Learn how the EU's new General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) affects your business and how a PIM system can simplify compliance. Ensure product safety, traceability, and streamlined data management with ease.

If you are selling products in the EU, there are two important updates coming that you should know about: the Digital Product Passport (DPP) and the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR).  Both are part of the EU's efforts to ensure product safety, sustainability, and transparency. While the Digital Product Passport will improve transparency about the environmental impact of products, the GPSR focuses on consumer safety. This latest rule will kick in on December 13, 2024, and it replaces the older General Product Safety Directive (GPSD). It’s designed to improve how product safety is handled, especially with the rise of online shopping.

In this blog post, we’ll explain what the GPSR is, what it means for your business, and how tools like a Product Information Management (PIM) system can help you stay compliant.

What is the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR)?

The GPSR is a new EU law aimed at ensuring that all products sold in the EU are safe. It applies to non-food products and covers all sales channels—both online and offline. Whether you're selling on a big online marketplace like Amazon or a small business selling on your website, these rules apply to you.

The regulation addresses the growing need for more structured safety rules, especially in the digital age. New requirements include better product traceability, improved recall processes, and safety measures for products that use modern technologies like AI or IoT.

If you don’t comply, there are stricter enforcement and penalties in place, including fines and even bans on selling unsafe products.

For more details, you can read about the regulation here: EUR-Lex, EU-OSHA, European Commission.

Key changes you need to know

Here are some of the key changes in the GPSR:

1. Stricter rules for online sales: the GPSR puts extra focus on online businesses. If you're selling on digital platforms, you need to be extra careful about the safety of your products. Online marketplaces, like Amazon, must do more to track and report unsafe products.
2. Mandatory recalls: if a product is found to be unsafe, businesses are now required to issue mandatory recalls. You’ll also need to notify authorities of any accidents or safety risks associated with your products.
3. Better product traceability: you need to be able to track where your products came from and where they’ve been sold. This will help speed up recalls and ensure dangerous products are quickly removed from the market.
4. Focus on new technologies: products that involve AI, IoT, or other advanced tech need extra safety precautions. The GPSR ensures that these new types of products don’t pose any risks to consumers.

Amazon’s example: how GPSR affects sellers

To give you an idea of how this impacts sellers, let's look at Amazon. As one of the biggest online marketplaces, Amazon has already introduced its own product safety and compliance requirements. Sellers on Amazon must provide detailed safety information for all products, including certificates and documentation that show their products meet EU regulations.

For instance, if you sell electronics or toys on Amazon in the EU, you must now include safety certificates and have proof of compliance with the GPSR rules. Failing to do so can lead to penalties, or Amazon may even remove your product listings​.

How PIM can help you stay compliant

With these new rules, managing product data and documentation becomes even more important. This is where a Product Information Management (PIM) tool can make your life a lot easier.

Using a PIM system like KatanaPIM, businesses can centralize all their product data, including safety information, certificates, and product manuals. For example, one of our customers already uses KatanaPIM to upload and manage their product safety PDFs, ensuring they stay compliant with the new GPSR. This makes it easy to keep track of all the required documents across different platforms, so you don’t have to worry about missing anything when regulations change.

By keeping all your product data in one place and easily accessible, PIM systems streamline the compliance process. You can quickly update product listings, manage recall information, and upload safety documentation, ensuring your business stays on the right side of the law.

The new GPSR is a major step forward for consumer safety, especially in the rapidly growing world of ecommerce. While the new regulations may seem challenging, having the right tools in place, like a PIM system, can help your business stay compliant and thrive. Don’t wait until the last minute—start preparing today!

For more information about the GPSR and how it affects your business, you can check out the official EU Commission page.