The problem isn't the software.
The product passport Is the result. The data is the challenge.
You know what a Digital Product Passport is technically. You also know what the real problem is: the data. Where does it come from? Who in the supply chain delivers what, in which format, at what quality — and by when? So why is almost no provider talking about it? Because it's easier to show dashboards.
What most DPP providers don’t tell you
At trade fairs and in product demos, the battery passport looks great. Scan a QR code, data appears, everything structured, everything clean. What these demos don't show: the road to get there.
Carbon footprint per EN 50693. Material identification under EU chemical regulations. Supplier data from Tier 2 and Tier 3 sources that currently live in PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, or simply in the heads of supplier managers. This data doesn't come from your ERP. It comes from across your entire value chain — and most suppliers have never provided it in structured form.
Talk to DPP providers today and you'll often get answers to questions you didn't ask. How flexible the passport layout is. What marketing features the platform offers. How to use the QR code to build customer loyalty.
Legitimate value-adds — for later. If you need to be compliant by 2027, you have other priorities right now.
The real work happens before the first passport
The battery passport under (EU) 2023/1542 is the result of a data process, not its starting point. Before the first passport can be created, attributes need to be defined, data sources identified, suppliers onboarded, and processes established — in production, across your ERP landscape, and along the entire supply chain.
That's not a software question. It's a process question. And it's particularly challenging for a mid-sized manufacturer without a dedicated IT project budget — because commissioning a consultancy for a hundred-person project isn't an option, financially or operationally.
What helps: a provider who knows this path. Not from two years of battery passport hype, but from an environment that's even more demanding in terms of data quality, traceability, and regulatory precision: pharma serialization under 2011/62/EU. We've been solving exactly these problems since 2018 — data aggregation from complex supply chains, process integration into live production, incremental automation without big-bang projects.
Start Pragmatically — Automate Where It Hurts Most
Full automation from day one isn't a requirement. Anyone who needs to be compliant by 2027 can start today with manual data entry at the digital nameplate and batch level. More operational effort — but a valid, immediately actionable entry point. And it has an underrated advantage: you learn exactly where data is actually missing, where the supply chain breaks down, and where targeted automation will have the most impact.
The digital nameplate is the natural starting point. Capture product data you already know in structured form — no system integration, no project plan, no waiting. From there, you build what makes sense: batch data, supplier onboarding, EC Registry communication, incremental automation where the pain is greatest.
We're also working on AI-assisted approaches that automatically recognize unstructured supplier data — PDFs, Excel exports, email attachments — map it to the right attributes, and transform it for DPP population. Not a promise for today, but a concrete approach to exactly the problem most manufacturers describe as their most painful.
SecIdent has been running in production for regulated markets for over a decade — from pharma serialization to the battery passport under (EU) 2023/1542. The platform handles data management, digital nameplate creation, EC Registry communication, and DPP delivery. Not a startup, not a beta, not a work in progress. ISO 27001 certified, operated exclusively in German data centers. If you're looking for an entry point that doesn't require a large-scale project: book a demo.
