Assent Inc. (Assent), a leading solution provider in supply chain sustainability management, unveiled enhancements to its end-to-end per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) solution. The solution enables manufacturers to stay ahead of evolving PFAS usage restrictions, avoid fines, and meet market expectations and growing global requirements to identify and restrict harmful uses of these substances. 

The enhanced solution empowers manufacturers to identify more than 7,000 PFAS chemicals within their supply chains, down to the parts of parts. This provides essential data clients can use to proactively manage their supply chain risks, prevent disruptions from obsolescence, and address requirements for the more than 100 enacted or proposed PFAS regulations and guidelines globally.

Assent's PFAS solution, which was recognized by Verdantix as having market-leading functionality in the Smart Innovators: Product and Chemical Compliance Solutions report, has seen rapid adoption by manufacturers, helping to detect these harmful substances in supply chains:

• More than 11 million requests for PFAS data have been deployed to suppliers
• Since the launch in June 2023, over 100 customers have adopted Assent’s PFAS solution. 

Assent’s experts expect the presence of PFAS detected in supply chains to grow as an increasing number of suppliers identify additional PFAS within their products and parts. With hundreds of thousands of supplier declarations gathered to date, approximately 2% of declarations have confirmed the presence of PFAS. This means for a manufacturer with half a million parts, 10,000 could contain PFAS.

“Our PFAS solution enhancement comes at a critical juncture for the manufacturing industry as PFAS regulations, litigation and parts obsolescence issues become more prevalent,” said Echo Bell, vice president of product management at Assent. “A wave of new regulations will come into effect and manufacturers need to act now to prepare. We are constantly innovating to prepare for the evolving needs of our customers and with this update, we are equipping them with the tools and expertise they need to take strategic action on PFAS found in their supply chains.”

Assent’s PFAS solution now includes the following enhancements: 

• 400% increase in the number of PFAS chemicals that manufacturers can monitor and record through the Assent PFAS solution
• Multi-list PFAS risk mapping, which allows manufacturers to achieve reporting efficiencies, eliminate data silos, and identify potential supply chain risks
• New parts obsolescence survey to inform manufacturers’ awareness of how identified and discontinued PFAS chemicals will impact their offerings, supply chain and compliance programs 

Using Assent’s enhanced solution, manufacturers can easily and efficiently collect data on PFAS chemicals in their supply chains to identify and/or remove them, comply with regulations, proposals, and guidelines, and mitigate operational, financial, and reputational risks. In addition, new functionality allows manufacturers to gather additional information on parts containing PFAS to enable obsolescence tracking and supply chain risk mitigation planning.

Regulations surrounding PFAS identification and elimination are accelerating worldwide and have yet to be harmonized, requiring manufacturers to achieve deep visibility into PFAS instances across their suppliers to report and mitigate instances effectively. 

“Our team of regulatory experts has been tracking hundreds of PFAS regulations, proposals, and guidelines to understand how our customers can prepare for what’s next and influence the direction of our PFAS solution,” said Cally Edgren, senior director of sustainability at Assent. “Moving forward, deep visibility will be critical for complex manufacturers to build more resilient supply chains, and proactively address their significant obsolescence and redesign issues. Our solution empowers companies to gain the additional insights needed to effectively address the presence of PFAS across their supply chains.”

Since its launch in June 2023, Assent has deployed millions of requests for PFAS data to suppliers on behalf of customers, providing the visibility required to manage and report on instances, avoid regulatory missteps and fines, and protect sales and market share by quickly mitigating instances to maintain compliant products and availability. 

For more information about Assent’s PFAS solution or to request a demo, please visit: https://www.assent.com/solutions/product-compliance/pfas/