Lesson 5 of 6
Product compliance and dangerous goods
9 min
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EHS so far looked inward, at the plant. Product compliance looks outward, at what Contoso sells. SAP S/4HANA for product compliance assesses whether a product is marketable in a country or region, classifies it under dangerous goods regulations, creates and distributes safety data sheets (SDS) and labels, and checks all of this in sales and delivery documents before the product moves.
Contoso's two kinds of product
| Product | Compliance questions | Illustrative answers |
|---|---|---|
| Alternator CMC-ALT-100 (an article) | Restricted substances in components (for example lead in solder); declarations customers ask for | Substance data from suppliers; marketable in the US; no SDS or dangerous goods data needed |
| Contact cleaner aerosol CMC-CLN-020 (a chemical product) | Hazard classification, SDS, dangerous goods for transport, marketability | Flammable aerosol; SDS required; UN1950 aerosols, class 2.1 for transport; marketable in the US |
Product compliance differs for articles and chemical products.
The aerosol is the interesting case. Under OSHA's hazard communication standard, Contoso Parts Distribution (1810) must provide an SDS to customers with the first shipment and when the SDS changes. Under US DOT hazardous materials rules, the aerosol is UN1950, aerosols, class 2.1, and shipments need proper shipping documents and packaging, with possible exceptions for limited quantities. The system's job is to make sure no order or delivery for CMC-CLN-020 proceeds without a valid classification, an SDS in the customer's language and transport permission.
Scope items
| Scope item (SAP Learning) | What it covers |
|---|---|
| 3VR Manage Safety Data Sheets for Products | Creating and managing SDS for products |
| 3VQ Safety Data Sheets in the Value Chain | SDS checks and distribution in sales and delivery |
| 3FC Assess Dangerous Goods for a Product | Dangerous goods classification |
| 3G8 Dangerous Goods in the Value Chain | Dangerous goods checks and data in sales and delivery |
| 6MT Label Management | Product labels |
| 7DO Authoring of Product Compliance Documents | Authoring compliance documents |
Product compliance scope items listed by SAP Learning. Check availability for your edition and release.
Checks in sales and delivery
SAP describes the dangerous goods check in sales orders and quotations as confirming that compliance-relevant chemical products have an appropriate dangerous goods classification and that all necessary data exists and transport is allowed. Safety data sheet checks run when sales orders and deliveries are created, and updated SDS versions are redistributed to customers through delivery processing. When a check fails, the document is blocked or warned according to configuration, which is the behavior to test.
- Is the product compliance-relevant?No → no checks · Yes → next
- Is it marketable in the ship-to country?No → block the order · Yes → next
- Is a dangerous goods classification available and transport permitted for the mode?No → block the delivery · Yes → next
- Is a released SDS available in the required language, and has this customer received the current version?No → block or send SDS · Yes → ship
What would you do?
In UAT, Maria creates an order for CMC-CLN-020 for a new Canadian customer. The order saves without any warning, although Contoso has not assessed marketability for Canada. What is the most likely cause?
What goes wrong in testing
- Only compliant products are tested, so blocking behavior is never seen.
- "Not assessed" is treated as "compliant" for countries or regulations nobody assessed.
- SDS redistribution is not tested because it needs a second SDS version and a past recipient.
- Dangerous goods data is checked on the order but not on the delivery, where the transport mode is known.
Data behind the checks
The checks are only as good as the compliance data behind them: the product's composition, its hazard classification, the dangerous goods classification per transport mode, the SDS versions per language and region, and the marketability assessment per country. For a product bought from a supplier, such as the aerosol, much of this starts from the supplier's SDS and declarations. Contoso's process (illustrative) makes product compliance data complete before the material is released for sale in 1810, so that the sales check never meets a half-maintained product.
| Data | Source | Owner at Contoso |
|---|---|---|
| Composition and hazard classification | Supplier SDS and declarations | Monique's product compliance specialist |
| Dangerous goods classification | Assessment against transport regulations | Product compliance specialist |
| SDS in required languages | Authored or supplier-provided, released | Product compliance specialist |
| Marketability by country | Assessment against product regulations | Product compliance with sales |
Compliance data a chemical product needs before it can be sold.
- Product compliance covers marketability, dangerous goods, safety data sheets and labels.
- Articles and chemical products raise different compliance questions.
- Checks run in sales orders and deliveries; failures block or warn by configuration.
- Test blocking cases, unassessed countries and SDS redistribution.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Which product needs an SDS and dangerous goods data at Contoso?
2. Under US DOT rules, how is the aerosol classified for transport?
3. What should an order for an unassessed country do?
4. When are updated SDS versions sent to customers?