Data Spaces are not enough - Part 2/2

Welcome back readers to our February edition.

Last month I took a deep dive into Data Spaces, explaining why they represent a new integration architecture not only in the supply chain, but also internally. That the standards developed for those have a strong focus on sustainability is good news for sustainable supply chains of course.

But Data Space alone are not enough as we will see this month. The missing pieces are around standardized data structures and how the data gets into the Data Space, considering all the different data sources in an organization.

?The data exchange in Data Spaces is related to physical products, so structuring the data in Digital Product Passports almost seems like a no-brainer, especially as standards like the DPP 4.0 of the EU and the Battery Passport do already exist. As those standards are driven by the respective industries, their relevance is ensured.

Besides assets, Digital Twins can also be used for the products that are manufactured and shipped to customers. This includes industrial products like bearings, braking systems, robots, turbines or cars. So having Digital Twins of the products you produce and put the data into Digital Product Passport and exchange via Data Space and all this using defined industry standards, seems almost too good to be true.

Yes, there are different challenges around the adoption of those standards. First and foremost, it requires an investment in digital, so it is key to have a solid business case. Here looking back at last months’ newsletter can provide some ideas. Considering sustainability reporting requirements this can of course also provide a “business case”, but the risk is that companies implement a quick and cheap solution, that is not sustainable – pun intended ;). ?We can now see new sustainability reporting application being implemented, creating another data silo in the organization with the increases risk of data inconsistencies.? Also, those solution only create reports that I can also do with a standard reporting solution, without being able to use the data for additional purpose, like sending CO2 data of my products to my customers. It is a not a quick win, but rather a quick fix, with higher maintenance cost in the future and no opportunity to leverage the investment for other use cases in the future. We can hope, that holistic, strategic thinking consultants, show organizations how Digital Twins, Data Spaces and Digital Product Passport can be used to implement a sustainability reporting use case, while having created a digital foundation to be used for future sustainability use case – any please remember: According to the Triple Bottomline approach and the UN Sustainable Development Goals; Sustainability = People + Planet + Profit. Looking at new technologies should include looking not just on one bottom line, but on all three bottom lines. This is what is required to build Sustainable Supply Chains.

Happy to engage in a discussion here on this.

See you all again next months.

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