A Practical Guide to the Digital Product Passport

PLM Capabilities Used to Manage DPP Compliance

Due to its comprehensive capabilities in managing product information and processes, PLM software is key for supporting DPP requirements. PLM systems provide a centralized platform for tracking and documenting every stage of a product’s lifecycle, from design and manufacturing to distribution and disposal.

PLM ensures that all necessary information, such as material composition, compliance certifications, and environmental impact, is accurately recorded and easily accessible. By leveraging PLM capabilities, companies can efficiently generate and maintain digital passports, ensuring transparency and traceability throughout the supply chain.

PLM capabilities that support DPP efforts, targets, and goals include:

BOM Management

To begin their digital passport journey, many companies start with the bill of materials (BOM). Implementing appropriate BOM management practices ensures traceability and the accurate recording of all product variations, thereby supporting version control and industry standard compliance.

Type of data and information residing in the BOM could include:

• Approved suppliers
• Compliance certifications
• Customer/consumer information
• Data carrier information
• EOL product requirements
• EU and regulatory agencies requirements that pertain to DPP
• How the product is manufactured and where
• Materials and components used
• Recycling, refurbishing, and service companies
• Standardization of naming conventions

Document Management

PLM provides centralized storage and control of all product and quality documentation, revision controls, and audit trails. Teams can easily track and retrieve documentation associated with the product record such as:

• Design specifications
• Engineering changes
• Manuals if needed to generate reports
• Safety documents
• Standard operating procedures (SOPs)

Requirements Management

Requirements management in PLM helps address compliance early on by embedding regulatory and sustainability criteria into the initial stages of product development. This allows companies to define, document, and manage requirements related to sustainability, regulatory standards, and material sourcing. By maintaining a clear and organized record of requirements, PLM systems help ensure that products meet the necessary criteria for digital product passports right from the beginning, facilitating transparency, traceability, and compliance across the supply chain.

Seamlessly integrating requirements management can help with:

• Collecting data and information from design, production processes, and environmental footprints
• Creating sustainable design and development
• Managing compliance by ensuring all necessary information for a passport is readily available
• Managing design, safety, environmental, test, and other requirements in one system with the product record
• Simplifying product traceability
• Storing EOL information on recycling options
• Visibility across the supply chain

Supply Chain Management

Using PLM helps to identify potential risks early in the supply chain such as reliability issues or compliance challenges. Supply chain management helps support DPP by:

• Enabling collaboration and communication with all stakeholders
• Enhancing transparency and accuracy
• Supporting sustainability practices through tracking across the entire product lifecycle

PLM is not a one size-fits-all scenario

Companies may be wondering if PLM use a standardized framework or a customized approach for each industry or product group when preparing for DPP. Martin Lundqvist, PLM and Configuration Management for QCM Sweden said, “The answer is somewhere in between. The company’s supply chain and how they design their products in different industries are different. You need to be able to calibrate it slightly depending on the industry or the company. Having the possibility to do that is important because you can design more for sustainability if you have an early view of it.”

“By leveraging the strengths of PLM, organizations can create more sustainable, efficient, and transparent product lifecycle processes. PLM serves as the backbone for DPP by centralizing and managing essential product information throughout its lifecycle. Additionally, Arena’s cloud-native architecture enables supply chain collaboration which is essential to gathering critical information from across the extended enterprise.”

—George Lewis, Vice President of Product Strategy, Arena by PTC