Investing in Data Flows

A practical guide to choosing the right data partner

In the construction value chain, information needs to move as smoothly as materials. For products to be selected, specified, purchased, shipped, and installed, stakeholders rely on accurate, up-to-date product data from dimensions and performance to certifications, carbon footprint, and sustainability metrics. Product data is no longer just a technical detail: it’s a strategic asset.

Read the complete buying guide Explore Prodikt for distributors

Key takeaways

Investing in structured product data helps organizations deliver:

Business value: build trust, stand out, and support data-driven decisions
Scalable efficiency: reduce manual work and improve collaboration across systems
From files to flows: move beyond static PDFs to standardized, machine-readable data
Compliance readiness: keep pace with rising requirements for traceability, climate data, and digital product information

Conclusion: Digitalization means moving away from static documents and ensuring product data is available in dynamic formats at the right moment, for the proper use cases.

Why digital product data matters now

Construction is becoming increasingly data-driven. Architects, engineers, contractors, distributors, and digital platforms need product information that’s structured and machine-readable.

When product data is digital, accurate, and current, teams across the value chain can:

Automate processes and reduce manual work
Reduce errors and information gaps
Improve decision-making with reliable, comparable data
Enable traceability from manufacturing to the finished building

A shift in responsibilities

Expectations around product information have expanded.

Manufacturers remain central, but distributors and software providers are increasingly expected to deliver and quality-assure product data.
Requirements around traceability, climate reporting, and compliance mean data must flow seamlessly between systems and parties.

➡ Want a structured way to assess what “good” looks like? Read the complete buying guide.

Data quality is becoming a competitive factor

Incorrect or incomplete product information can lead to delays, misunderstandings, and lost opportunities. Meanwhile, the growing demand for climate data and reporting makes manual processes harder to sustain.

To meet market and regulatory expectations, companies need product data management that is:

Automated and scalable
Aligned with industry standards
Built for continuous updates and governance

Moving toward a shared digital standard

For the construction industry to become more efficient, sustainable, and transparent, stakeholders need to speak the same “data language.” That requires a digital hub that can connect systems, standardize formats, and ensure consistent data flow across sources.

➡ If you manage large product portfolios, standardization is the difference between constant manual work and scalable operations. Explore Prodikt for distributors.

Digital is more than a PDF.

A PDF may look digital, but it’s still a static file. PDFs can’t be integrated, analyzed, or updated automatically, often requiring manual handling that creates information gaps and blocks data exchange.

To build a truly data-driven supply chain, information must be:

Structured
Machine-readable
Version-controlled
Shared through flows, not locked in documents

Put simply: digitalization isn’t about files - it’s about flows.

➡ Not sure what to demand from a data partner beyond “we need it digital”? Read the complete buying guide.

Climate data: essential, but complex to use

To measure, compare, and reduce climate impact, stakeholders need access to accurate, well-structured climate-related product data. The challenge is that climate information is often only available in PDFs, with inconsistent formats and units and without proper version control.

What is climate data?

Climate data typically describes a product’s climate impact as CO₂e (carbon dioxide equivalents) and can be based on:

Specific data
From a product’s Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), following recognized standards (e.g., ISO 14025 and EN 15804)
Generic data
Produced using standardized methods when specific data isn’t available (quality and traceability may vary)

Both types are needed to support credible reporting—especially when managing large product portfolios.

➡ Deep dive into this topic in our blog: Specific EPD data meets generic data: The key to traceability across your product portfolio

Key challenges in today’s climate data

Even though Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are a recognized standard, they can be challenging to use in digital workflows because:

They’re often not available at SKU /article level
They’re frequently updated as production changes
Different units and standards are used across markets
They’re hard to integrate into business systems (ERP) when stored as static PDFs

➡ If you need climate and product data to work in real workflows (not just PDFs), you’ll need the proper structure and governance. Explore Prodikt for distributors.

Next step

1. Get the complete buying guide

Go deeper on what to look for in a data partner, including the key questions to ask, evaluation criteria, and pitfalls to avoid.

Read the complete buying guide

2. See how distributors operationalize data flows with Prodikt

Discover how to build a structured product database that supports automation, traceability, and climate reporting at scale.

Explore Prodikt for distributors