Global Labeling Solution Question

[carla_matczak]

Lord Corporation is a global process and discrete manufacturing company. We currently use WWI for GHS regulated Safety
Data Sheets and Product Labels.  We also use SAP Peak Automation Controller (PAC) for customer, product, and shipping labels.   We use
Zebra and CAB label printers and Motorola Scanning devices.  We have been experiencing some issues and need to start incorporating color, symbols, and other languages into our labels.  We are looking for a solution that is simple to use and manage and supports multiple languages.   We would like to know what other companies similar to Lord use as their labeling solution.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[Mark-Pfister]

Hello Carla,

I think GLM or GLM Plus would be a very good fit for your company - especially since you are already using EH&S for SDSs and therefore you have almost all of the data need already in SAP.

GLM is very powerful from what it can achieve in terms of label determination. Depending on the shipment route GLM can  :

• automatically determine the correct regulatory information (EU GHS vs. NA GHS etc..)
• automatically determine necessary DG regulations and Symbols
• reduce GHS Symbols if they overlap with DG Symbols
• automatically determine the needed languages
• etc

- and therefore it is quite a task to set up to do this all - as Christoph described.

But for the end user it is therefore fairly easy to use.

Or you could integrate it fully automated into your production line.

Why don't you get in contact with SAP and ask for a reference customer you could visit? I have some in mind, but can't disclose them here in public.

Hope this helps

Mark

[christoph_bergemann]

Dear Carly

if you have a SAP ERP and you are using the EHS system the best next option is to check the "GLobal LabelManagement part" of this solution. Please check:

as starting point. Based on SAP ERP release status there might be the need to implement EnhPack 7 to use the new quite helpful GLM functionality.

High level: using SAP EHS you can in roughly 40%  of the cases create any label what you can think about using the existing architecture of EHS with "minor" efforts. For the 60% rest; you need to generate new report symbols etc. etc. etc. (may be the numbers are not precise but in any case).

Any label project is a challenge. The "issue" is not only SAP driven but printer driven as well (Zebra and CAB label printers and Motorola Scanning devices.)

Depending on your company structure, products you sell, in which region you sell, label projects have the trend to be "never ever ending". This is not a SAP problem; but a problem of complexity. May be the hints in the document might help you (as a general hint: if somebody is looking for a Label Solution to get it in one year; double at least this time frame at minimum... (but clearly this depends on the complexity of company, product etc. etc. etc.)

It is quite clear: if you have no (or less) experience in using GLM and you are looking to get a "fast" solution that you should get support by some of the many service providers which exists

Hope this helps as a starting point

C.B:

PS: only because never ever heard. can you give some ideas about: SAP Peak Automation Controller (PAC)

Never get in touch with this solution

[mttuttle79]

Hi Carla

We use the Global Label Management (GLM) functionality for product labeling.  We label in 35+ languages in close to 100 countries (some are multi-language) labels.

As far as printers go, we mainly use the CAB XC6 for EU and US GHS labeling, but also deployed the Epson GP-C831 as a lower volume printer for our US plants.  It is about a 1/3 of the price as the CAB printers and is much more user friendly.

We had issues in the past using anything that generated heat to print (i.e Laser Printer), so this industrial inkjet has been a better fit.

http://www.epson.com/alf_upload/pos/pdfs/brochures/brochure_colorworks-c831.pdf

[Former Member]

Hi Matt,

My company is also using Epson GP-C831, but we are not able to print the labels in the right format (they are smaller than when using our other printers).

I can't find this printer model in SAP notes about device types, can I ask you which device type are you using for this printers?

Thanks a lot!

Irene

[mttuttle79]

Hi Irene,

It sounds like you are using GLM along with an SAP printer queue.  We actually aren't using the SAP print queues with GLM.

We just have them setup as local printers on the WWI Label server, the driver settings are then managed there and it only uses the local user's PC for connectivity when they print.

We had a similar problem as you describe with that printer and it started working when we adjusted this driver setting on the WWI server.

Thanks

Matt