GPSR Requirements: A Complete Guide for B2B SaaS Compliance

Navigating the complex landscape of product safety regulations is crucial for any business operating in the European Union. For B2B Software as a Service (SaaS) companies, particularly those whose platforms facilitate the sale or distribution of physical goods, understanding the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) is becoming increasingly important. This guide will break down the GPSR requirements and explain what they mean for your SaaS business.

What is the GPSR and Why Does it Matter for SaaS?

The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) is the EU's cornerstone legislation for ensuring that only safe products are sold on the European market. It replaced the older General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) and introduced significantly stricter and more detailed obligations for economic operators, including manufacturers, importers, and distributors.

While a SaaS platform itself is not a physical product, your compliance obligations arise if your software is integral to the supply chain of physical goods. For example, if your platform:

• Hosts a B2B marketplace connecting suppliers with retailers.
• Provides inventory or order management for distributors of consumer goods.
• Operates as a wholesale platform for EU-based businesses.

In these scenarios, you and your clients may be considered "distributors" under the GPSR requirements, triggering specific duties to ensure product safety.

Key GPSR Requirements: Breaking Down the Obligations

The regulation places a clear set of responsibilities on all players in the supply chain. Here’s what you need to know.

1. Obligations for Distributors (Including Platform Operators)

As a facilitator of trade, your platform must exercise due care. The core GPSR requirements for distributors include:

• Verifying Traceability: Ensuring that products sold through your platform bear the required traceability information (name/address of manufacturer, importer, etc.).
• Not Supplying Unsafe Products: You must not make available products you know or should presume to be dangerous.
• Participating in Market Surveillance: Cooperating with authorities and taking corrective actions (e.g., removing listings) if a product is found to be non-compliant.
• Informing Authorities: Immediately notifying relevant national market surveillance authorities if you identify a serious risk.

2. Traceability and Product Information

A major pillar of the GPSR requirements is enhanced traceability. This directly impacts how product data is handled on your platform.

• Products must bear the name, registered trade name, and contact address of the manufacturer and the importer (if applicable).
• Safety information and warnings must be provided in the language(s) of the EU member state where the product is sold.
• For your SaaS platform, this means building data fields and validation rules to capture and display this mandatory information, making it a non-negotiable part of the seller onboarding and product listing process.

3. The Importance of Technical Documentation & Risk Assessment

While primarily a duty for manufacturers, B2B platforms should encourage or even require their suppliers to have this in order. GPSR requirements mandate that manufacturers:

• Create comprehensive technical documentation demonstrating product safety.
• Conduct an internal risk analysis.
• Have this documentation ready for inspection for 10 years after the product is placed on the market.
• As a platform, you may consider verifying that your B2B sellers have this documentation as part of your due diligence process.

Practical Steps for B2B SaaS Compliance

Implementing processes to support GPSR requirements is both a compliance necessity and a competitive advantage in trust and safety.

Integrate Compliance into Your Platform Workflow

• Seller Onboarding: Update your seller agreements to explicitly include GPSR obligations. Implement a "Know Your Customer" (KYC) process to verify business identities.
• Product Data Structure: Mandate fields for manufacturer/importer details, safety warnings, and compliance labels in your product catalog schema.
• Automated Checks: Where possible, use automated alerts for listings that lack critical traceability information.

Educate Your Clients and Users

• Create resource centers, webinars, and documentation to help your B2B sellers understand their own GPSR requirements.
• Clearly communicate your platform's policies on product safety and the consequences of listing non-compliant goods.

Prepare an Incident Response Plan

• Establish a clear internal protocol for handling requests from market surveillance authorities.
• Define processes for swiftly removing dangerous product listings and notifying affected parties.

Conclusion: Proactive Compliance is Key

The GPSR requirements represent a shift towards greater accountability across the entire supply chain. For B2B SaaS companies, this is not just about legal adherence but about building a safer, more reliable ecosystem for your clients.

By embedding these principles into your platform's design and operations, you mitigate regulatory risk, protect your brand's reputation, and provide a superior, compliant service that your B2B customers can rely on. Start your compliance review today to ensure your platform is prepared for the demands of the modern EU market.