Manual hazmat labels to ERP–WMS–TMS rules at pack stations, IATA/IMDG docs, fewer holds

Overview

A chemical distributor was exposed to hazardous materials compliance risk because shipping labels and paperwork were assembled manually from emails, spreadsheets, and tribal knowledge. Warehouse teams printed templates from shared folders, Safety Data Sheets (SDS) were sometimes out of date, and mode-specific declarations were easy to miss. Intelligex implemented a rules engine that generated compliant labels and SDS packs from item attributes, shipping mode, and destination, integrated it with existing warehouse and transport tools, and required safety approvals for exceptions. Shipments left with the correct markings and documents, carrier holds decreased, and compliance had a clear, auditable trail.

Client Profile

• Industry: Chemical distribution and repack
• Company size (range): Multi-site network with regional branches and a central DC
• Stage: Established ERP, WMS, and TMS with growing e-commerce and replenishment flows
• Department owner: Procurement, Supply Chain & Logistics
• Other stakeholders: Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), Quality, Warehouse operations, Transportation, Customer service, Legal and compliance, IT applications, Carrier partners

The Challenge

Compliance hinged on the knowledge of a few experienced shippers. Associates referenced static label templates, copy-pasted product data, and collected SDS and declarations from a patchwork of sources. The result was inconsistent hazard labels, missing limited-quantity markings, and shipping papers that did not match the chosen mode or carrier service. Carriers placed holds at pickup, and downstream customers flagged discrepancies between outer carton labels and SDS content. Remediation consumed time, delayed departures, and increased risk during audits.

Core platforms were not the issue and could not be swapped mid-season. The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system held item masters and customer orders. The Warehouse Management System (WMS) managed pick, pack, and ship, and the Transportation Management System (TMS) booked carriers and services. None of these systems owned the logic for dangerous goods across modes—ground, air, or ocean—or ensured that SDS versions and hazard classes drove label content and paperwork. The team needed a way to make the compliant path the default inside existing workflows.

Why It Was Happening

Compliance data lived in silos. Hazard classification, UN numbers, packing groups, and special provisions were captured during onboarding but drifted in spreadsheets and PDFs. The WMS saw items and quantities, not dangerous goods attributes. The TMS selected services without always passing mode and routing context back to the pack station. Shipping associates used whatever template they last touched, so differences in rules between domestic ground and international air were applied inconsistently.

There was also no single state machine for approvals and exceptions. When packaging changed or a product was repacked, label content did not always update. SDS versions were stored without a clear “current” flag. If a shipment fell into a gray area, like limited quantity or excepted quantity, decisions were made in the moment without a documented basis. Audits required reconstructing decisions from emails and warehouse notes.

The Solution

Intelligex delivered a dangerous goods orchestration layer that generated labels and document packs based on item attributes, shipment details, and mode-specific rules. The rules engine pulled classification data from the product master, considered net quantities, packaging type, and route, and produced the correct package markings, hazard labels, and declarations. It attached the right SDS version and embedded safety prompts into pack workflows. Exceptions and special cases flowed through an EHS approval path with clear reason codes. The design aligned with the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, the Globally Harmonized System (GHS), and transport mode rule sets from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Hazardous Materials Regulations, the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations, and the International Maritime Organization’s IMDG Code. SDS content and labeling principles followed the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard and the UN GHS.

• Integrations: Bi-directional links to ERP for item master attributes and customer orders; WMS for pick, pack, ship events and pack station printing; TMS for carrier selection, mode, service, and routing; label printers via a centralized label management service; carrier documentation exchange via API or EDI aligned with X12 where applicable.
• Canonical dangerous goods model: Structured attributes for UN number, proper shipping name, hazard class and division, packing group, subsidiary risks, flash point, special provisions, limited/excepted quantity eligibility, and packaging instructions, with versioning and effectivity by market.
• Rules engine and templates: Mode- and destination-aware generation of package markings, hazard labels, and shipping papers; document packs that bundled SDS, declarations, and any permits; templating aligned to GHS pictograms and mode-specific declarations.
• SDS management: Version control, approved language sets by market, and linkage to specific SKU and formulation variants; prompts to review SDS currency when regulations or formulations changed.
• Validations and guardrails: Checks for net quantity per package, inner packaging requirements, incompatible combinations, expired SDS, and missing attributes; prevention of ship without required labels or documents; prompts for limited/excepted quantity decisions with clear rule references.
• Exception workflow: Human-in-the-loop approvals for repack, relabel, special permits, alternate packaging, and substitutions; reason codes, attachments, and EHS sign-off required.
• Pack station experience: One-click print of the correct label set and document pack; safety prompts for placards, segregation, or temperature controls when applicable.
• Dashboards: Visibility into holds and exceptions by site and mode, SDS update backlog, carrier rejection reasons, and compliance task aging.
• Permissions and audit: Role-based access for warehouse, EHS, planners, and customer service; immutable logs of rule evaluations, template versions, and approvals.

Implementation

• Discovery: Mapped end-to-end pack and ship flows for ground, air, and ocean; inventoried item classifications, SDS sources, and packaging types; reviewed carrier service rules and frequent hold reasons; identified high-risk product families and routes.
• Design: Defined the canonical dangerous goods schema and event model; selected label and document templates by mode and market; designed rule evaluation order and tolerance bands; established a shared glossary for statuses, reason codes, and exception types across warehouse, EHS, and transportation.
• Build: Implemented the rules engine and template renderer; integrated ERP item data, WMS pack events, and TMS mode and service selections; configured label printers and a central document repository; created the exception workflow and dashboards.
• Testing/QA: Ran mock shipments across modes with known edge cases such as limited quantity, temperature control, and subsidiary risks; validated SDS linkage and label output; executed observe-only runs at pack stations while legacy templates remained in use; enforced human-in-the-loop reviews on repack and relabel scenarios to refine rules.
• Rollout: Piloted at one branch and the central DC with top hazardous classes; kept the legacy labeling path as a fallback; enabled ship-with-docs gating after output and carrier acceptances matched expectations; expanded by site and mode as exceptions stabilized.
• Training/hand-off: Scenario-based training for pack station associates and leads; EHS playbooks for exceptions and approvals; quick guides embedded in the pack station UI with rule references; transitioned operations to warehouse and EHS teams with IT support on call.

Results

Pack stations produced the correct labels and document packs by default. Hazard labels, markings, and declarations reflected item attributes, net quantities, packaging, and route, and SDS versions matched the shipment destination. Carrier pickups moved without last-minute paperwork hunts, and holds decreased because shipments met mode-specific requirements the first time. When exceptions arose, EHS decisions were recorded with clear reasons and linked to the shipment.

Compliance and audit readiness improved. The organization could show how each label and document was derived from the rules and the authoritative product data, and when a regulation changed, templates and rules were updated centrally with effectivity. Customer service handled fewer escalations tied to mismatched labels or outdated SDS, and transportation teams spent less time negotiating releases at the dock.

What Changed for the Team

• Before: Associates searched shared folders for label templates; After: Pack stations printed mode-appropriate labels and document packs from a rules engine.
• Before: SDS versions were checked manually; After: SDS were linked to SKUs with version control and printed automatically in the correct language set.
• Before: Carrier holds triggered calls and rework; After: Validations prevented ship without required markings and paperwork.
• Before: Exceptions were handled ad hoc; After: EHS approvals flowed through a governed workflow with reason codes and audit trails.
• Before: Regulatory updates trickled into operations inconsistently; After: Rules and templates were updated centrally with effectivity and applied at print time.

Key Takeaways

• Treat dangerous goods rules as data. Drive labels and documents from product attributes, packaging, mode, and route rather than static templates.
• Embed compliance in pack workflows so the default path is correct, and use validations to block shipments that are missing required elements.
• Keep ERP, WMS, and TMS in place; add a rules and templating layer that interprets regulations and carrier requirements for each shipment.
• Require human-in-the-loop approvals for repack, relabel, and special permits, and capture reason codes to create a defensible record.
• Start with high-risk classes and routes, prove carrier acceptance, then expand once exceptions and updates stabilize.
• Anchor content and process in recognized standards such as OSHA HazCom, UN GHS, PHMSA HMR, IATA DGR, and the IMDG Code.

FAQ

What tools did this integrate with?
The rules engine pulled item attributes and orders from the ERP, listened to pick and pack events in the WMS, and consumed carrier selections and mode details from the TMS. It drove label printers through a central label service and assembled document packs in a repository. Carrier documentation exchange used APIs or EDI aligned with X12 where applicable, and rules and templates aligned to OSHA HazCom, UN GHS, the U.S. DOT’s Hazardous Materials Regulations, the IATA DGR, and the IMDG Code.

How did you handle quality control and governance?
We versioned rules and templates with effectivity dates, enforced ship-with-docs and ship-with-labels validations, and blocked shipments when attributes or SDS were missing or out of date. Exceptions—repack, relabel, special permits—required EHS approval with reason codes and attachments. Every print, rule evaluation, and approval was audit-logged with user, timestamp, and context, aligned to the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard and UN GHS principles.

How did you roll this out without disruption?
We ran in observe-only mode at pack stations, generating labels and document packs alongside the legacy process to compare outputs. The legacy path remained available while we tuned rules and templates. After carrier acceptances matched expectations, we enabled gating and expanded by site, mode, and product class.

How did you support different modes and regions?
The rules engine evaluated shipment context—mode, service, route, and destination market—and applied the appropriate rule set and templates. Ground followed the U.S. DOT’s Hazardous Materials Regulations; air followed the IATA DGR; ocean used the IMDG Code. For international destinations, SDS language and document formats were selected per market.

How were SDS kept current and linked to shipments?
SDS were managed with version control and mapped to SKUs and formulations. When formulations or regulations changed, EHS updated the SDS record and set effectivity, which the engine respected at print time. Prompts alerted users if an SDS neared a planned review date or if a shipment crossed into a region with a different language requirement under the UN GHS.