Ensuring the conformity of own products
The aim of the collaboration between Viessmann Family Holding and SI PRO was to implement an SAP solution for compliance with regulatory requirements relating to RoHS, REACH SVHC and other substance-related prohibition and declaration lists. According to these regulations, a company is obliged to ensure the conformity of its own product structures and, in the case of REACH, to communicate this to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). Without fulfilling these obligations to provide evidence, companies run the risk of no longer being allowed to sell their products. The SAP Product Compliance project minimised these legal risks and further exploited the potential of the SAP S/4HANA for Product Compliance standard.

Detailed solution architecture as a guarantee for success
In the process of this project, a blueprint phase was started before the implementation of the solution. In this phase, an analysis was performed together with the responsible departments to determine how SAP Product Compliance can fulfil the compliance-relevant requirements. For this purpose, a detailed implementation concept was developed, in which potential risks were anticipated and various scenarios were discussed in a solution-oriented manner. In addition, current Viessmann compliance processes were reviewed, and the new compliance workflows were conceptually embedded. These detailed considerations and assessments enabled a seamless flow into the implementation phase

SAP Product Compliance – the ideal Solution
During the implementation of SAP Product Compliance, the main focus was initially on the BOM transfer. Clearly defined selection criteria for the BOMs to be included and a good data quality in the connected SAP Material Management modules ensured the successful creation of a compliance product structure. This new compliance structure enables granular processing of compliance data along the Viessmann supply chain and ensures the conformity of its own materials. To ensure that all supplier information is reflected in the new SAP module, a direct interface was created for communication with upstream business partners. Here, suppliers can directly access a section of the Viessmann system, import their material declarations and upload compliance documents. An enhancement for the mass import of material declarations ensures the efficient handling of supplier conformities. The solution also provides the ideal basis for checking the aggregated compliance information of subordinate components at product level and for tracing missing conformities. With successful checks, compliance documents can be generated, and compliance declarations can be sent to customers or authorities.