FDA News

SAP and TechniData Provide First Integrated REACH Solution to Help Chemical Companies Comply With New EU Regulations

(March 14, 2007)--Further demonstrating continued investment in industry-specific technology solutions that enable companies to meet the challenge of regulatory compliance, SAP AG and TechniData AG, an SAP partner for environmental compliance solutions, today announced the availability of integrated software to address the complex tasks required by the newly enacted European Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) legislation. This functionality complements SAP's existing software for governance, risk and compliance (GRC) and the expertise of SAP's GRC business unit, aimed at helping organizations protect their brand and reputation while driving higher growth and stakeholder trust.

Approved by the European Parliament and European Council just 60 days ago, REACH legislation requires companies producing or importing chemicals in quantities of more than one ton per year in Europe to report and document specific data about the handling of such substances, potentially resulting in dramatically increased operational costs to remain compliant. By June of this year, more than 6,000 chemical companies are required to begin compliance with the new regulations covering more than 30,000 chemical substances, with additional impact to other industries such as pharmaceuticals, consumer goods and oil and gas that make substantial use of chemicals in their manufacturing processes.

SAP and TechniData are collaborating to deliver a REACH solution as an extension to the existing SAP(R) Environment, Health & Safety (SAP EH&S) application to integrate all phases of the REACH process, including registration, evaluation and authorization of chemical substances. SAP EH&S is currently used by more than 1,000 companies worldwide, including BASF and Rohm and Haas. Companies already licensing SAP EH&S are well prepared now to easily track substance volumes, collect and submit data and track the chemical registration process. The automation of these processes and the alignment with standard chemicals industry processes such as procurement and logistics, helps companies streamline operations, resulting in cost savings and increased legal certainty.

Initially addressing the pre-registration phase of the legislation, in which companies determine which chemicals need to be tracked, the new functionality for REACH enables substance volume tracking capability based on the SAP EH&S application. In parallel, the functionality provides project management capabilities to define registration projects and activities. Moreover, it supports the management, collaborative usage and access of documents related to the registration process, allowing internal and external groups to work together while enabling a transparent, streamlined and reliable business process.

The automation of processes related to meeting these requirements will enable customers to quickly become REACH-compliant while avoiding dramatically increased operational costs that are normally associated with compliance regulations. Research regarding REACH compliance indicates that companies can expect significant increases in operating costs as they work to become compliant with this legislation.

 SAP solutions for GRC address distinct industry demands including emissions standards in chemicals and utilities sectors, FDA requirements for pharmaceutical companies and Basel II for the banking sector.

Share or bookmarklet this web page at: