Retail & E-commerce
What Retailers Ask Suppliers For
Which DPP data European retailers and brands request from suppliers — a typical request list, formats and how to build a response strategy.
For most manufacturers, what triggers DPP preparation is not regulation but the buyer contract. European retailers and brands have started requesting data from suppliers for their own compliance — and that request runs years ahead of the regulatory calendar.
A typical request list
| Requested | Format | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Material composition | Share plus material code | Medium |
| Countries of origin | ISO 3166, by stage | High (tier-2/3) |
| Production facility | Name plus address, or GLN | Medium |
| Recycled content | Share plus evidence | High |
| Certificates | Number plus validity | Low |
| Chemical declaration | Substance plus threshold | Medium |
| Carbon footprint | kg CO2e plus method | High |
See DPP data fields and textile DPP data points.
Why every customer asks differently
Because every brand uses its own platform and template. On the supplier side the result is the same data requested repeatedly in different formats.
The answer is to move from defence to offence: build your own canonical data set and derive every response from it. A new customer form then becomes a mapping exercise rather than a data collection exercise. See the DPP data model guide.
A response strategy
- Canonical data set: all fields in one place, with source references.
- Mapping tables: customer A's field ↔ your field.
- Evidence archive: certificates and test reports, structured.
- A response time target: how many days to answer a request?
- A confidentiality policy: which data in which tier. See protecting trade secrets.
Is this an opportunity?
Yes. Suppliers that deliver data quickly and accurately stand out, and "data provision performance" is now a line on many brands' supplier scorecards. See business benefits of a DPP and brand differentiation with a DPP.
Frequently asked questions
Can a customer ask me to publish a passport?
Yes, increasingly. In that case the passport is published in your name and feeds data into the customer's own passport.
I cannot supply a requested field. What do I do?
Explain the status rather than leaving it blank: "supplier process under way, target date X". Silence is the worst answer.
They want carbon data and I have no LCA.
Produce a baseline with secondary data and declare the method, then improve it. See how to calculate a PCF.
