How a Major European Pulp Producer Enforces EUDR Compliance at the Mill Gate

The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) introduces strict requirements for verifying the origin and legality of wood-based raw materials. At the heart of this regulation is the Due Diligence Statement (DDS), a mandatory record that must be valid and correctly linked to every incoming delivery.

For pulp mills, this creates a critical control point: the mill gate.

If DDS validation is not enforced at entry, non-compliant material can enter the production process—creating regulatory, operational, and reputational risks.

This is exactly the challenge one major European pulp producer addressed using ConiferSoft’s YardManager.

The Challenge: Ensuring DDS Validation in Real Time 

Prior to EUDR, the Smurfit Westrock Piteå mill was already using YardManager to coordinate yard operations and manage material flows across both pulpwood and recycled paper streams. The system provided strong operational control, but EUDR introduced a new requirement: DDS data not only needed to exist, it needed to be verified at the point of entry.

This distinction is important. Having DDS numbers recorded somewhere in the system is not sufficient under EUDR. Mills must be able to demonstrate that each delivery has been validated before it is processed.

Without a structured validation step at the gate, several issues can arise. Incorrect or missing DDS numbers can pass into production unnoticed, operators lack clear visibility into compliance status, and auditability becomes dependent on manual checks or retrospective reconciliation. In practice, this creates both operational friction and regulatory exposure.

The mill therefore needed a way to validate DDS numbers automatically, in real time, and in a way that was directly usable by operational teams.

The Approach: Embedding DDS Validation into Yard Operations  

Rather than introducing a separate compliance system, the Piteå mill chose to embed DDS validation directly into its existing yard workflow using YardManager. This ensured that compliance became part of normal operations, rather than an additional step handled in isolation. This is how YardManager provides a layer of DDS validation:

• When a pulpwood truck arrives at the mill gate, load data—including DDS numbers—is transferred from the measurement system into YardManager. From there, YardManager communicates with the mill’s internal integration systems, which in turn verify the DDS information against EU TRACES.

• What makes this approach effective is not just the validation itself, but how the result is used. The compliance status of each load is made immediately visible to operators, including log stacker drivers and yard personnel. This allows them to make informed decisions about how to handle incoming material based on whether it meets EUDR requirements.

• At the same time, YardManager stores all DDS data associated with each delivery. Importantly, this includes both valid and invalid entries.
  

By maintaining a complete record, the mill ensures full traceability and can demonstrate compliance during audits without relying on fragmented or manually compiled data.

The Result: A Consistent and Auditable Control Point 

With this approach in place, the Piteå mill now operates a consistent, system-supported process for DDS validation at the gate. Verification happens automatically as trucks arrive, and the results are immediately integrated into day-to-day operations.

This creates a clear and reliable control point for EUDR compliance. Instead of relying on downstream checks or manual intervention, the mill ensures that only properly validated material enters the process. At the same time, the availability of a complete and structured DDS record strengthens audit readiness and reduces administrative overhead.

What This Means for Other Mills Preparing for EUDR  

For other pulp mills preparing for EUDR, this example highlights a practical path forward. Compliance does not need to be addressed as a separate, standalone function. Instead, it can be built into existing operational systems—starting at the point where material first enters the site.

The key is to focus on verification at entry, where the risk is easiest to control. Just as importantly, validation results must be visible and actionable for operational teams, not confined to back-end systems. Finally, maintaining a complete record of all DDS data ensures transparency and simplifies audit processes.

Taken together, these steps turn EUDR compliance from a reactive obligation into a controlled and repeatable part of mill operations.

Strengthen Your EUDR Readiness with YardManager 

EUDR introduces new complexity, but it also creates an opportunity to strengthen operational control. By using YardManager to validate DDS data at the mill gate, mills can establish practical, real-time compliance processes without disrupting existing workflows.

If you’re preparing for EUDR and want to understand how DDS validation can be implemented in your yard operations, book a personal demo now to see how to streamline your operations.