Assent Inc. (Assent), the manufacturing industry’s leading Product Intelligence Network, has unveiled the 2026 Product Compliance & Sustainability Trend Study, a survey of 131 manufacturing specialists conducted in partnership with Pforzheim University in Germany. While manufacturers are highly engaged with product compliance and sustainability than ever, the survey found that their tools and data haven’t kept pace. Three in four respondents (75%) said they are hands-on with these programs daily, yet 70% still rely on spreadsheets to manage product compliance.

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“This research confirms what we hear from manufacturers every day: They know AI and automation are the next step for product compliance and sustainability, but incomplete data is holding them back. The path forward isn’t more point solutions; it’s a connected foundation of part, product, and supplier data that can be augmented with AI capabilities. Together, they empower teams to achieve compliance and sustainability goals,” said Catherine Cormier, Chief Innovation Officer at Assent.

“This research confirms what we hear from manufacturers every day: They know AI and automation are the next step for product compliance and sustainability, but incomplete data is holding them back. The path forward isn’t more point solutions; it’s a connected foundation of part, product, and supplier data that can be augmented with AI capabilities. Together, they empower teams to achieve compliance and sustainability goals,” said Catherine Cormier, Chief Innovation Officer at Assent.

Respondents across automotive, electronics, and other industries report the same manual, reactive approach to compliance, with 57% pointing to incomplete data and data integrity as their greatest challenge in meeting compliance and sustainability reporting requirements. At the same time, artificial intelligence and automation rank as the single biggest opportunity they see ahead. Yet, only 10% of respondents have actively incorporated AI into their processes.

Regulatory and customer requirements are converging and accelerating faster than manual processes can absorb. Indeed, 69% of respondents in the survey said they spend up to two hours a day on manual, repetitive tasks. These are hours that can’t go toward proactively implementing the processes and technology that would reduce their compliance burden, creating a self-reinforcing cycle where teams are forced to react to requirements instead of being sufficiently prepared.

“This research confirms what we hear from manufacturers every day: They know AI and automation are the next step for product compliance and sustainability, but incomplete data is holding them back. The path forward isn’t more point solutions; it’s a connected foundation of part, product, and supplier data that can be augmented with AI capabilities. Together, they empower teams to achieve compliance and sustainability goals,” said Catherine Cormier, Chief Innovation Officer at Assent.

This data gap is a risk that impacts the entire business. For example, emerging obligations such as Digital Product Passports and carbon reporting increasingly draw on the same supplier data. This information already feeds material compliance declarations, so a single weak supplier response creates risk in multiple domains at once. More than half (55%) of respondents in the survey cite data quality and timeliness as the reason supply chain carbon data doesn’t meet their standards.

Assent believes the fix isn’t more software, but a better data foundation for the software to run on. Companies that have already connected their product, part, and supplier data are far more optimistic about AI: 72% of companies with integrated systems see AI as an opportunity, compared to 48% of those without integrated systems.

Manufacturers already know they need a product compliance and sustainability solution that supports proactive program management, but many don’t yet have the data foundation in place to maximize its value. The path forward involves connecting part, product, and supplier data first, then layering AI and automation on top of it to maximize business insights. That’s the gap Assent’s product intelligence is built to close. The Assent Network, with its connected, current, trusted data about products, parts, and suppliers, is what turns compliance and sustainability from a reactive cost centre into a proactive source of risk reduction and competitive advantage.

The study was fielded and analyzed by Assent, in partnership with Pforzheim University, between April and June 2026. The study also included seven qualitative interviews with industry experts, which provide illustrative context; the percentage findings come from the 131-respondent survey.

To discover more insights, download the 2026 Product Compliance & Sustainability Trend Study here.

About Pforzheim University

With around 6,000 students across three distinguished schools—Design, Engineering, and Business & Law—the university seamlessly blends creative ingenuity with technical precision and financial acumen. Renowned for its top-tier AACSB accreditation and close-knit ties to regional and global industries, Pforzheim fosters highly practical, interdisciplinary education focused on innovation and sustainable management.

About Assent

Assent is the manufacturing industry’s leading Product Intelligence Network, providing the transparency and confidence manufacturers and distributors need to build and deliver products the world can trust. By combining the industry’s most complete part and supplier data network with deep regulatory expertise, Assent equips compliance, engineering, procurement, and sustainability teams with the product material compliance, product sustainability, and responsible sourcing intelligence they need to make informed decisions throughout the full design-to-delivery manufacturing lifecycle and beyond.

More than 1,250 manufacturers and distributors rely on Assent to simplify the complexity behind product compliance, product sustainability, and responsible sourcing. Assent is a Certified B Corporation headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. Learn more at www.assent.com.

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