Xabier Uriagereka
The product no longer starts at delivery to the customer. It starts at design and ends at withdrawal. In 2026, Product Compliance regulation will no longer focus solely on the time of marketing, but will cover the entire life cycle: raw materials, substances, transport, storage, production, market and waste management.
When the product is no longer just a product
Until recently, many organizations understood product regulatory compliance as an obligation associated with the time of marketing. The focus was on the label, the documentation required by the destination market and formal compliance with current regulations.
That approach is now a thing of the past. Product Compliance 2026 completely redefines the perimeter of compliance. The product is no longer evaluated only when it is delivered to the customer. It is analyzed from design to recall.
The regulation now covers:
- Selection and control of raw materials.
- Substances and mixtures that make up each material.
- Transport under specific regulations (ADR, IATA, RID).
- Storage conditions and industrial safety.
- Production processes and handling.
- Commercialization in different markets.
- Waste management and circular economy.
The product is no longer a commercial element. It is a chain of interconnected regulatory risks.
What drives Product Compliance 2026
- Digital Product Passport and extended traceability.
One of the catalysts of the new scenario is the introduction of the digital product passport. This concept requires regulatory information to be structured, traceable and accessible. It is no longer enough to have documentation. It is necessary to demonstrate:
- Consistency between composition and applicable regulations.
- Continuous updating.
- Data integrity.
- Immediate audit capability.
Compliance ceases to be static. It becomes dynamic.
- Substance-focused regulation.
Under Product Compliance 2026, the real regulatory focus is not on the product as a business unit, but on the substances and mixtures of which it is composed. Each material may contain regulated components. Each component may have different restrictions depending on the market. Each market may impose additional requirements.
The critical question is simple Does the organization have real visibility into the controlled substances present in its products?
In industries such as chemicals, automotive, food or fragrances, exposure is obvious. But even less regulated sectors may face unexpected restrictions if they do not know the detailed composition of their materials.
The risk is not only sanctioning. It is a risk of commercial exclusion.
The structural problem. Fragmented information
One of the biggest challenges of Product Compliance 2026 is not legal. It is organizational. In many companies, critical information is scattered:
- Transportation specialists manage logistical requirements.
- Quality teams validate documentation.
- Purchases receive PDF datasheets.
- Production works with partial data.
- IT maintains disconnected systems.
The result is a fragmented structure, where traceability depends on manual efforts. When data is in spreadsheets, emails and local databases, control is fragile. And fragility is risk.
- Legal risk
Non-compliance in transportation, labeling, composition or documentation may result in penalties, regulatory blockages or product recalls.
- Market risk
More and more customers are imposing additional requirements: eco-design standards, proprietary certifications or restrictions that are stricter than the general regulations; a product can be legal and still be left out of a strategic market.
- Strategic risk
If management does not have a clear view on:
- Which markets involve greater regulatory requirements.
- Which substances generate greater exposure.
- What it would cost to adapt to new regulations.
You are making business decisions without structured visibility of risk. That’s not an operational issue. It’s a governance issue.
Structural approach. SAP Product Compliance
In Product Compliance 2026, the IT department is no longer a mere technological support. It becomes the guarantor of regulatory control. The only way to sustain regulatory complexity is through:
- Data integration.
- Structuring of materials and substances.
- Automatic association of regulatory requirements.
- Full life cycle traceability.
- Real-time auditing capability.
- Without integration, compliance is reactive. With integration, it is strategic.
Solutions such as SAP Product Compliance enable:
- Declare regulatory agents (authorities, markets, customers).
- Associating materials with controlled substances.
- Link specific requirements by market.
- Integrate design, purchasing, production and marketing.
- Centralize information in a single, auditable environment.
This approach allows specialists to focus on what is relevant: analysis and decision making, not manual consolidation of data. Technology does not replace expert judgment. It enhances it. The key, then, is not just to avoid penalties. Organizations that structure their compliance will be able to:
- Access new markets with greater agility.
- Assess the regulatory impact before launching a product.
- Adapt composition or design with consolidated data.
- Reduce uncertainty in international expansion processes.
Compliance is no longer a cost. It becomes a strategic enabler.
