Glasswise vs. APyS E-Label: Independent Solution vs. ERP-Bundled E-Labels

APyS by soppe + partner is an established wine ERP with nearly 40 years of experience. It covers everything from the certified Kellerbuch (cellar book) to order management, accounting, and production planning, split across more than 20 modules. When EU labeling rules took effect in December 2023, they added an e-label module that generates the mandatory information from your ERP data.

Glasswise is a standalone e-label and wine data platform. It works independently of any ERP and integrates with the tools you already use.

This comparison turns on a different question: should your e-labels be tied to your ERP, or run independently?

Disclosure: This article is written by the Glasswise team.

The vendor lock-in problem

When your e-labels are a module inside your ERP, a few things follow:

Your e-labels hang on your ERP contract. If you ever switch your wine management software, the e-labels move with it. Every QR code on every bottle in circulation points to your ERP provider's domain. Switching then means either reprinting or hoping the old provider keeps the redirects running.

You cannot evaluate the e-label on its own merits. You chose APyS for the Kellerbuch or the order management. The e-label came bundled in. The real question is whether that bundled solution is actually the best e-label for your brand.

Your QR codes point to the ERP provider's domain. APyS e-labels are hosted on elabel.apys.de, a proprietary address owned by that provider. Leave APyS and those URLs can go dark. Glasswise uses GS1 Digital Link instead, an open-standard identity that belongs to your wine. Your QR codes carry a wine-long guarantee, and we forward to any new destination even after cancellation.

What APyS does well

Fair is fair, APyS brings real strengths:

• Tight ERP integration. Your wine data from the Kellerbuch flows straight into the e-label. No re-entering.
• Single-vendor simplicity. One contract, one login, one system.
• Industry experience. Nearly 40 years in wine. They know how a winery runs.
• Multilingual mandatory data. The e-label renders the nutrition and ingredient facts in around two dozen European languages.

If you already run APyS and you are happy with the whole ecosystem, the bundled e-label is the path of least resistance.

What Glasswise does differently

Independence. Glasswise runs alongside any ERP, cellar book, or wine management system. Your e-labels depend on no single vendor. Switch your ERP tomorrow and your e-labels keep working.

Custom design. The APyS e-label is a standard template generated from ERP data. Glasswise e-labels are yours to design around your brand: your colors, typography, imagery, and story.

Marketing QR. "Scan with Glasswise" sends your customers from the e-label to your website or shop. Your mandatory QR code becomes a marketing channel.

GS1 Digital Link. Glasswise builds on open GS1 standards. The identity on the bottle belongs to you and survives a change of provider.

Wine-long guarantee. Your QR codes keep working for good. Even after you cancel, we hold the redirect open. You are never locked in.

Data ownership. Your wine data is producer-verified and stays exportable. You decide where it goes.

Why does forwarding after cancellation matter?

An e-label is a QR code on printed bottles that sit in the trade for years. If you cancel a provider and the forwarding stops, the code leads nowhere and you fall out of labeling compliance. Glasswise guarantees the redirect even after your contract ends, so every bottle in circulation stays compliant.

Feature comparison

The real question

It is not about "APyS or Glasswise?" for your whole wine operation. APyS is an ERP, Glasswise is an e-label and data platform, and the two can run side by side. The question that matters is different: do you want your e-labels tied to your ERP vendor, or independent?

If you switch ERPs in five years, your Glasswise e-labels and QR codes keep working. If your e-labels live inside APyS, you face a migration problem for every bottle in circulation.

How to switch from APyS to Glasswise

What does moving from APyS to Glasswise involve?

You set your wines up in Glasswise, export your product, ingredient, and nutrition data from APyS, and import it with us. New bottlings get a QR code on GS1 Digital Link that belongs to you. Existing APyS bottles keep working while your APyS access stays active. Setup takes a few days.

Here is how it goes:

1. Add your wines in Glasswise and design the e-label in your brand.
2. Export your product, ingredient, and nutrition data from APyS and import it into Glasswise. We help you map the fields.
3. For new vintages, print the Glasswise QR code built on GS1 Digital Link. That identity is yours.
4. Leave bottles already carrying the APyS URL untouched. While your APyS access runs, they keep working, and you recall nothing.
5. From the switch on, the forwarding is yours. You change the destination yourself at any time, with no reprint.

The decisive part: this move is the last of its kind. Because the identity is yours afterward, any future change of provider costs you zero reprints.

For APyS customers considering Glasswise

You can run Glasswise alongside APyS. Your wine data stays in APyS for cellar management and accounting. Your e-labels live in Glasswise for brand presentation and compliance. The two systems complement each other.

Take a look at Glasswise or read our switching guide if you want to migrate existing labels.