The Digital Product Passport
Transparent supply chains – from the source to the customer
At the beginning of February, Stannol hosted the "Journey into the circular economy" organised by the SME Digital Centre Future Culture initiative. One highlight of the event: insights into the practical implementation of the digital product passport, which Stannol plans to introduce in early summer.
Stephan Multhaupt, project manager of the SME Digital Centre WertNetzWerke, and Ingo Lomp, authorised signatory and Head of Innovation at Stannol, shed light on the framework conditions required to successfully establish the digital product passport.
Transparency at the touch of a button
The aim of the digital product passport at Stannol is to create transparency for each manufacturing product by providing information such as the origin of the raw materials, the recycled content, the CO₂ footprint, technical data, contacts and safety and application-related information.
The DPP can then be called up using the article or batch number via a temporarily generated website on which all relevant data is clearly displayed.
There are two ways to access the stored product information: either by manually entering the numbers on the Stannol website or by scanning a QR code, which will be found on every product in future.
"We want to establish the DPP because we take a close look at the raw materials we use, especially tin, which often comes from critical sources. This transparency is not only important for us, but also for our customers, who increasingly want to know where the materials in our products come from," explains Ingo Lomp.
Digital Product Passport
The DPP is a data set that summarises the components, materials and chemical substances or information on reparability, spare parts or proper disposal for a product. The data originates from all phases of the product life cycle and can be used in all these phases for various purposes (design, manufacture, use, disposal).
(Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection)
Validated data as a foundation
The first important step in establishing a DPP is the provision of digitised data. The more information about the materials and processes is available in digital form, the easier it is to create a DPP. Even before the introduction of the digital product passport, Stannol already had key quality-describing parameters in digital form. For example, the degree of purity of the raw materials is analysed upon receipt of goods. These analyses are stored digitally and organised in the laboratory information management system (LIMS). Additional properties are added at each stage of production, such as the spreading behaviour of a solder wire or the acid value and water content of a flux.
In recent years, there has also been an increased focus on digitalisation and sustainability, with additional parameters such as the product carbon footprint (PCF) or the recycling rate being integrated. "Sustainability is often a driver for digitalisation, but it is an advantage if you already have a solid data basis," emphasises Stephan Multhaupt.
Plausibility checks for quality assurance
Visual inspections at Stannol were not initially recorded digitally and had to be transferred to digital processes. "Data availability is also a challenge, as not all information is available in real time and the merging of data streams must be coordinated accordingly due to the transmission frequency. Data quality also plays a key role: we use a variety of plausibility checks to ensure that no incorrect or incomplete data is published on the website," explains Ingo Lomp.
All relevant information about the input materials used is anchored directly to the procurement item in the ERP system and allocated to the products and broken down via the bill of materials. This dynamic process is being continuously developed.
Controlling and aggregating data flows
The data for the DPP is collected in SQL databases at Stannol. Up to 40,000 analyses are carried out each year in the area of quality control alone. The results flow into databases and are regularly exported from there.
Data aggregation, i.e. the consolidation and summarisation of data from various sources such as the laboratory management tool, the ERP system and other tables, is carried out using specially developed software. All data is transferred to a data lake and then selected.
Ingo Lomp: "A particular challenge is that the DPP data is not only related to the individual article, but also to the respective batch, which means that the information always relates specifically to the raw materials used."
Materiality as a compass
The most important point when implementing a digital product passport is to first define the key parameters. "It is crucial to always bear in mind why you are doing all this: it is about relevance in terms of the impact of your own business model – not about every decimal place, but about the clear and comprehensible presentation of important information. Another major challenge is to see regulation not just as an obligation, but to understand its objective: To create transparency about the key aspects of sustainable business and action," says Stephan Multhaupt.
An efficient approach to dealing with regulations is to rely more heavily on existing standards and norms. Many ISO standards can be applied directly to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and therefore also to the European Union's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Green Deal, explains the expert. If existing structures are utilised to a greater extent and integrated sensibly, this simplifies processes and creates reliable, comprehensible framework conditions for all parties involved.
Understanding all facets of sustainability
Also important in advance: understanding sustainability in all its dimensions. In addition to CO2 emissions, this also includes social justice, supply chains, biodiversity, clean water, clean air, marine protection and much more. Stephan Multhaupt: "Only when you have this basic understanding you can take the next step: analysing the connection between your own business model and the various aspects of sustainability. This is the only way to recognise what impact your own value creation has on these dimensions."
External databases as support
Furthermore, the existing data should be checked and its quality assessed. It is crucial that the data is consistent and reliable before starting implementation. "It can also be helpful to use external databases for certain reference values. Especially if you can't record all process steps in detail yourself, you can find defined values there that have been determined by previous measurements and research," explains Stephan Multhaupt.
Ingo Lomp advises forming an interdisciplinary team of experts to tackle this complex task: Programming specialists, laboratory experts and employees from procurement need to work closely together. External support from an experienced agency may also be useful.
Database examples
- ecoinvent
- ELCD (European Reference Life Cycle Database)
- GaBi
- ÖKOBAUDAT
Step by step – from beginner to professional
"Sustainability is complex, but no one expects every detail to be perfect from the outset. Many standards and detailed requirements are still being developed and will be further elaborated through research projects. The first step is to get started and orientate yourself on the existing specifications, even if not everything has been defined down to the last detail," emphasises Stephan Multhaupt.
Ingo Lomp compares the digital product passport process to learning to drive a car: "It starts with preparation, where you familiarise yourself with the basics and the road traffic regulations. Initially, there is support, whether from consultants or internal experts who intervene like driving instructors and guide you in the planned direction. Over time, you gain routine, develop a feel for the "data traffic" and learn what to look out for. Ultimately, the aim is to gradually become more secure and confident in dealing with data and sustainability."
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