Chapter 1 — full chapter
Chapter 1 — full chapter
1.4.3. Cost, skills and the SME gap
Implementing a passport requires investment in systems, integration and training, and these costs fall unevenly.
Larger firms can spread them across high product volumes, but smaller firms cannot, which is why researchers repeatedly warn that traceability requirements may weigh disproportionately on SMEs with limited IT infrastructure, budgets and specialist expertise.
Set-up costs vary widely with product complexity and portfolio size, and a shortage of digital and sustainability skills can slow adoption further. The technology itself need not be expensive as the European Commission regards the QR code as the most common and lowest-cost data carrier, but the surrounding data work and change management are where effort concentrates.
Practical ways to manage this include using shared or platform-based DPP services rather than building bespoke systems, collaborating with larger supply-chain partners who can share data-management resources, and adopting the technology in phases so that costs are staged rather than incurred all at once.