Physical products are becoming data systems.
Not because brands suddenly became “tech companies”.
Because regulation, traceability and compliance are changing what a product actually is.
Digital Product Passports.
Supply chain traceability.
Serialized identity.
Connected infrastructure.
The physical item is no longer the entire product.
A growing part of product value now sits inside:
data,
verification,
compliance,
traceability
and lifecycle visibility.
The interesting part:
Most innovation frameworks still evaluate physical products and technology as separate worlds.
But increasingly, they are becoming the same system.