Glossary · DPP in the company: ownership and trust
DPP source of truth
Also known as: passport source of truth, DPP master data source, authoritative DPP source
A DPP source of truth is the system designated as authoritative for one type of digital product passport data, such as materials, supplier declarations or repair information. Other systems, including the passport platform, hold copies that yield to it when they disagree.
- EU
- DPP
- Data governance
In one sentence
A DPP source of truth names the authoritative system for each type of passport data; the passport and other systems only hold copies.
Example
The PLM system is the source of truth for materials, the supplier portal for substance declarations and the documentation system for repair instructions; the passport platform reads all three and owns none.
How it applies
- Typical sources: ERP, PLM, PIM, quality management systems, supplier portals, sustainability tools, documentation and content management systems, service databases — and spreadsheets that often hold more than anyone admits.
- Owns vs. copies: For each passport field, record which system owns the value and which systems copy it. The passport platform should normally be a consumer, not a second master.
- Conflicts: When two systems disagree, the rule says which wins and who corrects the other; see source of truth and authoritative source boundary.
- Spreadsheets: Move values that live only in spreadsheets into a governed system or assign them an owner, version and review date.
- Technical documentation: Manuals and passport should draw the same values from the same source instead of copying from each other.
Compared with the USA, Canada and China
Source-of-truth questions arise wherever traceability data is reported, from US pharmaceutical serialization to Chinese battery codes. The EU passport makes them more pressing because the data is shared, partly public and must stay current.
Read more on AI TechDoc Press
- Who owns the EU Digital Product Passport?
- Beyond PIM: building the product data bridge between MR and DPP
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