Experience from our projects shows that master data often takes up a lot of time. This alone proves the high importance of master data for label printing. Master data is the core of every ERP system and without it no logistic process would work properly. Product labels are basically just the visualization of master and transaction data.
In this respect, the question arises: Do you really have your master data under control?
What impact does master data have on labels? Where and how do you maintain them in an SAP system? Are there best practice approaches for managing master data for labels? Which master data is relevant for the labeling? We address this and other questions in this article, focusing on product labeling.
Before we talk about the impact and importance of master data, we would like to show which master data is relevant for labels in the first place. In this article, we are primarily concerned with product labels. Logistical labels, on the other hand, only require a small amount of master data.
Classic material master data is probably the first thing that comes to your mind. Typical material master data are: Material numbers, designations, weight, volume, mass, temperature condition, storage conditions, etc. Especially the designations are often language dependent, others are plant specific.
The container or SKU (stock-keeping unit) information is also very important for labeling. This often involves printing different quantity calculations, quantity units, pack sizes or EAN/GTIN numbers etc. on the different packaging levels.
If you run OEM or private labeling, then you label your products with customized information. Typically these are customer material numbers, different designations, EAN/GTIN number or branding information. In the case of merchandise, manufacturer information on the labels are serving as additional information for your customers.
With configurable products, you define any attributes such as color, application areas, versions or characteristics as variants or order-specific configurations. Depending on the variant or configuration produced, you use these attributes on your labels.
Product attributes vary widely by industry. These are usually based on the product or a configuration. Examples include application and handling information, such as the sterile use of a product, or its classification, such as hazardous chemical mixtures.
Product certifications such as CE, UL or other industry-specific certifications must be printed on your products, by law. You often maintain this master data as references for the use of pictograms or graphics.
Information about the performance of your products is also part of the product labeling. Master data such as the nominal power, power consumption, energy classes, IP protection classes and many more, are performance data which are mandatory for the labeling. These play a particularly important role in electronic devices.
We have compiled a collection of typical challenges in the area of master data for you here.
Are you planning to introduce a new label management system or do you need to create new labels?
Then you are certainly faced with at least one of the challenges. Last but not least, these challenges are encountered on a daily basis and may require an improvement to your current system – don’t worry, we have good solutions to overcome these challenges.
Storing master data in labels and maintaining them with enormous manual effort no longer meets the requirements of efficient and secure label management. And yet, many companies are right at this point at the beginning.
Our proposal is a label management system that reacts to master data changes with different versions. You will be notified of new versions and the new data will not be included in the marking until you also formally release it. Live monitoring allows you to track changes and follow your released versions at any time. Would such a system help you avoid errors before they occur?
Yes it is possible! Printing dynamic labels means that you work with a template. Depending on the definition, a template covers a complete product range. Your master data are maintained centrally, since they are also used for other processes and systems. The question is, how do you ensure that each batch, formulation or product revision uses the correct level of master data?
With Content & Alert Manager, you can ensure that changes to master data do not directly affect your label printing. As the name suggests, it offers you the possibility to manage your content and at the same time a monitoring with an alert in case of changes.
The most important functions at a glance:
No matter where you manage or maintain label data, it remains the most important topic in any label management project. In our workshops we use to say:
Labels mercilessly reveal the lapses in master data management in recent years.
Often this introduction leads to a smile from the participants, because everyone knows how important the topic of master data is for labels. We have found that it is often not so easy to solve the master data challenges in the project. With the Content & Alert Manager, we have developed a solution for you that not only offers you security in labeling, but also gives you time to deal with the challenges of master data management.
Since Content & Alert Manager integrates seamlessly with OPAL Label Management, you can use it to supplement your labeling and print different states of labels at any time. Here we focus on efficiency, it does not necessarily have to be an elaborate formal process that releases a new version of the label, this can also happen automatically. Being informed of changes in the process, on the other hand, is key to safeguarding labeling and avoiding errors.
Our experts would like to show you in a live demo how easy it is to version, share and print labels with dynamic content. Request a personal appointment directly here.
