
- Traceability.
- After-sales support.
- Repair and spare parts.
- Recalls and safety actions.
- Export readiness.
- Brand protection.
Imagine a customer scans a product code and can see the correct care instructions, warranty conditions, materials, repair options, and authenticity data.
Imagine a service technician can identify the exact product version, installed component, production batch, and approved spare parts in seconds.
Imagine a recycler can identify what materials are inside a product and how to separate them safely.
Imagine a manufacturer can trace a defective component back to the supplier, batch, production order, and affected customer deliveries.
That is the real business value behind the Digital Product Passport.
The First Major Deadline: Battery Passports in February 2027
Certain battery categories are the first major group for which Digital Product Passports will become mandatory.
From 18 February 2027, battery passports will be required for relevant batteries placed on the EU market, including:
- Electric-vehicle batteries.
- Light-transport batteries, such as those used in e-bikes, e-mopeds, and e-scooters.
- Industrial batteries.
- Certain stationary energy-storage batteries.
The EU DPP Registry became operational on 20 July 2026, and the battery passport framework is moving from policy preparation toward practical implementation. European Commission: Battery Digital Product Passport
This matters beyond battery manufacturers.
Businesses supplying battery housings, electronics, metal components, chemical materials, cables, charging equipment, logistics services, repair services, or recycling solutions may all face new customer requests for traceable, structured product information.
If you are part of a battery supply chain, DPP readiness is not someone else’s project.
Furniture, Mattresses, Textiles, Tires, Steel, and More Are Next
The EU’s current ESPR working plan identifies several priority product groups for future Digital Product Passport requirements.
The current planning includes:
| Product group | Current EU planning milestone |
|---|---|
| Iron and steel | 2026 |
| Energy-related products | 2026–2029 |
| Textiles, tires, and aluminum | 2027 |
| Furniture | 2028 |
| Mattresses and ICT products | 2029 |
These dates reflect the Commission’s current work-plan timeline for product-specific measures. They are not yet one universal mandatory compliance date for every company or product in each sector. The final obligations will depend on the relevant delegated acts, technical standards, scope, and implementation periods. European Commission: DPP timeline
For furniture and mattress manufacturers, however, the message is already clear:
The time to organise product data is now—not when a final regulation gives you a short implementation window.
What a Furniture DPP Could Mean in Practice
A future furniture passport may need to connect data from several parts of the business.
For example, a dining table may need a reliable record of:
- Product model and product variant.
- Bill of Materials.
- Wood type, board material, metal parts, fabrics, foam, adhesives, finishes, and packaging.
- Supplier identity and supporting documentation.
- Production date and batch.
- Serial number or product identifier where relevant.
- Country or site of manufacture.
- Product dimensions and weight.
- Care and maintenance instructions.
- Repair instructions and available spare parts.
- Disassembly information.
- Reuse, refurbishment, and recycling guidance.
- Certificates and product declarations.
- Information connected to timber, chemicals, packaging, or other relevant requirements.
This information may already exist inside the company. But it is often spread across departments.
Purchasing knows the suppliers. Production knows what was used. Quality knows the test results. Product management knows the specifications. Finance knows the product cost. Sales knows the customer version. Warehouse teams know the batch and shipment details.
A DPP requires these pieces to become connected.
That is why the DPP is fundamentally an ERP and data-architecture challenge.
The Biggest DPP Mistake: Treating It as a Website Project
A common mistake will be to create a QR code, build a public product page, and assume the company is ready.
A QR code can be created in minutes.
But answering the question behind the QR code is much harder:
- Which supplier provided this material?
- Which batch was used in this product?
- What version of the BOM applied at the time of production?
- Which quality checks were completed?
- What packaging was used?
- Which documents support the sustainability claim?
- Which spare parts are approved?
- What should happen when the product reaches end of life?
If the answers are stored in email inboxes, local files, disconnected spreadsheets, or the memory of individual employees, the business is not truly DPP-ready.
A Digital Product Passport only works when the underlying business data is controlled, traceable, and maintained over time.
What DPPs Will Achieve for Manufacturers
Compliance is one reason to prepare. But DPP readiness can create broader operational benefits.
Better Product Traceability
Manufacturers can follow a product through its lifecycle, from incoming materials to finished goods and customer delivery.
This makes recalls, warranty claims, supplier-quality issues, and customer questions easier to manage.
Better Supplier Control
Companies can request and store supplier declarations, certificates, material specifications, origin information, and sustainability-related evidence in one place.
This creates a more reliable supplier record and reduces the risk of missing documentation.
Stronger Product Data
DPP preparation forces companies to improve product master data, Bills of Materials, version control, technical specifications, and product variants.
Better product data improves manufacturing even before the passport is required.
Easier Repair and After-Sales Service
Repair teams can identify the exact product version, approved spare parts, service history, and instructions more quickly.
This can reduce service costs, improve customer satisfaction, and extend product life.
More Credible Sustainability Claims
Customers are becoming more careful about environmental claims. A DPP can help businesses support claims with structured, traceable evidence rather than broad marketing statements.
Better Circular-Economy Opportunities
When materials and components are clearly identified, products are easier to repair, refurbish, reuse, dismantle, and recycle.
This can create new revenue opportunities in spare parts, refurbishment, buy-back programs, and circular services.
The DPP Data Chain: From Supplier to End of Life
A practical DPP depends on a connected data chain.
The journey begins with supplier and material information. Every relevant material or component needs an identifiable record, including supplier details, technical specifications, certificates, and—where required—origin or sustainability evidence.
The next stage is product engineering. The Bill of Materials must show which components belong to which product version. If products are configurable, the system must know which options affect the final product.
Production then adds operational proof. Work orders, batch records, serial numbers, quality checks, machine data, labour records, and material consumption create the production history.
Warehouse and logistics processes add location and movement data. The business needs to know which items are in stock, which were shipped, and which customer or market received them.
Finally, the DPP makes relevant information available to the right audience. A customer may see care instructions and warranty information. A repair partner may see spare-parts data. A recycler may see material composition and disassembly guidance. Authorities may require compliance information.
One product. Different users. Different access rights. One reliable source of truth.
How SIX ERP Supports DPP Readiness
SIX ERP can provide the operational foundation needed for Digital Product Passport readiness.
The platform can connect the core information that DPPs will depend on:
- Product master data.
- Bills of Materials and product versions.
- Supplier and purchasing information.
- Inventory, batch, lot, and serial-number tracking.
- Manufacturing orders and production history.
- Quality inspections and certificates.
- Warehouse movements and delivery records.
- Warranty and service history.
- Documents, images, technical files, and compliance evidence.
- Customer and sales information.
- Repair, spare-parts, and return processes.
This does not mean every company needs to build a full DPP platform immediately.
The practical first step is to create a DPP-ready data foundation. Once product information is structured and connected inside the ERP, the company can later publish the correct information to a DPP module, customer portal, API, QR code, or external registry.
The best DPP strategy begins inside the business—not on the public product page.
A Practical DPP Readiness Roadmap
Step One: Choose One Product Family
Do not begin with every product.
Choose one product family that is strategically important, has clear supply-chain complexity, or is likely to be affected by future product rules. For a furniture manufacturer, this could be a best-selling bed, sofa, mattress, chair, or table range.
Step Two: Map the Product Data You Already Have
Identify where product information currently lives.
Check your ERP, warehouse system, supplier documents, product sheets, spreadsheets, technical drawings, quality files, and shared folders.
Then ask a simple question:
Can we prove the story of this product from material purchase to customer delivery?
Step Three: Identify the Missing Links
Common gaps include:
- Unclear product versions.
- Incomplete Bills of Materials.
- Missing supplier certificates.
- No batch or serial-number traceability.
- Unstructured product documents.
- Weak links between production and final delivery.
- Incomplete packaging data.
- No controlled repair or spare-parts information.
Step Four: Define Ownership
A DPP cannot belong only to IT.
Product management, purchasing, manufacturing, quality, warehouse, sustainability, sales, service, and management all need defined responsibilities for the information they create and maintain.
Step Five: Build a Pilot Passport
Create an internal DPP for one selected product.
Do not start by publishing it. First, test whether the data is correct, complete, traceable, and easy to maintain. Once the internal process works, external access can be added in a controlled way.
Step Six: Prepare for Scale
Once the pilot is stable, repeat the model for further product families. Use the same product-data standards, document rules, supplier requirements, and approval processes.
DPP Readiness Is a Growth Decision
The Digital Product Passport will create new expectations. Customers will expect transparency. Retailers will expect better product information. Repair and recycling networks will expect usable technical data. Authorities will expect traceable compliance evidence.
But there is also an opportunity.
Businesses that can provide reliable, product-level information will be easier to trust. They can support premium products, stronger warranties, faster service, repair programs, and more credible sustainability positioning.
The DPP will reward companies that know their products deeply—and can prove what they know.
For manufacturers, the question is no longer whether product data will become more important.
It already has.
The question is whether your company will build that capability early, calmly, and strategically—or later, under pressure from a customer, regulator, or market deadline.
SIX ERP helps businesses create the connected product, supplier, manufacturing, warehouse, and quality data that future Digital Product Passports depend on.
Start with one product. Build the data chain. Create the foundation before compliance turns into urgency. SIX ERP Helps you to be compliant! Don’t wait until it is too late!
