The EU has launched the infrastructure. Now companies must create the product data, traceability, and systems that make a passport trustworthy.
“The Digital Product Passport is moving from policy discussion to operational reality. The companies that prepare their data now will be ready when their sector reaches the starting line.”
For years, the Digital Product Passport sounded like a future concept.
Manufacturers knew that Europe wanted more transparent products. They heard about QR codes, sustainable design, repairability, recycling, and product traceability. But for many businesses, the practical question remained unanswered:
When does this become real?
It is real now.
On 20 July 2026, the European Commission launched the Digital Product Passport Registry and a testing environment. This is an important milestone because it creates the central registration infrastructure needed for Digital Product Passports across the EU. European Commission: DPP Registry launch
The Registry does not mean that every product must receive a passport tomorrow. Product-specific obligations will still arrive in phases.
But it does mean that companies can no longer treat DPP as a distant theory.
Europe has started building the operating environment. Manufacturers now need to build the data foundation.
What the DPP Registry Actually Is
The DPP Registry is not a giant EU database that stores every technical detail about every product.
That is an important distinction.
The European Commission explains that product data is stored in a decentralised manner. Economic operators remain responsible for the product data, while each Digital Product Passport is registered in the Registry with its unique product identifier and associated metadata. European Commission: DPP Registry launch
In practical terms, the Registry supports a system where:
- A product has a unique digital identity.
- The passport is linked to that identity.
- Relevant product information remains maintained by the responsible economic operator or authorised party.
- The passport can be found, verified, and accessed through agreed technical rules.
- The correct users can access the correct data based on their access rights.
- The system can support interoperability across the EU.
The Registry is the trusted directory. Your business still needs to maintain the product truth behind it.
Why This Matters to Manufacturers
Manufacturers should not see the Registry as only an IT development.
It changes the direction of product compliance.
In the future, companies may need to show more clearly:
- What a product is.
- Who placed it on the market.
- What materials and components it contains.
- Where relevant materials came from.
- How the product was manufactured.
- How it can be repaired, reused, or dismantled.
- What maintenance or safety information applies.
- What should happen at end of life.
- Which declarations, certificates, and technical records support the product.
This will affect product design, supplier management, purchasing, production, quality, warehousing, customer service, and after-sales operations.
A Digital Product Passport is a cross-company data project.
The First Major Deadline Is Already Close
The first major DPP requirement concerns certain batteries.
From 18 February 2027, battery passports will become mandatory for:
- Electric-vehicle batteries.
- Light means of transport batteries, such as e-bike and e-scooter batteries.
- Industrial batteries above 2 kWh.
The Commission has stated that the Registry’s testing environment is intended to support a smooth rollout ahead of this first deadline. European Commission: DPP Registry launch
For battery manufacturers and their suppliers, this is not a future roadmap item. It is an immediate implementation topic.
For other sectors, batteries are the first clear example of what is coming.
The companies that learn from battery-passport implementation will be better prepared for the next product groups.
Which Sectors Will Follow?
The DPP Registry is designed to support product groups covered by the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, or ESPR.
The European Commission specifically identifies sectors including:
- Textiles.
- Iron and steel.
- Aluminium.
- Tyres.
- Furniture.
- ICT products.
- Energy-related products.
The Registry also supports product groups covered by other EU legislation that require Digital Product Passport registration, including certain large batteries, construction products, toys, detergents, and end-user surfactants. European Commission: DPP Registry launch
The exact data requirements, scope, and legal deadlines will differ by sector.
For example, furniture, textiles, batteries, and industrial products will not all require the same information. A mattress passport may focus on material composition, durability, repairability, and end-of-life guidance. A battery passport may include performance, state-of-health, safety, and lifecycle information. A steel product may focus on material origin, composition, and circularity-related data.
There will not be one DPP template for every product. There will be one interoperable system with sector-specific requirements.
The Most Important Principle: Product Data Remains Your Responsibility
The Registry can register a product identity. It cannot repair poor data inside a company.
If a manufacturer cannot answer basic questions about a product, the Registry will not solve the problem.
For example:
- Which supplier provided the material?
- Which version of the Bill of Materials applied?
- Which production batch created this product?
- Which quality checks were completed?
- Which customer or market received it?
- Which certificates are valid?
- Which spare parts are approved?
- What repair guidance applies?
- Can the product be dismantled safely?
- Which packaging was used?
- What information must be made public, and what must remain restricted?
These answers are created in normal business processes.
They come from product management, purchasing, warehouse operations, manufacturing, quality, service, logistics, and finance.
The Digital Product Passport is only as reliable as the daily business processes behind it.
The Registry Supports Interoperability, Not Vendor Lock-In
One of the most important principles behind the DPP framework is interoperability.
The EU wants product information to move across systems and borders without forcing companies into one closed technology provider.
The Commission states that the Registry supports:
- Secure registration of unique product identifiers.
- Access management and user verification.
- Technical architecture for registration and storage requirements.
- Registration through a secure user interface or API.
- A semantic repository with machine-readable data models, definitions, and vocabulary.
- Documented APIs.
- Verification and logging systems.
- Interoperable data exchange.
The Commission also announced that six harmonised DPP standards are already available, covering areas such as unique identifiers, interoperability, data carriers, APIs, data-exchange protocols, and data storage. References to harmonised standards were published in July 2026. European Commission: DPP standards
For businesses, this means DPP preparation should not focus only on building a public webpage.
It should focus on creating data that can be:
- Structured.
- Machine-readable.
- Secure.
- Version-controlled.
- Searchable.
- Traceable.
- Shared through approved interfaces.
- Maintained over time.
QR Codes Are the Visible Part—Not the System
Customers may experience a DPP through a QR code.
They may scan a product and see information about materials, care, repair, warranty, origin, or recycling.
But that visible experience is only one layer.
Behind the QR code, the company needs:
- A unique product identity.
- Valid product master data.
- The correct product version.
- Connected Bill of Materials data.
- Supplier records.
- Production and quality history.
- Document control.
- Rules for data access.
- Audit trails.
- Processes for updating information.
- A reliable connection to the DPP registration environment.
A QR code can be generated in seconds.
A trustworthy Digital Product Passport can require years of disciplined product-data management.
What a DPP-Ready ERP Must Support
A strong ERP system can become the operational foundation for DPP readiness.
The ERP does not need to be the only system involved. Companies may use specialist product-lifecycle-management tools, document systems, laboratory platforms, IoT platforms, customer portals, or DPP services.
But the ERP often holds the most important operational links.
SIX ERP can help connect:
- Product master data.
- Product versions and engineering revisions.
- Bills of Materials.
- Supplier and purchasing records.
- Material certificates and declarations.
- Inventory movements.
- Batch, lot, and serial-number tracking.
- Manufacturing orders.
- Quality inspections and test results.
- Warehouse and shipping records.
- Sales and customer deliveries.
- Warranty and service history.
- Returns and recycling status.
- Documents, images, and technical files.
- Approval workflows and audit trails.
The ERP is where product promises become operational facts.
DPP Access: Not Everyone Should See Everything
Digital Product Passports will involve different users with different needs.
A customer may need care instructions, warranty details, and repair guidance.
A repairer may need approved spare parts, disassembly steps, and safety information.
A recycler may need material composition and treatment guidance.
A market-surveillance authority may need access to compliance evidence.
A manufacturer may need commercially sensitive supplier and production information to remain protected.
This is why access control matters.
A DPP strategy should define:
- Which information is public.
- Which information is available to customers.
- Which information is available to business partners.
- Which information is available to repairers and recyclers.
- Which information is restricted to authorities.
- Who can create, update, approve, or publish product information.
- How changes are logged and verified.
Transparency does not mean publishing everything. It means providing the right verified information to the right authorised person.
What Businesses Should Do in the Next 90 Days
The Registry is live. The most useful response is not panic. It is preparation.
Choose One Product Family
Select one product family that is strategically important, data-rich, or likely to fall within future DPP requirements.
For a furniture manufacturer, this might be a high-volume sofa, bed, mattress, table, or cabinet range.
For a battery company, it should be a product already within the 2027 scope.
Map the Data Journey
Follow the product from supplier to customer.
Ask:
- Where does each important piece of information originate?
- Who owns it?
- Is it structured or stored in documents?
- Is it current?
- Can it be connected to the product version?
- Can it be connected to a specific batch or serial number?
- Can it be retrieved quickly?
Identify the Gaps
Common gaps include:
- Incomplete Bills of Materials.
- Multiple product versions without clear control.
- Missing supplier declarations.
- No connection between incoming materials and production batches.
- Weak serial-number traceability.
- Documents stored outside the operational system.
- No defined approval process for product-data changes.
- No clear distinction between public and confidential information.
Build an Internal Passport First
Do not begin with a public QR code.
First, create an internal Digital Product Passport record for one product. Test whether the company can answer the critical product questions quickly and with evidence.
Once the internal data is reliable, external publishing and Registry integration become much easier.
Define Ownership
A Digital Product Passport should not belong only to IT.
Define responsibility across:
- Product management.
- Engineering.
- Purchasing.
- Manufacturing.
- Quality.
- Warehouse.
- Compliance.
- Sales.
- Service.
- Sustainability.
- IT.
A DPP works only when each department maintains the data it creates.
The Business Opportunity Behind the Registry
The DPP Registry is a compliance development, but it also creates commercial opportunities.
Companies with reliable product information can:
- Strengthen customer trust.
- Support premium products.
- Improve warranty and service.
- Build repair and spare-parts businesses.
- Reduce recall costs.
- Improve supplier accountability.
- Support sustainability claims with real evidence.
- Prepare for circular business models.
- Improve recycling and material recovery.
- Respond faster to retailer and customer requirements.
- Differentiate themselves in export markets.
The businesses that prepare early will not only be more compliant.
They will understand their products better.
The Time to Build the Data Foundation Is Now
The launch of the Registry is not the end of the DPP journey.
It is the start of the operational phase.
The EU has created the infrastructure for DPP registration, unique identifiers, interoperability, testing, and future product-specific implementation. Companies must now prepare the product information that will flow through that infrastructure.
The most important DPP decision is not which QR code to use. It is whether your company can prove the full story of its product.
SIX ERP helps manufacturers build the product, supplier, production, quality, warehouse, and customer data foundation required for future Digital Product Passports.
Start with one product family. Build the internal traceability chain. Then prepare to connect it to the European DPP ecosystem with confidence.
