how does this system work exactly, what happens when I upload a list

Recognition per question, linking per evidence

The system analyzes an uploaded list question by question and links each question to a question type in the supply chain file. A question about the number of employees goes to the same source data as last time, whether the portal comes from a bank or from a customer with its own sustainability format. Questions about identity and size are usually fixed and rarely change — think of the registration number under which the enterprise is registered or annual turnover. Questions that refer to a specific measure or standard — the ten measures of Article 21(2) of the NIS2 Directive, or a control measure from Annex A of ISO/IEC 27001 — are recognized by that reference, not by the literal wording of the questionnaire. Two portals that formulate the same ISO measure differently will still receive the same answer from the file, provided that answer is already there.

For each question, the system displays the proposed answer and the evidence on which that answer is based: a certificate, a policy, a policy document. If that evidence is missing, the question remains open — an answer is never invented to fill an empty field. For questions that relate to a standard with multiple modules, such as the VSME baseline module of EFRAG, the system displays only the indicators for which the file actually has data; the rest remain visible as outstanding. Confirmation is per answer with yes or no, even for composite questions such as those about AI use within service provision, where one part may be substantiated and the other is not.

Source of source data per question type

Some fields are factual and externally verifiable, such as registration in the Trade Register under the Trade Register Act 2007; others follow from a standard that the customer imposes itself, such as CSRD-related reporting questions under Directive (EU) 2022/2464. The system does not distinguish these two substantively — it shows in both cases only what the file contains as evidence, and leaves the qualification or characterization to the customer itself.