Manufacturing: Data protection across plants, people and supply chains
In manufacturing, data protection is often overshadowed by operational efficiency, safety and quality – but the stakes are high. Industrial players handle large amounts of employee, customer and partner data, as well as growing volumes of information from connected machines, sensors and logistics systems.
That means:
- GDPR and other privacy laws apply alongside safety, quality and sector regulations
- Personal data is spread across HR systems, CRMs, warranty and service tools, logistics platforms and supplier portals
- Global supply chains and outsourcing arrangements create complex data flows and third-party risks
GDPR Register helps manufacturers, distributors and industrial service providers bring structure and visibility to data protection across the whole value chain.
Typical challenges for manufacturing organisations
Manufacturing clients we work with often struggle with:
- Scattered records – RoPAs, DPIAs, vendor lists and policies kept in different spreadsheets and local files
- Complex supply chains – many suppliers, logistics partners and service providers, all touching personal data in some way
- Workforce data – managing HR, access control, time & attendance, health and safety, CCTV and telematics data for employees and contractors
- Customer and service data – B2B customer contacts, warranties, service records, connected product data and support tickets
- Limited central oversight – privacy responsibilities split between HR, IT, operations and local units, with no single view of processing
How GDPR Register supports compliance in manufacturing
1. Clear view of employee, customer and partner data
Map all processing activities in one place, for example:
- HR, payroll and time & attendance systems
- Access control, CCTV, safety and incident reporting
- CRM, order management, warranty and service systems
- Supplier portals, logistics and transport platforms
- Connected product / IoT data where individuals can be identified
Our RoPA module lets you document purposes, lawful bases (e.g. contract, legal obligation, legitimate interests), categories of personal and special category data, recipients, transfers, retention and security measures in a structured, audit-ready way. You can import existing Excel registers and align them to a common structure.
2. Supplier, vendor and logistics partner management
Manufacturing depends on a wide network of suppliers and service providers. GDPR Register allows you to:
- Maintain a central register of processors and partners (payroll providers, IT and cloud vendors, logistics partners, field service providers, etc.)
- Track Data Processing Agreements, key clauses, security measures and data locations
- Link each vendor to the processing activities, sites or business units they serve
- Integrate vendor risk into your overall privacy risk picture, making external dependencies visible to management
3. DPIAs, LIAs and risk management for higher-risk activities
Certain industrial practices can raise privacy risk – for example monitoring staff, using telematics, video analytics or connected equipment data tied to individuals. GDPR Register helps you:
- Run DPIA workflows for monitoring technologies, access control systems, connected products and new digital tools
- Document Legitimate Interest Assessments (LIAs) for security, monitoring, analytics and communications where appropriate
- Use a visual risk matrix to assess likelihood and impact, and link risks to specific processes, sites and vendors
- Define mitigation measures, assign owners and deadlines, and track completion for internal and external reporting
4. Managing data subject rights and incidents
Employees, contractors, B2B contacts and consumers all have rights under GDPR. With GDPR Register you can:
- Log and manage data subject requests (access, rectification, restriction, erasure, portability and objection) with deadlines and responsible owners
- Link requests to the relevant systems (HR, access control, CRM, service tools) so teams know where to look
- Document decisions where erasure is limited by legal retention or quality/safety requirements, with a clear reasoning trail
- Maintain a breach and incident register, capturing incidents involving HR data, customer data or supplier information, with impact, notifications and remedial actions
5. Ongoing accountability across sites and business units
GDPR Register gives manufacturing DPOs, compliance and operations teams a single source of truth for privacy:
- Dashboards showing the status of RoPAs, DPIAs/LIAs, risks, incidents and tasks across plants and entities
- Document templates and checklists aligned with day-to-day privacy operations, not just one-off projects
- An AI assistant to help draft and update processing descriptions, assessments, policies and communications more quickly
Instead of scattered spreadsheets and local workarounds, you have one platform that shows what personal data you process across your workforce, customers and partners, why you process it, where it flows in the supply chain, how it is protected, and what you are doing about the risks – helping you support compliance while keeping your industrial operations running smoothly.