Open Access

Nils Künster, Frithjof Dorka, Maximilian Hentsch, Daniel PalmORCiD

• Efficient management of circular value creation requires holistic traceability systems providing consistent collection and sharing of product lifecycle data among various stakeholders in a supply chain, even when individual parts are reused or repurposed in new products. In these traceability systems, unique identification of products and parts is paramount for maintaining consistency in the lifecycle data. However, as supply chains become increasingly complex and dynamic, challenges in consistent identification arise. Therefore, this paper discusses data consistency challenges for identification systems, focusing on creating and managing unique identifiers in the physical and digital world. Based on that discussion, this paper proposes an architecture for information-consistent part identification systems in complex circular value chains. The architecture uses AI-based fingerprinting technology to ensure marking-free product identification, the Asset Administration Shell to model relevant traceability data, and blockchain technology to ensure consistent product identifiers.