Webinar recap: Mastering PCF data exchange

For OEMs and suppliers in today’s automotive value-chain, data is not only integral to day-to-day business operations, but also crucial for regulatory compliance.

Take, as an example, the case of reporting Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) data for a vehicle part that only reaches an OEM after it has undergone several processes carried out by various suppliers. Here, arriving at an accurate and conclusive PCF figure is dependent on the aggregation of all relevant data.

It is not difficult to see how this challenge places a growing burden on companies to effectively manage the flow of relevant data both within their own companies and also with partners in the chain, all the while ensuring the integrity and sovereignty of that data is not lost along the way.

Challenges such as this can now be answered far more effectively by exchanging data within the Catena-X ecosystem, and in this Cofinity-X webinar, representatives from Ford Motor Company and Flex Automotive showed how simple and efficient the process can be.

Establishing the case

The session opened with André Kremer, Supply Chain Manager of Ford, underlining the case for implementing data exchange via Catena-X with the support of Cofinity-X.

“We are, as Ford, excited that Catena-X allows us to enhance our supply chain, because the direct data-exchange enables accurate tracking of key parameters,” he said. “We are using Cofinity-X because it allows Ford and its supplier base to enter into the Catena-X environment to start the exchange of data for various use cases.”

Before beginning the demo, Ford’s Aditya Chaudhry underlined the role of key stakeholders. In summary, Cofinity-X provides entry to the dataspace, onboarding companies through a validation process. Companies can then access apps from the Cofinity-X marketplace to facilitate specific data-exchange use cases. In the case of PCF data exchange, Ford employs the Sustainability Data Exchange (SDX) app from SAP, while Flex employs the Connect & Integrate app from T-Systems.

In the live demo, Aditya highlighted how registered supply partners are visible to the OEM in the back-end of the system, identified by the unique Business Partner Number (BPN) provided via the Cofinity-X onboarding process.

The SAP system then allows Ford to assign a partner to a particular component or part – in this case, Flex Automotive. Under the footprint status for that part, Ford can then access the ‘exchange’ function and submit a request for the PCF data, which is automatically shared with Flex.

Managed exchange of data

Aditya then handed the demo over to Ancuta Ardelean of Flex, who showed how the request from Ford had triggered a flag in the supplier’s T-systems Connect & Integrate application. This appeared under the tab for PCF exchange, complete with the related product ID and request ID. The T-Systems app then facilitates uploading of the PCF data (which is stored in a CSV file). This file is assigned exclusively to Ford (the data consumer) and the data is structured according to the shared standards defined by Catena-X to ensure interoperability. The PCF request was then marked as approved by Flex and the data request status was updated to ‘Pushed’.

The demo then handed back over to Ford, where Aditya was able to show how the PCF data was now visible in the SAP system, providing confirmation to the OEM of valid PCF compliance for that particular part.

Speaking on the following panel discussion, Nadine Kanja of SAP highlighted the value that was demonstrated by value-chain partners ‘speaking the same language’ when it comes to interoperable data exchange using Catena-X certified tools and standards. The same was true, she said, when it comes to the industry alignment on PCF calculations.

“If we bring everybody together to the table and work on a common calculation method with the Product Carbon Footprint rulebook, we are all using the same standards and mechanisms for the calculation values,” she said.

Chris S. Langdon of Deutsche Telekom then addressed a frequently asked question regarding the security associated with data exchange via Catena-X. He pointed to three important safeguards that protect data sovereignty within this process: the extensive authentication of all users via Cofinity-X; the ability for users to implement access control measures; and the universal acceptance of a robust usage policy.

“If you boil it down to one unique selling point – one key attribute – it is that you enable data-sharing across organisations with data sovereignty protection. That means that I [the data holder] do not lose control over the rights that I have to the data that I share. We didn’t have that before – that’s totally new,” he said.

Return on investment

Shanawaz Sheik, Director of Sustainability – Automotive at Flex, said reaching the point where data exchange is possible requires a degree of technical effort, but that it was important to take a “holistic” view since this was outweighed by the benefits of simpler data exchange. He also provided a reminder that, once established in the Catena-X ecosystem, companies are open to use cases beyond PCF data exchange, such as product passport and traceability, as well as an expanding number of opportunities outside of sustainability.

In conclusion, this hour-long webinar allowed Ford, Flex and Cofinity-X – together with SAP and T-Systems – to provide a live demonstration of how simple PCF data exchange can be with Catena-X. And while it is a specific example of a particular use case, more broadly it stands as a symbol of how valuable this model will be for companies right across the value-chain as ever-more solutions are available for ever-more use cases.

Crucially, as Ford’s André Kremer pointed out, this potential can only be fully realised as more industry stakeholders come on board to enhance the supply chain as a whole. Or, as his colleague Aditya Chaudhry, succinctly put it: “The success of Catena-X relies on everybody.”

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