itemactive: The Platform to Link Every Physical Item to its Data
Digital Product Passports with a live channel between brands and the people who use their products.
What is itemactive
itemactive is a white-label platform for creating and managing Digital Product Passports (DPPs). Each product gets a QR code or NFC tag that opens its own page with care, repair, and recycling information. The brand maintains the passport and can use the platform to reach the people who use the product.
Who is behind itemactive
itemactive is developed and operated by Azender GmbH, a software company based in St. Gallen, Switzerland, founded by Alexander Zenner.
Alexander grew up in a manufacturing family. He earned a BSc and MSc in IT-Systems Engineering at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam before joining Google as a Product Manager in Zurich and later New York. With itemactive, his manufacturing roots and his software expertise now come together. itemactive supports standardization and interoperability, because Digital Product Passports only work when systems can exchange data. Alexander contributes to this as a member of Switzerland's national mirror committee for ISO/IEC JTC 5 Digital Product Passport at SNV, the Swiss standards association.
Why itemactive exists
itemactive grew out of two observations, one from each side of a sale. As a consumer, Alexander likes to look after what he buys: he wants it to last and to be recycled properly. But once a product leaves the shop, the knowledge that would help him rarely travels with it. Manufacturers face the mirror image. They rarely know who uses their products, and they learn little about how they are used, repaired, or passed on.
itemactive closes that gap. It gives every product a live channel between the people who use it and the company that made it, so products last longer and end up with the right next owner or recycler.
Partnerships and memberships
We are a GS1 Germany Solution Partner. itemactive supports GS1 standards such as GS1 Digital Link. We can help you migrate your GTIN or EAN barcodes to QR codes as part of GS1 Sunrise 2027.
We are a member of Swissmem, the association of the Swiss mechanical, electrical and metal industries.