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Know more, act better: RFID as the key to the digital product passport

Digitaler Produktpass
Traceability

More transparency, less effort: How RFID paves the way to the digital product passport.

The digital product passport: What companies can expect

The EU is getting serious about the circular economy. One of the central building blocks: the Digital Product Passport (DPP). According to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), it is intended to help use resources more efficiently, create transparency and make sustainability measurable. The DPP will become mandatory for the first product groups as early as 2027. What does this mean for the industry?

The Digital Product Passport is essentially a structured data set that is assigned to a product. It documents the entire life cycle - from raw material extraction through production and use to recycling. The assignment is made using digital identification technologies such as RFID transponders. RFID in particular offers new opportunities for the industry.

 

RFID: Digital identity that stays

RFID solutions enable the identification of objects without visual contact. Unlike QR or barcodes, they work without visual contact, are more robust, reusable and store more information. RFID transponders really come into their own in production or logistics processes with high levels of stress (e.g. heat, dirt, washing processes).

 

Typical advantages of RFID in relation to DPP:

  • Unambiguous identification of a large number of products at once (bulk readings)
  • Automated data updating along the supply chain
  • Durability even with high requirements
  • Storage of process and status data (e.g. machine data)

An RFID transponder thus becomes the digital DNA of a product - and carries all the information required in the DPP.

 

 

Paper is a thing of the past: Sustainability starts with labeling

DPP

Many companies still work with paper-based systems: Order papers, routing cards, labels, flyers. These have to be printed, maintained, updated and renewed. This not only costs time, but also resources.

With RFID-supported systems, the effort can be massively reduced. A one-off, long-lasting identification - for example directly on load carriers, tools or containers - is sufficient to digitally map processes. Information on usage, condition or origin can be retrieved at any time. This not only makes processes more efficient, but also eco-friendly.

SIGMA Chemnitz: RFID tracking that makes processes visible

SIGMA was helping customers to collect and visualize product information along the value chain long before the term "digital product passport" was on everyone's lips - with RFID.

Whether production, intralogistics or warehouse management: with its proprietary traceability software solution GRAIDWARE®, SIGMA not only tracks objects, but also links them to process data. This makes digitalization tangible. SIGMA's systems are used in numerous industries and provide exactly the depth of data that a DPP later requires.

Traceability is already a legal requirement in the food industry - experience from existing traceability projects is a decisive success factor for the introduction of such systems.

 

Use case: Digital twins for the supply chain

A pan-European supplier with several locations was faced with a logistical challenge: deliveries to different customers had to be managed efficiently without the suppliers communicating directly with each other. The aim was to avoid exhausting storage capacity, coordinate returns and avoid excess stock.

SIGMA provided support here with a system for the automated RFID recording of pallets, including a digital twin. Each product was made identifiable via an RFID tag. The movements between locations were automatically documented via read points. The result: full transparency, optimized circulation planning, less communication effort - and all without paper.

 

Conclusion: The DPP is coming - RFID is already here

Those who start smart labeling their products today will be ideally equipped for tomorrow. RFID provides the basis for transparency, process reliability and sustainability. And SIGMA Chemnitz is the right partner when it comes to making this technology practicable - across industries, systems and borders.

Viktor Wagner

Viktor Wagner

Managing Director

Viktor Wagner has 12 years of professional experience as a consultant for digitalization at SIGMA Chemnitz. His expertise covers various areas, including RFID applications and the planning of RFID projects, the assessment of the feasibility of RFID projects, the design of solutions and the sale of software solutions.

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