itemactive: The Platform to Link Every Physical Item to its Data
Digital Product Passports with an active 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 mid-sized industrial business. 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 started with a simple disconnect between makers and owners. When you buy a well-made product, you want to care for it, repair it, and eventually recycle it. But the knowledge needed to do that rarely travels with the physical item. Manufacturers face the same blind spot from the other side: once a product leaves the factory gate, they lose touch with it and don't know their users.
itemactive closes that gap. It gives every product a live channel between users and the company, 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, which complements the EU Digital Product Passport regulation: the same QR code carries the product identifier and opens the passport.
We are also a GS1 US Standard Solution Partner, and our services are open to brands outside Europe too. 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.
We are a member of the NFC Forum, the association that develops the standards for Near Field Communication. With itemactive, a passport opens from an NFC tag just as it does from a QR code.