Objective of the Tool
The Circular Platform Model supports furniture companies in designing or participating in digital infrastructures that enable circular transactions, lifecycle management, and ecosystem coordination.
The tool helps organizations structure how digital platforms can facilitate activities such as product tracking, resale, refurbishment, reuse, maintenance services, and material recovery. It clarifies the roles of different actors, the types of circular transactions enabled by the platform, and the data flows required to support lifecycle management, including integration with Digital Product Passports (DPP).
By structuring these elements, the tool allows companies to evaluate whether to build their own platform, join an existing one, or collaborate within an ecosystem platform.
What the Tool Is
The Circular Platform Model is a conceptual design canvas used to map the architecture of a circular digital ecosystem supporting furniture lifecycle management.
It helps organisations define:
how circular transactions occur
which actors participate
what data must be exchanged
how value is created and captured across the lifecycle
The model also helps identify the digital functionalities required to enable circular operations such as product tracking, refurbishment workflows, service scheduling, resale marketplaces, and recycling coordination.
The output is a structured platform concept that clarifies governance, actors, value flows, and required digital capabilities.
When to Use the Tool
This tool is particularly useful when companies are:
Developing furniture-as-a-service or leasing models
Implementing Digital Product Passports
Enabling reuse, refurbishment, or resale ecosystems
Collaborating with refurbishers, recyclers, or logistics providers
Evaluating whether to create or join a circular platform
It typically follows earlier toolkit phases such as circular business model design and ecosystem mapping.
