DPP for Small and Medium-sized enterprises

Digital product passports are aimed at creating a more sustainable and circular Europe. When every product has it’s own digital twin with all the relevant sustainability information on it, then consumers can make informed choices about what they are buying and learn how to extend the lifetime of their products.

Most people agree that this is a good idea. But how do you actually make it happen? Large organisations are already using data management systems like PIM, ERP or PLM systems to gather and manage all their data. They are also adding in tools like Kolla’s to help them communicate this information in a compelling way. Some of them are developing their own tailor-made solution.

But what happens, when you don’t have large IT systems backing you up? Where do you start and what do you do?

We split the work into three key areas

• Gather data
• Manage data
• Communicate data

Gather DPP data for your SME

The good news is that a lot of SME’s have already done this. Ok. They haven’t done all of it, but most companies, even small ones, usually find that they have a lot of information available today. So, start mapping out what you have. The reality is that the EU hasn’t set exactly what should be in each digital product passport. Our previous article looks at the main ones and what you’ll likely need. The EU is breaking it down from industry to industry. The battery industry will need different data than the fashion industry for example. The EU aims to come out with ‘delegated acts’ in early 2026 with a list of what needs to be there. In the meantime, an EU study done of the textile sector highlighted sixteen possible areas where information would be required. How do I measure emissions? One of the data points mentioned above is CO2 emissions. This is one of those points that is a potential headache for a lot of brands, in particular SME’s. Several highly sustainable brands have made huge grounds by adding recycled material into their products or cutting emissions by using renewable energy, but haven't actually measured their emissions or the emissions and energy output of their products. If you haven’t started this, then there are ai tools you can use also to give yourself a good starting point. There are also consultants with expertise in this area (talk to us – we’re not those consultants but we know who to talk to). One of those tools is an ai tool called Aimabel. Our sustainability experts have recommended this as a good way for smaller companies to get into this area.

Managing the data – to PIM or not to PIM? Once you’ve got this information gathered, you need to manage it somehow. It’s on an Excel sheet today – right? Well, try to get it into some kind of data management tool. PIM systems are ideal but most are probably a bit pricy for the amount of products you have. However, there are PIM alternatives for small and medium sized enterprises that aren’t so expensive. Talk to us here as we’re partnering with a couple of PIM suppliers and working on a solution for SME’s to meet your financial needs and still provide a single source of truth for all your product information. If however, you feel you want to maximise this data in several ways, then you probably should talk to an external consultant. There are several out there, like Cypoint Inspire, that will create data models for you to maximise your data in the best possible way.

Communicate data Now, you’ve got to communicate that data. This is where Kolla comes to the fore. We are partnering with some PIM suppliers to provide a fully workable DPP solution and provide you with branded digital product passports that look really good. We are developing a basic package that you can just buy ‘off the shelf’ which is a PIM-system linked with Kolla’s platform. The data you provide in the PIM system will fall naturally into your attractive DPP without you having to do anything. If you want to take it a step further, then talk to us about a tailor-made digital product passport to match your needs and that of your customers. What we’ll do is talk to you about what data is required by EU-law but then we’ll look at your business again and think about what data could or should go into your DPP. How can you make your digital product passport a brand experience and what kind of content could your audience be interested in? This will be a case of content strategy and deciding what to put into your DPP and what to not put into your DPP.

When we know what needs to be in there we’ll either create the design on our side with you, or you’ll show us a design and we’ll make it work in the Kolla platform.

If you have a really small number of products, then maybe you don’t need a PIM at all and we don’t need to automate the production of microsites but manually create them in Kolla and provide the right information. But this is if you have less than 30 products or thereabouts. If you have more, then it’s probably good to look at getting your product information stored in one of these product information management systems.

What can possibly go wrong?

There are a few things worth thinking about. The product identification number is going to be important as you’re going to have a QR-code attached to every product and if you update that product and come out with a new version, you’re going to need a new QR-code for the next version of that product. It might look the same, perform the same but there will be some kind of difference. Maybe your new version has been made with some recycled material and emisisons are lower. You will want to show that in the new version and that means identifying each product correctly. This is why a PIM system is very useful as it can easily handle different versions of a product for example.

We’re using the GS1 digital link standards to make sure you can trace your products back to the right version easily and that we can easily update our versions.

If you realise you need to start looking at DPP and aren’t sure who to talk to, just get in touch and we can help you either find the right people or start collaborating directly with you.