The labels on cosmetics have to be in local languages and comply with UN GHS rules and constantly changing national regulations.
This company is a leading global supplier of cosmetics and beauty products with operations in over 100 countries.
Background
Each location had thermal transfer printers and many users printed labels. The Company obtained regulatory label data from a third party Safety Data Sheet authoring system. .
Business goal
The company's main aim labeling was to comply with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). Their Supply Chain Manager said, "Managing our growing and constantly evolving labelling environment was becoming way too complex. We needed to simplify labelling processes while complying with GHS standards."
Requirements
GHS compliance across many countries
The company had multiple label schemes to comply with regulatory agencies in the U.S. and other countries.
Foreign language boundaries
GHS compliant labeling had to extend throughout the entire enterprise, across language boundaries.as well as geographic.
Disparate data sources
Each of location maintained its own system and product database. When an ingredient changed, updates were made at each location. A central location handled quality assurance for each site. A centrally controlled database was needed.
Hundreds of thousands of labels
The SDS provider advice on GHS compliance and regulatory data had to be manually distributed. This generated over 110,000 label variations per month. This had to come down to a manageable number.
LMS Solution
GHS label template designer
Business users to design with GHS pictograms and GHS elements such as product identifier, signal word, hazard statements, precautionary statements, and supplier information.
Foreign Language Support
Each label is held in the languages used for the product. The user interface can change to any language to suit operators in each country. All shipments can be made in the native language.
Centralised data
All product and ingredient data is in one database. NiceLabel syncs this database with regulatory information from the SDS provider's stores in its data repository. All locations print their labels with up to the minute information from this central database.
Web printing
The company uses NiceLabel's local client-side processing and printer management built into its web technology. The local PC generates label previews and print streams thus avoiding any time lags with network traffic from the server.
Results
Label consolidation
Instead of hundreds of thousands of labels the company uses six universal GHS templates. These smart templates have business rules to select the correct pictograms, signal words, precautionary statements, hazard statements, chemical name, and customer specific data in multiple languages. Thus has eliminated the administrative burden of managing countless label variations.
Far fewer errors
The central database for templates and data ensures that users at each location print the correct labels every time. There is little or no room for error.
Reduced costs
Everyone has immediate access to the labels they need. This translates into less downtime, reduced set up time and faster production. IT costs have dropped as infrastructure requirements have reduced and staff have moved on to other area. .
Control
The company is able to deploy changes to label templates and printing solutions anywhere across the globe in an instant..
Agility
The LMS solution has made much easier for the company to extend their operations anywhere in the world. In the words of the supply chain manager, NiceLabel has helped us achieve GHS compliance. We now have centralised control and are much more agile to expand into new global markets .
