We have to distinguish between an ideal and a real world. In the ideal world there might be indeed one place for all specification information although I am even skeptic here due to the fact that the word specification is used for many things. You say that should not be difficult to make. But now we come to the real world. Fact is that specification data today are maintained in different places. So if we would change that now it would cause disruptions since we would touch the ERP system and its data at many places. All the users of SAP´s ERP system will not be happy with that. They will ask what the value behind it is for them who would have to take action to migrate from old to a new structure.
And therefore my idea to make more use of EH&S spec DB for maintenance of specification data since the spec DB has many existing integration points into ERP and is a very flexible tool already.
Here is what I take from our intersting discussion.
First, we have to check EHS-QM interface gathering customer feedback on that.
Second, the specDB is subject of discussions from time to time in terms of modernization. We avoided that for the time being in order to protect customers from disruptive changes. However in IT nothing stays forever and technolgical change will arrive the spec DB as well sooner or later. And in those discussions we should consider a specification management that goes far beyond just Product Safety the spec DB was onces created for.
Marko