Factories doing business in Germany have, nine times out of ten, been asked by customers: Do you have a REACH SVHC test report? Many bosses' first reaction is "I'm not a chemical product, what does this have to do with me?" REACH is the EU's chemicals regulation, and SVHC is the "Substances of Very High Concern" list within it — currently over two hundred substances, updated every six months. It doesn't regulate your product's performance; it regulates whether your product contains these substances beyond the limit — even if you only make plastic parts, hardware, textiles, or electronic components, as long as you export to the EU, customers have the right to require you to provide an explanation. German customers are especially meticulous, because their downstream faces automakers and major brands — one link in the chain after another; if you don't provide it, they can't answer to their own customers.
Which products need it? Put simply, as long as your product is an "article" — that is, a finished product or component with a shape and function — it is theoretically in scope. Plastic housings, rubber sealing rings, wiring harnesses, coated parts, leather, inks, solder — all count. The three most common pitfalls: First, looking only at the finished product and not at homogeneous materials — SVHC is judged by "homogeneous material," so the plating and substrate on a single screw must be calculated separately; if you take the whole machine for mixed testing, the data is meaningless. Second, expired reports — the SVHC list is updated twice a year, and customers want the latest version; if you submit a report from three years ago, they'll reject it outright. Third, broken supply chain information — you didn't add anything yourself, but the supplier's material contains it, and in the end it's traced back to you. So if you really need to do it, you must first break down the BOM to homogeneous materials, then have suppliers fill out forms and issue declarations, and send for testing when necessary.
On timing: if the supply chain cooperates and the documentation is complete, simple document screening and declarations can be done in one to two weeks; if third-party laboratory testing is required, typically three to four weeks, and with complex materials or additional data needed, it can drag on to six weeks. Don't believe claims of "report in three days" — with over two hundred SVHC substances, real testing isn't that fast.
One final reminder: this isn't about "getting a certificate," it's about "having evidence." What customers want is your degree of mastery over your product's composition. Accumulate suppliers' MSDS, declarations, and test reports in normal times — far better than cramming at the last minute. When a German customer is really pressing you for it, having the material in hand is what lets you speak with confidence.