1. The visible part: the QR code

The QR code, or any other data carrier, acts as the access point between the physical product and its Digital Product Passport. Attached to a product, its packaging, or accompanying documentation, it allows users to access product-specific information.

Hence, depending on the sector and applicable requirements, this may include:

• Materials
• Compliance documents
• Repair instructions
• Recycling guidance
• Other relevant data

However, the QR code is not the passport itself. It does not create trust on its own. Its value depends on the traceability system behind it: the unique identifier it points to, the quality of the data made available, and the infrastructure that captures and moves that data so the right information reaches the right stakeholders at the right time.

This is why the visible part of a DPP is only as strong as the traceability work behind it.

2. The 5 pillars behind a reliable DPP

A reliable DPP requires more than publishing product information online. It requires companies to understand their data, make it trustworthy, connect it to the right product identity, integrate it across systems, and manage access over time.

In practice, these are the same building blocks that any traceability infrastructure is built on: knowing where data comes from, keeping it accurate as it moves between actors, and being able to follow a product’s history end-to-end.

Here are five pillars companies need to consider when preparing for a Digital Product Passport.

Pillar 1 – Map the data

Before building a Digital Product Passport, companies first need to understand what product data they already have. This means identifying:

1. Which information exists
2. Where it is stored
3. Who owns it internally
4. What is still missing

Product data may be spread across different departments and systems, from compliance and quality teams to supply chain, product development, marketing, or external suppliers.

This is where traceability begins: with a clear view of how product information is created and how it can be followed as it moves across the value chain. This mapping step is essential because a DPP cannot be built on assumptions. Companies need to know what they have before they can decide what needs to be collected, verified, updated, or connected. Without this foundation, the risk is creating a digital interface that looks complete from the outside but relies on fragmented or incomplete information behind the scenes.

Pillar 2 – Make the data reliable and structured

Having product data is not enough. It must also be reliable, structured, and usable.

For a Digital Product Passport to support compliance, product information needs to be complete, consistent, up to date, and easy to exchange between systems.

This requires companies to:

• Harmonize formats
• Remove inconsistencies
• Check the quality of the information
• Define clear rules for how data should be maintained

This step matters because DPP data may be used by very different audiences: consumers, authorities, repairers, recyclers, and business partners. If the data is outdated, duplicated, or hard to interpret, the passport loses part of its value, and so does the traceability it’s meant to provide. A reliable DPP starts with data that can be trusted.

Pillar 3 – Link the physical product to its digital identity

A Digital Product Passport only works if the physical product can be connected to the right digital information. This is where unique identifiers and data carriers play a key role.

A product, batch, or model needs to be linked to a digital identity through a unique identifier and accessed through a data carrier such as a QR code, Data Matrix, or another format.

• The data carrier is what users can scan.
• The identifier is what ensures that the scan leads to the correct product information, and that every event recorded against that product, from production to resale, ties back to the same digital identity.

The connection between the physical and digital worlds is one of the most important parts of the DPP infrastructure. Without it, companies cannot ensure that the right passport is linked to the right product.

This link between the physical and digital product is at the heart of PSQR’s traceability expertise.

Pillar 4 – Connect systems and partners

A Digital Product Passport does not exist in isolation. The information behind it often comes from multiple systems and actors. Product data may be stored in:

In many cases, external partners also need to contribute data, especially when product information depends on materials, components, manufacturing steps, certifications, or supply chain events.

This means companies need to think beyond one internal database. They need systems that can exchange information, support interoperability, and connect data across the value chain, turning isolated records into a continuous chain of custody for the product.

Pillar 5 – Govern access and lifecycle

Not all DPP information is meant to be accessed by everyone.

Consumers, market surveillance authorities, repairers, recyclers, suppliers, and business partners may each need different levels of access. Some information may be public, while other data may be restricted, sensitive, or only relevant to specific stakeholders. This makes access governance a key part of DPP readiness.

Companies need to define who can access which information, under what conditions, and how that access is managed over time. They also need to consider the lifecycle of the passport itself.

Product information may evolve after the product is placed on the market, for example, through repairs, updates, resale, recycling, certification changes, or end-of-life processes. Tracing these events over time, not just the product’s origin, is what keeps the passport meaningful years after the first scan.

A reliable DPP is therefore not static. It needs to remain accurate and useful throughout the product lifecycle.

Conclusion

At PSQR, this is how we see the DPP and Digital Product Passport compliance: not as a final digital label, but as a traceability infrastructure built to support reliable product information over time.

The QR code may be the visible access point, but the reliability of the passport depends on everything behind it: the quality of the data, the connection between the physical product and its digital identity, the integration of systems and partners, and the governance of access throughout the product lifecycle.

As DPP requirements move closer to implementation, companies that start building their traceability foundation early will be in a stronger position to meet future obligations and build more transparent, trustworthy, and resilient supply chains.

In the end, a DPP is no just something companies publish. It is something they trace, and something they build.