S/4 Product Compliance - Label Management

[Shush971]

Hello all, 

I am currently exploring the new S/4HANA Product compliance solution as a possible fit for my client's requirements. Note we are implementing S/4HANA 2023, so please keep this in mind.

Specifically, I am looking at the new Product Compliance Label management solution, and want to get a better understanding of how it works. I have gone through in much detail the resources on help.sap.com which explains the concept very well. i.e. I understand that it relies on a third party partner to design and print the labels. 

So far, after reviewing the material and resources, the process as I understand it is as follows: 

1. create compliance requirement for labels

2. design label template using external partner solution (this replaces the old classic WWI approach). send template back to S/4 product compliance

3. assign compliance requirement and the label template to a label category in the label configuration app

4. assign configured label category to the product

5. validate and request print the label (using external partner) as and when needed.

Questions 🙂 

1. I reviewed the details of the label-specific compliance requirement that needs to be created, however, it does not seem to have much information in it other than the date format. I am just a bit unclear about how to assign the phrases and regulatory graphics to the compliance requirement. Do we create our own compliance requirement with these specific phrases and graphics?

2. Is the process similar to the safety data sheet process where we perform an assessment against the assigned compliance requirements that contain phrases and labels? 

3. For my benefit, would it be possible to briefly describe the end-to-end process from design of template all the way to print from a business process point of view?

Thanks in advance. 

[Shush971]

Also one more question - does this label management solution support integrated checks and automatic triggering for labels as well? Or can the label only be generated manually?

[Michael_Schalk]

Hello Shashi,

Thank you for your interest in our new Label Management solution in SAP S/4HANA for product compliance.

Regarding your first question: "... Do we create our own compliance requirement with these specific phrases and graphics?".

The regulatory information which is shown on a label comes from data maintained for the product (Unpackaged Product) for which the label is generated and printed. This means the phrases and graphics which are shown on a label do not come from the compliance requirements for the label itself, but from the compliance requirements which are used to maintain label relevant data for a product. See e.g.:

Phrases which are linked to the compliance requirement version EU-GHS Labeling (May 2022):

Graphics which are linked to the compliance requirement version EU-GHS Labeling (May 2022):

The compliance requirement for the label itself can be more compared with a generation variant for a label in the Product Compliance Classic solution. This means it defines the criteria for the data selection (and with this the validity of the label) like e.g. the Validity Area and the criteria for data formatting like e.g. Date Format or Decimal Format.

Regarding your second question: "Is the process similar to the safety data sheet process where we perform an assessment against the assigned compliance requirements that contain phrases and labels?"

In terms of the maintenance of the regulatory data which are shown on a safety data sheet and which are shown on a label, the process is the same. In fact, where applicable, the label generation and the safety data sheet generation do access the same compliance assessment to ensure consistency between the two documents.
In terms of the management of the generated documents (safety data sheets and labels) the concepts are different. For safety data sheets there are assessments for safety data sheet management compliance requirements where the generated documents can be linked and where versions can be managed. For labels, the generated documents are managed in the Partner Solution. 

Regarding your third question: "For my benefit, would it be possible to briefly describe the end-to-end process from design of template all the way to print from a business process point of view?" 

See the following slides:
Process Overview:

Process Details:

Remark: The slide above represents the current version of the Label Field Catalog. The Label Field Catalog will be extended in the future to provide more label data fields out-of-the-box.

Example for an additional Label Scenario which allows to print labels independent from a specific business process:

Regarding your additional question: "... does this label management solution support integrated checks and automatic triggering for labels as well? Or can the label only be generated manually?"

Currently the new label management solution is not directly integrated into the business processes. As shown in the slides above, an indirect integration via the Validate and Print app is supported an allows to print labels for e.g. a Delivery.
The direct integration is planned for the future. For details regarding the future planning please refer to the SAP Road Map Explorer - Product Compliance

I hope this helps.

Best regards,
Michael Schalk (SAP)
Product Manager for Label Data Management

[christoph_bergemann]

MANY THANKS FOR THIS DETAIL EXPLANATION OF CURRENT STATUS OF THE SOLUTION !

[Shush971]

I have not had the chance to respond to this until now. Michael, I just want to say a big thank you for your detailed response - it has made things a lot clearer for us, and I have a good understanding of how the functionality works on a conceptual level 🙂