SAP Product Compliance & dangerous goods — terms explained.
The key terms around SAP Product Compliance (formerly SAP EH&S), safety data sheets, REACH and dangerous goods — briefly defined, each with a pointer to the relevant detail.
SAP Product Compliance
formerly SAP EH&S
SAP Product Compliance is SAP’s module for the regulatory conformity of substances and products — hazardous substance and dangerous-goods management, safety data sheets and substance data. In 2022 SAP renamed classic SAP EH&S to SAP Product Compliance; functionally it is the same module.
It covers Specification Management, Phrase Management, WWI, SDS distribution and the dangerous-goods rule sets. Alongside it there is a new, S/4HANA-native solution (New Scenario). Kocak Solutions works in both worlds — from customizing through solution design to development.
“Classic Scenario” and “New Scenario” are the two flavours of SAP Product Compliance. Classic is the established solution (formerly SAP EH&S) on ECC and S/4HANA; New Scenario is SAP’s S/4HANA-native, Fiori-based rebuild with its own data model.
The Classic Scenario suits existing landscapes and grown processes, the New Scenario greenfield projects and conversions. Migration between the two is possible — we deliver both.
EHSM — occupational health & safety, not our focus
SAP EHS Management (EHSM) is SAP’s module for occupational health & safety — incident management, risk assessment and health & safety. Despite the similar name it is a separate module, not to be confused with SAP Product Compliance.
EHSM addresses operational safety and incidents, whereas Product Compliance addresses the conformity of substances and products. Kocak Solutions deliberately does not cover EHSM and focuses exclusively on Product Compliance.
The Windows Wordprocessor Integration (WWI) is the reporting technology of SAP Product Compliance. From your specification data it produces legally compliant documents — safety data sheets, GHS labels and transport documents — automated and multilingual.
WWI links substance data to report templates via a Word-based layout process on a WWI server. Maintaining these templates is demanding and decides the quality and maintainability of the output — exactly where we come in.
A safety data sheet (SDS) is the legally required document that bundles all information for the safe handling of a hazardous substance. Under hazardous-substance regulations an SDS must be created for every hazardous substance.
In SAP Product Compliance, SDSs are generated from specification data via WWI and distributed to customers through SDS distribution — including updates when classification or regulations change.
Substance Volume Tracking (SVT) is a method for monitoring the volume of chemicals that are manufactured or imported. It helps companies comply with the tonnage thresholds and reporting duties of the REACH regulation.
SVT follows the flow of chemicals along the supply chain — volume, properties and place of use — and thus provides the data basis for REACH registrations. In SAP Product Compliance it can be modelled on top of the substance and volume data.
Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals
REACH is the EU Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. It obliges companies to register chemicals manufactured, imported or used in the EU and to provide information on their safe use.
REACH forms the legal framework; methods such as Substance Volume Tracking serve to implement its volume and reporting duties. The associated substance and volume data are maintained in SAP Product Compliance.
The CLP Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 governs the classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures in the EU and implements the Globally Harmonised System (GHS). It defines hazard pictograms and H- and P-statements.
The requirements of CLP/GHS determine the content of labels and safety data sheets. In SAP Product Compliance they feed into classification and into the WWI output.
ADR, RID, IMDG and IATA are the international transport rule sets for dangerous goods — road (ADR), rail (RID), sea (IMDG) and air (IATA-DGR). They define classification, packaging and documentation of dangerous goods per mode of transport.
In SAP Product Compliance these rule sets are connected to the dangerous-goods master so that the dangerous-goods check runs in SD, WM and EWM processes. We build the basis so that you can classify your substances cleanly in the dangerous-goods master.
A UN number is a four-digit identifier that uniquely designates dangerous substances and articles in transport worldwide (e.g. UN 3480 for lithium-ion batteries). It drives the applicable transport regulations.
Packing instructions, marking and shipping documents all hang off the UN number — central, for example, to lithium-battery shipping. The Lithium Hub supports compliant shipping along these requirements.
Regulatory content is the regulatory base data — phrases, listed substances, rule sets and WWI templates — usually supplied by content providers such as Verisk 3E. It forms the data basis for classification and documents in SAP Product Compliance.
Every content update has to be loaded and tested against your existing classification without anything breaking. We bring these packages cleanly into the system — initially and in every update cycle.
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