As physical goods acquire a persistent digital identity, logistics must learn a new language: structured data, unique identifiers and interoperable systems.
From a QR code to a product data architecture
The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is designed as a digital container of information that can remain associated with a product throughout its lifecycle. Under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), the exact data requirements will vary by product group, but may cover identification, technical characteristics, material composition, recycled content, sustainability attributes, repair and end-of-life information, and documentation supporting compliance. A data carrier such as a QR code provides access to the relevant passport information.
The architecture is deliberately decentralised. The EU DPP Registry is not intended to store the full detailed product record. Instead, it acts as an indexing service holding unique identifiers, registration information and high-level metadata, while the detailed DPP data is maintained by the economic operator or a DPP service provider. Before a covered product is placed on the EU market, the relevant operator must register its DPP in accordance with the applicable legislation. Registration can be performed through a secure user interface or via API integration.
In July 2026, the European Commission also published references to six harmonised DPP standards covering data exchange protocols, unique identifiers, data carriers, data storage and persistence, lifecycle-management APIs and system interoperability. This matters because a DPP is not meant to function as a stand-alone label. It is being built as a data infrastructure capable of connecting manufacturers, importers, digital platforms, authorities and other actors across a value chain.
Implementation will be phased by product category. Under the current timetable, iron and steel are among the first ESPR priority groups, with product-specific requirements expected to be adopted in the fourth quarter of 2026. Textiles, tyres and aluminium are scheduled to follow in 2027, furniture in 2028 and certain ICT products later. Separate EU legislation also introduces DPP-type obligations for other sectors; certain batteries, for example, will require a digital passport from 18 February 2027.
Logistics is where physical goods and digital data must stay connected
Manufacturers may create much of the initial product data, but logistics is where that data must remain attached to the correct physical object. A pallet may be split, shipments can be repacked, products move from factories to warehouses, from containers to distribution centres, and from retail channels into repair, refurbishment or recycling. Every handover creates a risk that the connection between the physical item and its digital record will be broken.
DPP therefore raises the bar for master-data quality and identification discipline. Companies need to know when a model-level identifier is sufficient and when batch, lot or serial-level control is required; where the data carrier should be placed; which information must remain immutable; and what can be updated during the product lifecycle. Warehouse Management Systems, Transport Management Systems and ERP platforms cannot keep inconsistent product codes and still expect DPP workflows to operate reliably.
Reverse logistics makes the value of persistent product data even clearer. When a product is returned, repaired, refurbished, remanufactured or recycled, the passport can help identify materials, components, prior interventions and appropriate end-of-life routes. In a circular economy, the outbound shipment is no longer the end of the logistics story. The same item may re-enter the value chain in a different state, and its data must follow that transition.
DPP also adds a new information layer at the border. The Registry is designed to support access by competent authorities and customs to relevant information under defined access rights. This does not mean that a QR code replaces the customs declaration. It does mean, however, that product identifiers, commercial documentation, logistics records and the product’s digital compliance information will increasingly be expected to tell a consistent story.
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A Digital Product Passport is not simply a QR code attached to a product. The code is only the doorway. Behind it must sit a unique identifier, structured and reliable data, defined access rights, storage and persistence mechanisms, update rules and interoperability across systems. For logistics, the core challenge is keeping the physical item moving through transport, warehousing, returns, repair or recycling accurately linked to the correct digital record throughout its lifecycle. |
Vietnamese exporters should start with data, not labels
For Vietnamese companies exporting to the EU, one of the biggest risks is waiting until a product-specific deadline arrives before beginning DPP preparation. The difficult part is not printing the data carrier. It is assembling reliable information from design, raw materials, suppliers, production, testing, logistics, warranty and end-of-life processes. Today, those data points are often scattered across spreadsheets, internal systems and different organisations in the supply chain.
A practical first step is to build a product-data map: what information already exists, who owns it, how trustworthy it is, where it is updated and what can legally or commercially be shared. Only then should companies move to code harmonisation, ERP-WMS-TMS integration, supplier connectivity, access-right design and DPP platform selection. If source data is incomplete or inaccurate, a polished digital passport interface will not create compliance.
Logistics providers should also see DPP as an opportunity to move into higher-value services. Beyond transport and warehousing, they can support data validation at handover points, serial and batch control, condition records, reverse-logistics workflows, data exchange between cargo owners and recyclers, and chain-of-custody services for products requiring deep traceability. This is an emerging competitive space where logistics, technology and compliance increasingly overlap.
The strategic objective should be to avoid building a separate data solution for every new regulation. DPP, deforestation due diligence, carbon information, origin traceability, electronic trade documents and customs requirements increasingly depend on the same foundation: trusted product master data. Companies that solve this core data layer once can reuse it across multiple obligations and markets rather than creating another generation of disconnected data silos.
Digital Product Passports are pushing supply-chain transparency down to the level of the individual product. Logistics has traditionally been expected to answer three questions: where is the cargo, when will it arrive and what will it cost? The next phase adds new questions: what exactly is this product, what is it made of, where has it been, who has acted on it and what should happen when its useful life ends?
That is why logistics must learn a new language. It is not the language of a QR code, but of identifiers, structured data, interoperability and chain of custody. In future trade, the cargo will no longer travel alone. It will move with a data stream whose commercial and compliance value may become almost as important as the physical product itself.
