Background

While life cycle data is increasingly demanded, manual data collection is time-consuming. Supply chains are complex, all suppliers do not have competence or capacity to provide the data needed. Personal contacts to explain adds to costs. In many cases there is also a reluctance to share data. Industry expresses a need for approaches that can be shared and harmonized, or even standardized as well as be scaled up. Life cycle data is used by many different roles in different organizational functions, such as supply chain management and purchasing, product development, manufacturing, different sustainability functions and sales. Therefore, data must represent information that can be used for many different purposes.

Aim & objective

The overall aim of working is this field is to improve and facilitate collection of reliable life cycle data. The objective of the project is to identify an industrially grounded map and plan for action areas and resources (technology, competence, funding) needed to meet near and future demands for supply chain sustainability data flow.

Following working packages will be carried out:

1. Inventory of current and future expected practice
2. Outlook analysis of trends in business and society
3. Analysis of gaps and challenges
4. Synthesis and design of solution options and action plan

Expected outcomes

The explicit ambition of the applicants is to continue beyond this pre-study by achieving commitment from the participating industry partners to carry on with an implementation project. Beyond the specific project results, the participating organizations are expected to have achieved a better understanding of the internal and external prerequisites for a successful implementation of an efficient data management along the value chains of the organization. This is needed to improve the environmental performance of their products and services (over the life cycle), as well as increase their competitiveness.