Brandon Yost
Senior Solutions Manager
Labelmaster
DG Software Makes for
Streamlined Shipping Compliance
Dangerous goods (DG) software should be standard for
any organization that ships hazardous materials (hazmat)
regularly. However, a recent survey shows that just having
this software doesn’t automatically inspire confidence in shipping
hazmat compliantly.
According to Labelmaster’s 2016 survey of DG shippers, 77%
of participants do not consider their shipping technology to be
forward-thinking and 31% do
not believe their companies
have the right technology
in place to meet emerging
regulations.
In today’s rapidly changing
world of regulations and
complex logistics, keeping
up means having the right
technology and infrastructure
in place.
Shippers should consider
fully integrated DG software
as a solution to help meet
regulatory compliance and
streamline supply chain
operations.
DG software is only part
of the solution
All but the smallest shippers now
run their operations on enterprise
resource planning (ERP) software.
However, many have been slower
to adopt DG software, even as
DG shipping has become more
complicated. DG software helps
companies ship hazmat compliantly
by classifying shipments,
In today’s rapidly changing world
of regulations and complex
logistics, keeping up means having
the right technology and
infrastructure in place...
producing documentation and
validating correct packaging, labels and markings.
Many shippers find that running DG software alongside their
ERP systems adds extra steps to their shipping operations. Without
ERP integration, even the best DG software is a less-than-ideal
solution.
While you might receive the best output, the process creates
more work as two separate sets of addresses are required and the
user must learn two different interfaces. That’s a lot of wasted time
and effort. Some ERP systems do offer DG functionality, but they
lack sophistication and are not guaranteed to support the latest
regulations. For the most accurate, most streamlined operation,
the optimal solution is to have DG functionality fully
integrated within your ERP.
Integrated System Benefits
When DG software is fully integrated into an ERP, they run
like one system—because they are one system. The benefits of
such a set-up include:
• Users work with one
familiar interface
• When DG functions
are required, the system accesses
them seamlessly
• There’s no wasted time
or effort as data needs to be
entered only once
• Less data entry means
errors are reduced or
eliminated
• Training is simplified
because there’s only one
interface to learn
What’s more, integrated
DG software updates regulations
and tables automatically,
so the ERP stays current
and keeps shipments compliant.
Another factor to consider
is implementing DG software
that features an application
programming interface (API).
APIs allow one program—such
as a shipper’s ERP platform—to
link to another cloud-based
program without any interruptions
to its interface. To the
user, it appears as if everything
is part of the same system. Many programmers consider an
API to be the most sophisticated level of integration between
any two systems.
Shipping hazardous materials is a complicated, timeconsuming
process. Integrating enterprise resource planning
and dangerous goods software systems takes initial information
technology (IT) work, but results in a simplified shipping
process with more robust capabilities, which is the ideal
logistics technology solution for streamlined compliance.
More info: www.LabelMaster.com Spray
October 2017 Spray 21