Manufacturers | Item-Level Customs Data for US & EU Shipments

Record each product's manufacturer, part number and US product safety (CPSC) declaration in Helm WMS, so customs get the detail they need on every US and EU label.

What It Does

Customs in the US and the EU now ask for detail about every product inside a parcel, not just the parcel as a whole: who made it, the maker's own part number and, for the US, whether it meets consumer product safety rules. Helm lets you record this once on each product. From then on it is sent automatically with every courier label, for orders and stock transfers alike, so parcels are less likely to be held at the border.

There are three parts to it:

Manufacturers: a list of the companies that make your products, with their address and US Manufacturer Identification Code (MID).
Manufacturer Part Number: the maker's own code for each product, required on EU declarations from 1 November 2026.
US Compliance (CPSC): a declaration of whether the product is certified under the rules of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, disclaimed, or not applicable.

Example: you sell a children's wooden puzzle made by Oakleaf Toys Ltd and ship it to customers in the US. You add Oakleaf Toys as a manufacturer, link it to the puzzle, enter Oakleaf's part number and declare the puzzle as Certified with its certificate details. Every US label for the puzzle now carries the manufacturer's name, address and MID, the part number, the barcode and the certificate, without anyone doing anything extra at despatch.

Before You Start

Labels go through Voila. These details are sent with label requests made through Helm's Voila shipping connection (Settings > Despatch Settings > Voila Connection).
Gather the details from your suppliers. Part numbers, MIDs and CPSC certificate details come from the manufacturer, the importer or your customs broker. If you do not hold them, ask your supplier.
Check your permissions. Users with the Senior Warehouse Operative, Packing Operative or Inventory User role can view manufacturers but not add, edit or delete them. Ask an admin if you need to set them up.
Keep your existing customs details. The product's HS Code, Country of Origin and Description for Customs are still needed. The new fields sit alongside them.

Adding a Manufacturer

Go to Settings > System Settings > Manufacturers.
Click Add Manufacturer.
Choose how to start:
1. Import from a supplier: pick the company from the Supplier list. Helm copies its name and address into the form. Nothing stays linked afterwards, so later changes to the supplier do not update the manufacturer.
2. Enter manually: type the details yourself.
Enter the Company name. This is the only required field, and each name can only be used once.
Fill in the address. Once you enter any part of it, Address line 1, City and Country become required.
Under US Customs, enter the Manufacturer Identification Code (MID). It can be up to 15 letters and digits; spaces are removed and letters are saved in capitals.
Click Save Manufacturer.

Tip: if your customs broker has given you a MID, use that one. If not, hover over the information icon next to the MID field to see how a MID is built from the country code, company name, address and city.

Note: some carriers only accept two address lines and drop Address line 3, so keep the important part of the address in the first two lines.

Adding Customs Details to a Product

Go to Inventory and open the product.
Expand Customs Information.
In Manufacturer Part Number, enter the manufacturer's own code for this item. This is their code, not your SKU, and can be up to 100 characters.
In Manufacturer, choose the company from the list. Only manufacturers added in Settings > System Settings > Manufacturers appear here.
Click Save Changes.

Note: you do not need to enter a barcode here. Helm sends the product's barcode from its Barcodes panel automatically. To change it, edit the product's barcodes.

Setting the US Compliance (CPSC) Declaration

The CPSC declaration is for regulated consumer goods entering the US, Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands from outside them. A movement that starts inside those territories, such as the US to Puerto Rico, declares nothing.

On the product's Customs Information panel, expand US Compliance (CPSC). The badge on the right shows the current setting, for example Not configured.
Under How is this item declared?, choose one of the three options in the table below.
If you choose Certified, fill in:
1. Certifier ID: the party that issued the certificate. This is usually the importer, or the manufacturer or private labeller for goods made in the US.
2. Registry Product ID: the product ID already registered with the CPSC, so a repeat shipment does not need to restate it.
3. Certificate Version: letters and digits only, for example V1. Increase it when the certificate is reissued.
If you choose Disclaimed, fill in:
1. Basis for disclaiming: Not regulated by CPSC or Data not required under CPSC guidance.
2. Intended Use: who the product is for. Consumer products use the 130 range, from 130.000 - General consumer use to 130.006 - People aged 13 years or older. For anything else, open Non-consumer products and choose 980.000 - Other, then fill in Describe the intended use.
3. Reason: Helm fills this in from the basis you chose. Edit it if the item needs a more specific reason.
Click Save Changes.

Option	When to use it	What you fill in
Not applicable	The product is not a regulated consumer good, or never ships into the US	Nothing. No CPSC details are sent.
Certified	A certificate for the product is held in the CPSC registry	Certifier ID, Registry Product ID, Certificate Version
Disclaimed	No certificate is required for the product	Basis for disclaiming, Intended Use, Reason

Note: carriers differ in how they read a disclaimer. Some take the basis as a code and others take free text, so Helm sends both the basis and the reason.

Checking What Was Sent

Helm reads these details at the moment a label is requested, so an edit to a product or a manufacturer shows on the next label. Empty fields are left out of the request rather than sent blank.

Go to Settings > System Settings > Courier Logs.
Open the label request for the shipment you want to check.
Look at the item in the request. The details appear under these names:

What you set in Helm	Name in the courier request
Manufacturer Part Number	manufacturer_sku
Product barcode	barcode
Manufacturer's MID	mid_id
Manufacturer's name and address	manufacturer_address
Certified	cpsc_certifier_id, cpsc_registry_product_id, cpsc_product_version
Disclaimed	cpsc_intended_use_code, cpsc_disclaim_code, cpsc_disclaim_reason, plus cpsc_intended_use_description for 980.000 - Other

Best Practices & Notes

Set Up Manufacturers First

Add your manufacturers before you work through your products. The Manufacturer dropdown on a product only lists companies that already exist, so having them ready lets you complete each product in one go.

Start With the Products You Ship Most to the US & EU

You do not need to update your whole catalogue at once. Start with the products that ship most often to the US and the EU, then work through the rest.

Stock Transfers & Copied Products

Transfer shipments carry the same customs details as orders. When a stock transfer creates the product in another Helm company, the part number and CPSC declaration are copied across, but the manufacturer link is not, because manufacturers belong to one company. Add the manufacturer in the receiving company and link it there.

Keep Certificates Current

When a product's certificate is reissued, update its Certificate Version straight away. The next label picks up the change automatically.

FAQ

Do warehouse staff need to do anything differently at despatch?

No. Once a product is set up, Helm adds the details to every label automatically.

What happens if I leave these fields empty?

Labels are created as before. Empty fields are simply left out of the courier request.

Does a manufacturer have to be one of my suppliers?

No. Import from a supplier is a shortcut that copies a supplier's name and address. You can add any company with Enter manually.

How do I remove a manufacturer?

First unlink it from every product that uses it, by choosing a different manufacturer or clearing the Manufacturer field on each product. Helm keeps a manufacturer while any product is still linked to it.

Why can't I see the Add Manufacturer button?

Your user role can view manufacturers but not change them. Ask an admin to add the manufacturer or update your permissions.

Can I fill these fields in by CSV import?

Set them on each product's Customs Information panel, or through the Helm API if you manage products from another system.

If a label is held or rejected over customs data, check the request in Courier Logs first, then contact the Helm support team with the order number.

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