Digital Product Passport: Making Product Data Interoperable with ECLASS and AAS

Today on the IoT Use Case Podcast, we will be talking about a whole range of exciting concepts like the Asset Administration Shell (AAS), the semantics of ECLASS, the Digital Product Passport, the controversy surrounding the Digital Twin, and much more. These will be explained in an accessible way by my guests, with practical examples and a focus on the strategic relevance for businesses. We’ll discuss why it is important to become active in this area. We have representatives from three organizations as guests: ECLASS e.V., a registered association that provides globally established classification standards for product master data in the industry; Neoception, a solutions provider specializing in digital twins and the Asset Administration Shell; and WAGO, an internationally operating family business in connection and automation technology with about 9,000 employees and a turnover of over 1 billion euros. The Digital Product Passport – does it make sense? We’ll clear it up together. We’ll clear it up together.

Hello and welcome to the IoT Use Case Podcast. Joining me today are three interesting guests: Thorsten Kroke, Managing Director of ECLASS e.V., Adrian Grüner, Director of Sales Excellence at Neoception, and Simone Brinkmann-Tewes, Head of Digital Engineering Experience at WAGO. To get straight to the point despite the many interesting guests, we will start with Thorsten, who will explain the big picture around data standards, then move on to Adrian, who will present the specific solution, and lastly to Simone, to discuss practical implementation. Simone and Adrian, feel free to jump in earlier if you have something to add or comments to make. Thorsten, over to you: Please introduce yourself – where are you, what do you do, and what does ECLASS do?

Thorsten

Thank you, Peter, and thanks again for the invitation. My name is Thorsten Kroke. As you mentioned, I am the General Manager of ECLASS e.V. – and this year marks my tenth anniversary. I have been involved for a long time, originally trained as a business informatician, I was in management consulting, and spent seven years driving data standardization at REWE. Now, for the past ten years, I’ve been leading ECLASS. ECLASS is a global, semantic digital standard for classifying and describing products. This is important for systems and machines. Our focus is on Europe, and it’s a lot of fun because, in addition to the electrical industry, we also serve many other sectors: medical technology, the paper industry, the chemical industry, and so on. Right now, I’m working from home because we’re having a bit of a snow chaos. When two snowflakes fall in Cologne, the whole traffic breaks down, so I’m recording from home today.

Thank you for being here. There are many interesting terms in this context. You mentioned semantic standards: What is semantics, what role does it play in the industry, and why is it important? And then also in terms of the product passport: How does it relate to ECLASS, the Asset Administration Shell, and so on? Can you clear that up and explain it for us?

Thorsten

Let me explain with an example. Back in the day, without digitalization, in the procurement use case, it was important in purchasing: “Give me your components and parts.” Back then, people used to send letters, faxes, and typewritten papers back and forth, the good old product catalogs, as thick as the old Quelle catalog. I don’t think that exists anymore. So, what’s it about? How do companies do it today? A simple example: imagine you enter your products into an Excel sheet. You have column headers in the Excel sheet, and semantics determines what those columns look like: the first column might be the product number, the second column the manufacturer name, and the third column perhaps the gross weight in grams. You can hear: there’s a unit included. Then you continue to fill out these Excel columns. This makes it easy for the recipient to read the data because they know which information is in which column of the Excel sheet. Semantics roughly defines the columns. The Excel rows come from the manufacturer in data exchange, where they enter thousands of products row by row. It’s not that simple. Today, there are various exchange formats. We’ll be talking today about the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) as a data container and ECLASS as the semantics. It is absolutely sensible to make this a standard so that everyone agrees on something. If that’s not the case, you always have interpretation efforts at the interfaces. A standard ensures that a data container is clear, that it can be easily imported and ideally read by machines. Semantics ensures that I understand exactly what’s inside. ECLASS is a semantic. We can describe more than 44,000 different products and have over 20,000 so-called attributes or properties to do this. The gross weight in grams is one of them. It’s an incredible variety. We’ve been around for 25 years. Currently, the Digital Product Passport (DPP) is in focus. This is a regulation, essentially a law of the EU, which states that for all products traded and sold within the EU, it must be clearly identifiable what kind of product it is, what properties it has, and additional information related to the environment: recycling, dismantling, contained hazardous substances, CO₂ footprint, and so on. This is a semantic part of data description that must also be provided in a container. ECLASS is involved in the standardization of this DPP, this digital product passport. It could be something like a passport for products. We try to represent the industrial interests there because it would be a disaster for the European industry if the wheel gets reinvented and a lot of effort is required to create product passports. It’s better to rely on existing standards and technologies. The DPP will catch up with us. It will affect almost all products in the EU that are traded in some way. I don’t see this as an obligation, but as an opportunity. The DPP offers many benefits: cleaning up the data, but also providing additional value.

That was great, Thorsten. I’m definitely going to clip this and play it every time someone asks “Explain this to me.” Very clear, thank you. One more question before we continue: A standard or this kind of semantics relies on as many people as possible using it to gain the advantage in the ecosystem. Are there alternatives, competing standards? And there are initiatives like Gaia-X or Catena-X that are pushing for data exchange. How would you view that? Who are the promoters and users of ECLASS, and who might be its opponents?

Thorsten

With standards, it’s always like this: network effects come into play. The more people use and develop a standard, the more successful it becomes. And it’s not just ECLASS; there are also other semantic standards. It’s not just the Asset Administration Shell; there are also other data containers. Coexistence is meaningful and exists, but a critical mass must be reached for it to make sense. If we look at Gaia-X: The idea was originally good, but in the end, it produced more paperwork than actual implementation. They didn’t rely on established standards to transport or interpret data, and as a result, they received little support from European industry. Now a shitstorm might start: I view Catena-X similarly critically. Here too, they didn’t start with established technologies, like the Asset Administration Shell, like ECLASS, or even ETIM as a standard, which is widely used and successful in the electrical industry. Or IEC CDD, another semantic standard promoted by the IEC. Many companies that already use standards find it difficult to also participate in multiple initiatives. Other X-initiatives like Manufacturing-X, Factory-X, or even Furniture-X are doing this better. They rely on established standards and don’t reinvent the wheel. After this broadcast, I’m expecting shitstorm.

I’m hoping for a controversial but productive discussion; discussions that are sparked by these kinds of statements. We definitely look forward to feedback.

[09:26] Challenges, potentials and status quo – This is what the use case looks like in practice

Now we’ve spoken generally. Adrian, please introduce Neoception as a company, and how are you implementing this specifically? What led you to build a product?

Adrian

Hello everyone, I’m happy to be here. I used to say: There’s nothing more boring than master data and standardization. But after I started working on it, I realized how cool it actually is and what potential lies in it. I’ve been dealing with these topics for over ten years – actually, since the beginning of Industry 4.0 – because I’ve seen many Industry 4.0 projects fail because the business cases eventually weren’t sustainable due to the large integration efforts. The Asset Administration Shell together with ECLASS offers a great foundation to reduce integration efforts, simplify data exchange, and make the cases we’ve gathered over 10 to 12 years a reality. As for me: I’ve been in the automation industry for about 12 years and since 2018 I’ve been specifically in the digitalization sector. Since 2021, I’ve been responsible for Sales Excellence at Neoception GmbH – that includes business development, marketing, and sales. We are a software company that creates software products. We incorporate our core competencies into these products: industrial processes and challenges, but also data semantics and standardization as well as the data container, which Thorsten mentioned – the Asset Administration Shell. As far as we know, we are currently the only company that defines a complete business around the Asset Administration Shell. We underline this, among other things, through our membership in the Industrial Digital Twin Association (IDTA). This is the association in Germany that promotes the Asset Administration Shell as a standard, and it has now become very international. We are active members and also a solution provider for ECLASS. Our solution includes ECLASS, and when Simone talks about it, it’s an essential part of the solution that has brought advantages at WAGO.

The Digital Twin is also somewhat of an unfulfilled promise in the industry. Some people say that when they have holograms, they have a Digital Twin. That can be seen on many levels. Can you clarify that? What do you hope for from it, what do customers expect, and how are you addressing it?

Adrian

You could almost say that the Digital Twin has already been somewhat tarnished, just like Industry 4.0. We need to be very careful, also with the Digital Product Passport, not to fall into the same marketing trap. The Digital Twin that everyone immediately envisions is some kind of virtualization or simulation – that has been around for ages. I remember my first job at a machine tool manufacturer: they always had a virtual machine that they offered customers. But it was a proprietary system: data from the machine manufacturer, system from the machine manufacturer, and customers could only use it if they bought that system. The Digital Twin we’re talking about here is more of a digital information twin, highly standardized, with a focus on significantly simplifying data exchange between companies and domains. We are convinced that it will become a differentiating factor in the future to provide data to customers conveniently. If we look at it privately: Many people have cloud connectivity on their smartphones, photos are automatically uploaded, there are hardly any system breaks. Then there are AI models: where the pictures were taken, who is in them? This only works with high standardization. This is the background of the Asset Administration Shell: we don’t want to replace anything in legacy systems or add something proprietary, but rather exchange data that both sides can interpret equally. When you then realize what the Digital Product Passport wants, you have to ask: Are the data I provide not also interesting for other recipients beyond the EU – for example, internal or external customers? And would they be willing to pay for it – not necessarily as an additional charge, but as a differentiating feature? Will my customer choose the supplier who provides data in the form of the Asset Administration Shell conveniently, or the one I have to call and ask: “Can you please fill out the Excel sheet?” If you say: “I just want the DPP for the EU,” there will certainly be simpler services. But then you are giving away data sovereignty. Our approach: The manufacturer should integrate it themselves, operate it themselves, and decide which data goes to which recipients, in what depth and quality – full control over the data – and still comply with the DPP.

Thorsten

A little personal story: Simone, you’ll like this. Three years ago, we had a photovoltaic system installed, and we also have WAGO components. I asked the electrician why WAGO. He said: “Look,” and scanned the digital nameplate. “I get a lot of information that helps me.” A young electrician, scanning with his smartphone, has everything available: “That’s why I prefer to install WAGO.” This shows: it has to work, in B2C and B2B, even for the small ones.

Great example – and now we get into the practical side. Simone, over to you: Thank you for your patience. What have you considered at WAGO? Please introduce WAGO as a company and how you got involved in this topic.

Simone

Hello also from my side to everyone in the room and to the audience. I’m Simone Brinkmann-Tewes, and I can now flex: I’ve been at WAGO for almost 29 years. I always find it exciting when not just technologies or data and semantics are discussed theoretically, but when they are transferred into practice, making them more tangible – even if it might be about completely different products than the ones my company manufactures. A little about WAGO: The WAGO Group is one of the leading international providers of connection and automation technology and interface electronics. Our products can be found in industries, railways, energy technology, and building and lighting technology. So, you might know us: even if you don’t see us, WAGO’s connection terminals are probably installed somewhere in your home, in your electrical boxes. A little about me: I am Head of Digital Engineering Experience. What does that have to do with hardware products? We try to make it easier for our customers to work with physical products by providing them with digital data and software tools that they need for planning, engineering, and commissioning. In this context, I have been active in ECLASS’s CAx working group since 2008, and gradually stumbled upon topics like AAS and DPP, and I am trying to bring WAGO’s data up to date with technology.

Where did the motivation come from to get involved in this? Did management say, “You have to do something about this,” or did it come from specific customer demand? What sparked this initiative?

Simone

I’d like to go back to standardization. Digital processes are becoming increasingly important for our customers. In the past, everything was manually maintained and lovingly processed. But now, more and more data is automatically transferred from A to B without anyone even looking at it. A simple example: Our products have height, width, and depth. And since WAGO is the center of the world, we start the height at the mounting point of the rail. But for a CAE or CAD system that looks at a control cabinet, for them, our height is a depth. When a plausibility check tries to compare these data, error messages might pop up that aren’t actually errors. That’s why we started early to implement these standards and make it clear what our data means, so that the customer can continue to work with it without ambiguity.

Is it mainly about master data, or is this just one part of it?

Simone

Master data is the part I am mainly involved with. It’s certainly just one part. But if we can describe our products clearly and solve the long-term challenges of the various source systems, it’s an important step. Our systems, PLM, ERP, and PIM, have historically grown individually. Each system has the data it needs for its purpose. But we don’t have a source where all the data is available or clearly defined. My example of height could exist in the three systems, but be named differently. The customer then wants to have an ECLASS height in their DPP. This is where we worked with Neoception on the practical implementation of this mapping, so that we will know in the future which is the definitive source with the correct data.

Adrian

I found it exciting to be able to accompany this for the last two and a half years. Simone said: she came from the master data corner, and for her, it was important to first bring all the master data to ECLASS Advanced. Through our expertise in ECLASS, our product includes this as well. That’s why we were selected on the first level. Looking back, I realized that Simone had a much more strategic view. That was just a light-use case. This might also be a hint: how to get started? I should choose a light-use case; it doesn’t have to be the digital product passport. It can be something simple, like getting master data to ECLASS, and then finding more supporters in the company. Exactly this is happening at WAGO: I suddenly speak to new departments we didn’t see before – controlling, digital marketing, finance. They become interested, not because they care about the Asset Administration Shell itself, but because they’ve realized: I can save integration efforts and thus become more independent from IT. We often have a bottleneck with overloaded IT. They’re busy with office applications and interfaces. If I come with a new request, I’m on the waiting list for 12 months. But if I want to work more flexibly, it’s important to bring independence into the business. That’s what we’ve created at WAGO. We need to talk not just about regulation and technology but also about benefits – for us, for our companies, and for our customers – especially if we want to stay competitive internationally. There are countries that have released subsidies for 2026 to build the data container or the Asset Administration Shell so that AI applications can be built on top of them. This will be easier if data is clean and semantically defined. In Germany, people still think: “If I build perfect machines, the customer will buy them in the future.” But we need to be able to seamlessly share and deliver data. This can be done by EU industries, by German industries. We have an extremely deep manufacturing capability and can deliver a lot of data. We should use that as a competitive advantage.

Simone

The point with IT is not just that I have to wait in line, but that I also need specialists. IT knows the system, but I need data specialists who can assign the data.

Have you seen concrete successes at WAGO? What use cases do you see, and how do you communicate the benefits? It’s foundational work, which is effortful – and ROI calculations are difficult. How did you design this?

Simone

One point is: I don’t just need IT specialists, but data specialists to calculate the ROI. We want to create a DPP because it will be legally required. But we also think about other transfer media. We provide data for CAE systems. We are conducting initial tests to determine whether this could be provided via an AAS. We also have our own website and CAD portals where we push data. It’s also helpful there: if I map them once and can make them clearly available, I can hand them over to various sinks and always know which data it is.

Decision-makers need to understand this first. What reservations are there? What works to convince relevant people? Who are the relevant stakeholders—CEO, C-level, others?

Thorsten

In general: Start small. Take a small part – morphological data like length, width, height, gross weight, the nameplate, or smaller pieces of information – pick a product and just do it. The biggest hurdle is people: “We’ve always done it this way,” “We do it with the Excel sheet,” the “swivel chair interface,” and “the new technology is useless.” The key is to convince people with small proof of concepts. When you then say: “You handle everything digitally at home – why not in the industry?” that’s a big step.

Adrian

I stumble over the word PoC because often the PoC trap comes with it. I would suggest going toward MVP: implement something productive that’s scalable. Take use cases that were previously considered irrelevant. I used to think paperless documentation would never be paid as a business case. But when you solve paperless documentation through the Asset Administration Shell, you create system integrations that simplify processes so much that – depending on the company size and portfolio – you can actually save seven-figure sums annually. Then the business case works. What’s important to understand is this: I’m introducing a strategic foundational technology that can be used by everyone. That’s why the best route is often through the C-level, because a strategic decision like this can only be made there if you want to roll it out across the company. Integrating the Asset Administration Shell doesn’t cost “two euros” — it’s a high five- to six-figure amount. In today’s economic situation, no business lead will casually escalate something like: “€100,000 for the DPP.” But if I convince the C-level and convey the strategic long-term perspective, the investment becomes small — because the processes I can simplify with it are large. Then you’re no longer talking about the investment. And as Simone described: I can rely on capabilities that are easier to find than scarce IT skills — which are also extremely expensive. Personnel costs are ongoing costs. An integration investment is a one-time cost, and the benefit is continuous.

Thorsten

That’s why we started early with standards and keep emphasizing how important this is for the future. The collaboration with the VPs of Smart Data International and the Digital Unit is close, and fortunately there is a strong level of understanding of what this will bring to customers in the long run.

[29:46] Transferability, scaling and next steps – Here’s how you can use this use case

Thorsten, how is ECLASS evolving? You have 20,000 attributes for 44,000 products. Will that continue, or are there content changes?

Thorsten

Three priorities: First, AI tools will be an essential component for generating new content and closing gaps in the ECLASS content, because new products and requirements keep coming. We tested this last year with outstanding results. We will institutionalize that. Second, stronger partner management with solutions like Neoception, because that really helps. We want to build the bridge — take in inquiries on our side and pass them on to Adrian. Third, this year we are setting content priorities in military technology and protective equipment. Why? There is an unprecedented procurement volume for military and defense equipment in the EU. ECLASS is available in all EU languages, and you have dual use: electrical components for defense systems, mechanical components, spare parts. That’s why ECLASS will play a larger role for the defense industry going forward.

Thank you. Adrian, how is Neoception evolving?

Adrian

We’re keeping our focus on continuing to address the core challenge: bringing together data from different sources, semantifying it, and providing it as an Asset Administration Shell. That remains our focus because we believe the IDTA’s standardization work is not yet complete. Our promise is: everything that comes out of standardization and regulation — like the DPP — becomes an integral part of our product. Our goal is to have the best product on the market for providing Asset Administration Shells. We’re on a very good path. We’re strengthening our footprint particularly in the electronics and automation sector — we’ve been doing that very actively for two years. The battery passport topic is coming next; we already have a toe in the water there. The construction industry is approaching us more strongly. A major target is mechanical engineering: there’s an enormous amount of know-how, data quality, and data depth there. But motivating colleagues to adopt standards and interoperability is a strategic task. We want to get the first ones on board to collaborate.

Simone, Thorsten mentioned dual use and military technology. Is that relevant for you, or are you thinking in a different direction?

Simone

In principle, at WAGO it has become a catchphrase by now: no good data, no AI. That’s where we want to go — providing standardized, classified data for the future, because interfaces between companies and processes inside companies can only be simplified that way. Even though we started early, we still have a lot of hard work ahead of us. We’re always looking for interesting partners with whom we can implement smaller use cases together.

Good point: getting in touch. What are the best ways to reach you? Simone?

Simone

I’m active on LinkedIn. You can find my profile there and feel free to contact me through it.

Adrian

LinkedIn is great. You can also find my contact details via neoception.com. As Neoception, we’re also present at relevant events — with ECLASS, at ZVEI, at IDTA, and anywhere data standardization and the Asset Administration Shell play a role. The fastest way is LinkedIn. I’m happy about any inquiry.

Thorsten

Same for me: LinkedIn is a good idea. I regularly post there about semantic and digital standardization, not only about ECLASS. Just reach out. Otherwise, email works as well — the contact details are on our website. Otherwise, email works as well — the contact details are on our website.

Great. I think this is a topic we need to work on together. Exchange in the ecosystem is crucial. You can also contact me on LinkedIn. My company, Schopf Meta Consult, is more focused on generative AI in an organizational context, but I also do a lot with IoT and data in industry and beyond. Feel free to connect — and see you next time.