Supplier data collection: the hardest part of a Digital Product Passport

A manufacturer usually controls only part of the information required for a DPP. Important facts often sit with upstream suppliers.

What might you need? Textile producers may need fibre origin and chemical declarations. Metal producers may need scrap source and facility emissions. Furniture makers may need wood origin and certification. Battery manufacturers may need cell-manufacturer and critical-raw-material information.

Good practice ### Ask only what that supplier owns Short, role-specific requests get better responses than long generic forms.

Request data at the right production level Origin or material information can change between lots, so batch-specific declarations may be necessary.

Make it mobile-friendly A supplier should be able to open a secure link and submit requested fields without creating a full account.

Allow unknowns Do not encourage guessing. Missing information can be followed up; invented information creates risk.

Keep an audit trail Record who supplied the information, when it was submitted and which product or batch it supports.