History of SAP® Product Compliance Solutions

SAP is a global leader in enterprise software. Over the years, SAP has innovated and expanded its solutions to meet the changing needs of businesses to comply with the latest product-related regulations.

The term “Environment, Health and Safety” (EHS) Management was used as an umbrella term to include product compliance applications such as SAP Product Safety, SAP Product and REACH Compliance, as well as EHS applications for incident, health and safety, and environment management. Today, the term has evolved and demarcated per the following:

  • Product Compliance
    • Product marketability and chemical compliance
    • Safety data sheet and label management
    • Dangerous goods management
  • Environment, Health and Safety
    • Incident management
    • Health and safety or workplace safety and occupational health
    • Environment management

On this page, we’ll take a closer look at the history of SAP solutions, specifically in the field of product compliance. Whether you’re new to SAP or a veteran in the field of product compliance, we hope this journey through history will help you gain an understanding of the powerful solutions that have made SAP a trusted partner and leader in the field of product compliance for businesses of all kinds.

 

History of SAP® Product Compliance Solutions(1)

Disclaimer: Please note that the information shared is intended to be used as a guide and is based on our team members’ experiences while working as part of the development team at TechniData and SAP. While we have made every effort to provide accurate information, we cannot guarantee the information provided is error-free or complete.

1995 - SAP Environment, Health, and Safety (SAP EH&S), Part of ERP

The original SAP EH&S module was developed by TechniData, an SAP partner. SAP contracted TechniData to develop the EH&S software on their behalf.

SAP EH&S was designed for chemical companies to author safety data sheet using SAP software. Being part of the SAP ERP software suite, it integrated with other modules, thus creating value for SDS authoring, specifically for BOMBOS transfer and report shipping.

Status of Solution

The solution SAP Environment, Health, and Safety (SAP EH&S) has been renamed to SAP Product Safety under SAP ECC 6.0 (on-premise)

Under S/4HANA, the same features such as safety data sheet (SDS) and label management, and dangerous goods management have been revamped and are available in SAP S/4HANA for product compliance.

2005 - Compliance for Products

In the mid-2000s, regulations such as EU RoHS and REACH were introduced. EU RoHS restricts the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. This became the major driver for new software functionality for the discrete industry.

Compliance for Products (CfP) was the first software introduced for discrete industries developed by TechniData. CfP covered regulatory standards, EU RoHS (EU Directive for the Restriction of Hazardous Substances), and customer-specific declaration requirements.

The core concepts of CfP such as compliance checks and basic material management were developed from a custom IMDS implementation. This has since been standardized and enhanced.

CfP was implemented as an add-on to SAP ERP.  The solution introduced the Compliance Workbench, which was built on the core specification database used by SAP EH&S.

Status of Solution

In 2009, CfP was merged with SAP REACH Compliance 1.0 to become SAP Product and REACH Compliance 2.0 Read on to learn more details.

2007 - SAP REACH Compliance 1.0

The REACH regulation introduced in the mid-2000s not only affected the discrete industry, but also the process industry.

SAP REACH Compliance 1.0 was developed to help process industries comply with the REACH regulation. Additionally, the solution included substance volume tracking.

Status of Solution

In 2009, SAP REACH Compliance 1.0 was merged with Compliance for Products to become SAP Product and REACH Compliance 2.0 Read on to learn more details.

2009 - SAP Product and REACH Compliance 2.0

With the requirements of REACH, software for product compliance started to take shape. SAP Product and REACH Compliance 2.0 combined functionalities for both process industry and discrete industry.

The solution helped customers verify product compliance for RoHS, REACH, SVHC, etc. Additionally, it supports the automotive industry with the International Material Data System (IMDS).

Status

SAP Product and REACH Compliance 2.0 became part of SAP Environment, Health, and Safety Management (EHSM) – Product Compliance. Read on to find out more.

2010 - SAP Environment, Health, and Safety Management (SAP EHSM), ERP Business Add-On

This is where things start to get slightly confusing. SAP Environment, Health, and Safety Management became available as an SAP ERP business add-on. This means that SAP EHSM can be installed on ERP systems and extends the existing SAP EH&S functionalities.

The functions very much focused on the environment, health, and safety management aspects such as:

  • Incident Management
  • Risk Management
  • Occupational Health Integration
  • Chemical Safety Management
  • Environment Management

SAP EH&S and SAP EHSM can be used alongside each other, but they are licensed separately.

Status of Solution

Instead of SAP EHSM, the abbreviation used to refer to functions pertaining to incident management and workplace safety is now simply EHS.

The SAP EHS solution consists of EHS Workplace Safety, Environment Management, and Work Permit Management. The solutions are available in SAP ECC 6.0 as part of the EHSM component extension and SAP S/4HANA.

For more details, contact your SAP account manager directly.

2012 - SAP Environment, Health, and Safety Management (SAP EHSM) – Product Compliance

In 2010, SAP acquired TechniData. As such, SAP Product and REACH Compliance 2.0 was soon rebranded and introduced as SAP Environment, Health, and Safety Management (EHSM) – Product Compliance.

The first version of EHSM that includes functionalities for the discrete industry was EHSM 3.0. This thus discontinued SAP Product and REACH Compliance 2.0

The new features for product compliance discrete industry are:

  • Regulatory list management
  • Compliance checks for various requirements such as RoHS, REACH, GADSL, ELV
  • Automated change processing to automatically process all relevant changes and keep compliance information up-to-date
  • Interface for IMDS to support material reporting for the automotive industry
  • Interfaces to enable data exchange with the supply chain, such as IPC1752

Fun fact: since the founding of opesus, we have implemented SAP EHSM Product Compliance at some of the biggest manufacturing companies in Germany. Today, we still work very closely with them enhancing their implementation of SAP EHSM and helping them achieve a well-rounded product compliance process.

Status of Solution

Officially, the product has now been renamed to SAP Product and REACH Compliance. However, the abbreviation “SAP EHSM” is still sometimes used. Some habits are hard to break! The solution, running on SAP ECC 6.0 (on-premise) will be supported until 2027*

Product compliance functionalities have been revamped and are available in SAP S/4HANA for product compliance.

*based on current SAP strategy. Check with your SAP account manager for latest information.

2013 - SAP Product Stewardship Network

This online collaboration community enables companies and their supply chains to exchange data, such as product declarations, efficiently. The solution offered assessment capabilities to conduct survey-based assessments and facilitate compliance data exchange across the supply chain. 

Status of Solution

Discontinued. However, if you are looking for a collaboration solution for product compliance, have a look at opesus Product Compliance Collaboration. They’re not the same tool, but it might be just what you need.

SAP Product Compliance Solutions Today

Here is a list of product compliance solutions available at SAP today:

On SAP ECC 6.0:

On S/4HANA: 

  • SAP S/4HANA for product compliance (product page)
    • Product marketability and chemical compliance
    • Safety data sheet and label management
    • Dangerous goods management
  • In compatibility pack: Product Safety and Stewardship | Help Page

If you need help to figure out which solution you may need, feel free to contact us. We’re happy to give you some guidance based on our extensive experience in the field.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are SAP EH&S, SAP EHS, and SAP EHSM the same?

No. While they are modules that overlap in SAP ERP, they have different functions and serve different purposes.

The term “SAP EHS” (Environment, Health and Safety) refers to occupational health, workplace safety, incident management, and environment management.

SAP EH&S refers to classic functionalities namely the specification workbench, chemical management, and safety data sheet and label management.SAP EHSM refers to the product compliance module in SAP ECC 6.0. This module is now renamed to SAP Product and REACH Compliance.

Functionalities in SAP EH&S and SAP EHSM are available in S/4HANA for product compliance.

Here's a list of official product names and their unofficial abbreviations for SAP's product compliance applications:

  • SAP S/4HANA for product compliance
  • SAP Environment Health and Safety Management
  • SAP Environment Health and Safety
  • SAP EH&S
  • SAP EHS
  • SAP Compliance for Products
  • SAP CfP
  • SAP REACH Compliance 1.0
  • SAP Product and REACH Compliance 2.0
  • SAP PRC
  • SAP EHSM
  • SAP EHSM - Product Compliance
  • SAP Product Safety
  • SAP Product and REACH Compliance