Many companies still struggle to see what is happening across their supply chains because the underlying data is fragmented, incomplete or missing altogether. Product information, sourcing records and lifecycle details are often held in separate systems, shared inconsistently or never captured in the first place, making it difficult to trace materials, prove claims or react quickly when disruption hits.
That is the problem Capgemini and Supply Chain Movement are seeking to addr...
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ess with a roadmap centred on digital product passports, or DPPs. The framework argues that DPPs can do more than help firms satisfy emerging regulatory demands. Properly designed, they can become the connective tissue between suppliers, manufacturers, logistics providers and customers, turning scattered information into a more usable picture of the product journey.
At the heart of the roadmap is the idea that visibility depends first on collaboration. Before companies can benefit from richer data, they need clarity over who is responsible for what across the value chain. That means identifying the relevant parties and their regulatory duties, building disclosure and traceability obligations into contracts, and agreeing who owns the information and how it is governed. Without that, even good data can remain trapped in silos or arrive too late to be useful.
Industry commentary around DPPs points to a wider shift in how businesses are thinking about product information. Rudholm Group has argued that linking physical goods to digital identities can help organisations organise data across multiple suppliers, regions and systems, improving trust as well as visibility. Provenant has similarly described DPPs as a secure mechanism for information sharing that can support better decision-making and more proactive risk management throughout the product lifecycle.
The commercial case extends beyond compliance. Wholechain says transparency tools can help brands substantiate claims about origin, sustainability and ethical sourcing, while also giving consumers more confidence in what they are buying. Peer Ledger has made a similar case for real-time traceability and auditable product labels, suggesting that better-labelled, better-verified data can strengthen control processes as well as supplier compliance.
The Capgemini and Supply Chain Movement roadmap places these ideas in a practical sequence. It presents collaboration as the first hurdle, but not the only one. The underlying message is that companies will need a stronger governance model, clearer data responsibilities and more reliable information sharing if they want DPPs to become operational tools rather than static compliance exercises.
That reflects a broader lesson from supply chain visibility projects more generally. Schneider Electric has noted that data silos remain one of the biggest obstacles to end-to-end oversight, particularly when departments and trading partners use different systems and formats. Tive has gone further, arguing that visibility programmes often fail when they collect tracking data but stop short of enabling action, leaving teams to respond only after problems are already visible. In that view, the value of visibility lies not simply in seeing an issue, but in being able to intervene before it disrupts delivery, quality or customer service.
DPPs may therefore be most valuable when they are treated as part of a wider operating model rather than as a standalone technology. Used well, they can support circular economy initiatives, improve traceability, strengthen compliance and create a shared source of truth across a product’s life. Used poorly, they risk becoming just another layer of data without the governance, trust or integration needed to turn information into decisions.
For companies under pressure to meet regulatory requirements while also improving resilience and sustainability, the attraction is clear. A DPP-based approach offers a route to better oversight, but only if businesses are prepared to tackle the harder questions of collaboration, ownership and data quality first.
Source: Noah Wire Services
