Digital marking of building materials

Main article: State information system for marking goods

Chronicle

2024

Marking of building materials begins in Russia. The government has set a launch date

The Ministry of Industry and Trade published for public discussion a draft "Rules for labeling certain types of building materials in consumer packaging^[1].., which involves the introduction of labeling for a number of building materials, such as gypsum, lime, cement, dolomite, glass and garden putties, putties, sealants, mastics, building mixtures and mortars. Part of the materials will need to be marked from April 1, 2025, and part - from September 1, 2025. Also, from September 1, 2026, it is planned to transfer information on the turnover of construction materials to the monitoring information system.

The public discussion, during which adjustments can be proposed, will last until October 4.

The accompanying documentation for the project indicates the following reason for the introduction of labeling:

An increase in the share of falsified dry building mixtures, cement, as well as the presence in circulation of illegal and counterfeit certain types of building materials in consumer packaging, which lead to risks of threats to the life and health of citizens of the Russian Federation, losses in the budget of the Russian Federation.

It should be noted that in accordance with Government Decree No. 287 from March 15 to December 1, 2024, an experiment is being carried out to label certain types of building materials: cement, concrete and dry building mixtures, mortar.

From March 15, 2024 to December 1, 2024, a voluntary experiment is being carried out in relation to certain types of building materials, within the framework of which market participants can test the main processes for product labeling and work in the labeling information system, - explained TAdviser in the Ministry of Industry and Trade. - At the same time, marking codes and necessary equipment (for the period of testing) are provided free of charge. The need for additional hardware and software equipment for the full implementation of the marking system in the enterprise depends on the existing equipment and software, as well as the degree of automation of business processes. In order to reduce the burden on manufacturers of building materials, as part of the experiment, the issue of applying identification means at the stage of packaging production by a service provider (packaging supplier, printing house) is being worked out.

The rules say that a participant in the turnover of goods must:

• Own the certificate of the electronic signature verification key, which allows creating a UKEP;
• Have PAC for generation of UKEP;
• Have remote access to the emission recording device located in the infrastructure of the monitoring information system;
• Have an agreement with the electronic document management operator.

To check the labeling of goods, registration in the Honest Sign system, connection to the EDO operator, purchase of special equipment and integration with accounting systems is required, - Dmitry Smirnov, director of business development in retail and FMCG, "CROC" listed the necessary requirements for TAdviser. - So far, the labeling concerns only part of the assortment, but in general it is a serious challenge for the DYI industry. We assess the readiness of the market as average, but there is still time, and the process itself does not cause difficulties, because in fact nothing radically changes on the trading floor itself. A special scanner is added and the software is updated at the checkout. A commodity accounting system is a backend system.

However, it is necessary to equip solutions for marking and its control not only manufacturers, but also logistics companies that deliver packages to the consumer. In general, there will be a lot of such solutions in the industry.

For all manufacturers, it will be necessary to purchase equipment for applying labeling to production sites, warehouses need equipment for scanning codes during shipment, "Maxim Dorofeev, creator and author of the White Delivery from China project, explained for TAdviser. - It is also necessary to invest in integration with accounting and production management systems. For large and medium-sized manufacturers, investments will range from several million, depending on the number of production lines, equipment performance and other parameters. For small manufacturers, it will be possible to apply marking in manual or semi-automatic mode. In this case, the purchase of equipment will cost from 200-300 thousand rubles. Importers need to coordinate with their suppliers in other countries the ability to write codes, carry out the necessary integration and configuration of equipment on the manufacturer's side. What will be more difficult than setting up labeling in production within Russia.

As TAdviser explained in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, labeling by means of identification has already been introduced in relation to a wide list of product groups, within the framework of the introduction of which there were no difficulties with the availability of the necessary equipment on the market. Moreover, in order to eliminate the risks of a shortage of software and hardware, LLC Operator-CRPT"" has formed a stock of relevant equipment and consumables. Actually, labeling using the Honest Sign system has already been introduced to control medicines and dairy products, but these systems do not overlap in any way with the logistics of building materials.

For the most part, trading enterprises are not equipped for the sale of labeled goods, - Maxim Dorofeev said for TAdviser. - Usually companies selling building materials do not work with other types of goods and have not encountered labeling before. It is enough for very small retail outlets to replace the online cashier with a new one that can work with labeled goods. Now there are offers on the market for 3-5 thousand rubles a month. Larger outlets will have to invest tens and hundreds of thousands of rubles. All costs for the implementation and maintenance of the labeling system by each participant in the production-sale chain of building materials will be somehow transferred to the shoulders of the buyer.

The implementation of these solutions will require certain costs from almost all enterprises in the construction industry, but it is not entirely clear how the introduction of labeling will affect the quality of building materials in order to ensure the safety of construction.

The amount of counterfeit, that is, products labeled with well-known brands, but actually released not by the copyright holder, will decrease, - said Maxim Dorofeev. - But if we are talking about the quality of products, then the presence of the code "Honest sign" does not guarantee quality. The manufacturer can release a high-quality construction mixture or not high-quality, label it and put it on sale. Labeling will not protect against this.

However, the explanatory materials to the rules indicate that the use of marking allows a risk-oriented approach to be applied in the work of supervisory authorities. The TAdviser Ministry of Industry and Trade explained that this mechanism is already being implemented due to risk indicators, which are automatically calculated within the framework of the labeling information system. The corresponding principle has already been implemented in relation to other product groups subject to mandatory labeling. Perhaps, based on the results of the system, it will be possible to create a rating of the quality of building materials from various manufacturers. Ultimately, the manufacturers themselves will control the quality of their products so as not to reduce their rating.

Start of marking

On March 12, 2024, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree introducing digital labeling of certain types of building materials. It is assumed that this measure will help in countering the illegal import, production and circulation of relevant products.

Manufacturers of cement, concrete and construction dry mixtures, mortars, importers of building materials and organizations of wholesale and retail trade are invited to participate in the program on a voluntary basis. Within the framework of the initiative, it is planned to develop optimal labeling technologies for these products. Goods will be tracked using the Fair Sign system.

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The head of the commodity group CRPT (operator of the Honest Sign platform) Varvara Mikhailova notes that the authorities have decided to introduce digital labeling of building materials due to the growing level of illegal products. When implementing the initiative, it is planned to form a general model and procedure for labeling goods, as well as work out optimal technologies for applying identification tools to products.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Association of NOPSM (National Association of Manufacturers of Building Materials and the Construction Industry), the share of falsified dry building mixtures is about 30%, cement - up to 21.3%. The use of labeling will reduce the volume of counterfeit products on the Russian market.

The state marking system "Honest Sign," launched in 2019, as of March 2024, includes data on dairy products, bottled water, soft drinks, tobacco, beer, shoes, light industry goods, fur coats, tires, perfumes, cameras, medical devices, wheelchair, antiseptics, dietary supplements and medicines. From April 1, 2024, mandatory labeling of outerwear and sportswear is introduced.^[2]

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