Regulatory complexity for manufacturing companies is growing faster than most IT landscapes can keep up.
Fragmented material data is the biggest operational risk, not a lack of regulatory knowledge.
Up to 80% of manual data reconciliation can be automated with an integrated compliance platform.
Material compliance is increasingly becoming a strategic control parameter with a direct influence on sourcing, product development, and market access.
The Digital Product Passport is no longer a vision of the future, but the technical data basis is often not ready.
In my work with global manufacturing and industrial companies, I repeatedly encounter a pattern: the issue of material compliance is usually treated internally as a cost factor, a necessary evil that ties up resources without creating visible added value. I consider this view to be a strategic mistake.
Anyone working in the manufacturing industry today is familiar with the trend. Regulatory requirements are increasing, becoming more complex, more networked, and more time-critical.
In addition, geopolitical instability and the ongoing shortage of semiconductors are putting additional pressure on procurement markets. Companies face the challenge of not only being compliant, but staying compliant: in real time, along a multi-layered global supply chain.
What I regularly hear in conversations with managers from operations, procurement, and engineering is that the real challenge is not knowing the requirements, but the data basis.
Material data typically resides in:
ERP systems - with incomplete material master data
PLM solutions - without a direct link to the compliance logic
Excel spreadsheets - manually maintained, error-prone, not versioned
Supplier portals - with different formats and quality levels
External databases - IMDS, SCIP, REACH lists - without automated reconciliation
The result is manual coordination processes that take weeks, a high chance of errors, underestimated risk factors, and a reaction time to new regulations that is simply too slow.