1.3.2. New value across the product lifecycle

Traditionally, a company captures value only at the point of sale, the remainder of the product lifecycle, like resale, repair or upcycling being outside its viewpoint and control. DPPs change the status quo by linking a digital identity to the product for its entire lifecycle. This allows the company and its partners recognize, service and re-engage a product long after it has left the shop. Analysts increasingly describe this as a shift from customer lifetime value to product lifetime value, also known as the total value a single item can generate across all its uses.

Bain & Company estimates that, once post-sale and resale activity is counted, a product’s lifetime value could roughly double; and while consumers capture much of that new value, a visible, well-documented after-sales life also raises the appeal of first-hand goods. The passport is what makes these activities practical at scale, because each service can be anchored to the same product-level data rather than rebuilt separately every time. The avenues below show where that value tends to sit, with real examples, and the final part explains how a company can work out which of them fit its own products.

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