Build vs buy DPP software: the real numbers we see

Every quarter we sit in a 'build vs buy' meeting that follows the same script. The internal estimate is a focused engineering effort — 'we already have a CMS, we just need a resolver and a passport schema'. The reality, twelve months later, is a four-engineer team that has built half a standards body inside the company.

Here's what the numbers actually look like, anonymised.

Time to first compliant SKU

Build path: 9–14 months from kickoff to a first SKU with a passport URL that survives a third-party audit.

Buy path: 4–8 weeks from contract to first SKU live on a vendor resolver.

Three-year fully-loaded cost

Build path: €1.4–2.8M, dominated by engineering salaries and the standards-tracking work nobody scopes upfront.

Buy path: €180–650k, depending on volume and feature footprint.

Where build actually wins

If the brand's differentiator is the connected product experience itself — and the data model is materially different from every other brand in the category — building parts of the stack pays off. For everyone else, buying the resolver and identifier core, then building the differentiated consumer experience on top, is the cheaper and faster path.