Accurate, consistent, and well-governed master data is critical to a business’ operations. For our manufacturing client, their master data was managed inconsistently across systems, creating inefficiencies in operations. The organization was uncertain about the effectiveness of the proposed ERP implementation. This feeling was driven by concerns over data quality, reporting issues, and duplication across legacy systems – all of which were impacting business efficiency.

As the client prepared for a future Enterprise Resource Plann (ERP) consolidation, an MDM strategy was essential to ensure data integrity, reduce manual workarounds, and improve decision-making for master data used throughout the organization. Premier stepped in to provide a helping hand in crafting an MDM strategy and potential solutions to set them up for their future implementation.

Business Challenges

  • System Fragmentation Due to M&A: The client had multiple business units on different legacy ERP systems resulting from mergers and acquisitions, leading to data duplication and inconsistent reporting.
    • Duplication in Supplier information led to inaccurate supplier performance reporting, operational inefficiencies, and even strained supplier relationships. Inaccurate addresses created problems with product returns and on-time payments.
    • Duplicate customer records led to duplicative communications and damaged relationships. Inaccurate delivery addresses and contact details disrupted communication, delayed payments, and sometimes led to missed deliveries.
  • Lack of a Centralized Source of Truth: There was no authoritative system for customer, product, or supplier data as the information is all coming from different legacy systems. A lack of a source of truth hindered reporting and diminished operational efficiency.
  • SKU Proliferation: Significant data quality issues stemmed from SKU proliferation. Our root cause analysis revealed that poor interfacing and design decisions between their product configurator and ERP system led to the continuous creation of redundant and overly specific product records.
    • The product configurator created a new SKU for every unique product permutation, and the ERP blindly accepted each as a new, valid SKU.
    • Existing processes resulted in millions of SKUs, despite the client offering only around 50 base products.
    • Analysis showed that 80% of SKUs had no inventory or transactional activity for over two years, indicating massive redundancy.
    • There was no SKU lifecycle management process, and no logic in place to check for existing similar configurations before creating new SKUs.
  • Lack of Governance and Ownership: There was no defined data governance model to manage data quality, stewardship, or ownership, which is critical for sustained MDM success.

Facing these business challenges and heading into a future ERP implementation, the client needed to assess the best steps to take to ensure success. It was imperative they considered MDM as one of those steps.

How do I know that I need MDM?

There are four primary triggers for an MDM Implementation:

  • My organization is considering an ERP implementation. There is no better time to investigate your data management process and data quality than when you are considering a mass migration to a new target system. A solid MDM plan can save your resources hours upon hours of work dealing with bad data.
  • My organization is considering an MDM tool. The right tool for you is out there, but you need experts to help you figure out just exactly how to utilize that tool.
  • My organization has gone through mergers and acquisitions. M&A can be a headache on data quality, as numerous legacy systems are often brought into the mix and allow for duplication and inaccurate reporting.
  • My organization has a Product Information Management system that needs an overhaul. Your PIM needs assistance, as it is likely to create more SKUs than you need due to custom product attributes.

Our client faced all these issues, so it was clear from a business perspective to pursue an MDM implementation. In came Premier, and after months of work, the team delivered solutions and a scalable strategy.

MDM Strategy and Solutions We Delivered

  • Master Record Structures: Defined master record structures for customer and product data, focusing on essential attributes and matching rules critical to daily business operations. This supports data consolidation and cleansing efforts.
    • Key attributes included Customer Name and Class and how to match up to the address and contact information in the legacy systems. This analysis streamlined the uncovering of duplicate Customers, including over 1300 duplicate groups in one legacy system.
    • Through match and merge rules, the entity resolution process will accurately consolidate these records, merging multiple customer instances into a single, authoritative golden record.
    • Through this consolidation, the client maintains an accurate, unified customer record, which simplifies reporting and eliminates redundant data management efforts. This process establishes a trustworthy foundation for operational efficiency, informed decision-making, and reliable strategic insights.
  • Governed Workflows: Developed onboarding workflows determining where data should originate (e.g., engineering (PLM) vs. sales (ERP)) and how approvals and data updates should be managed, tailored to centralized MDM models.
    • This allows for a streamlined process in which everyone knows their role, and the process does not rely on outside factors to inhibit the efficiency of data entry. Reducing manual entry minimizes user error and its impact.
  • Root Cause Analysis of SKU Issues: Premier identified the configurator logic and ERP behavior as causes for these issues. We provided the following recommendations to the client as solutions:
    • Implement SKU lifecycle management: to archive or purge inactive SKUs.
    • Add validation mechanisms to the ERP to detect and reuse existing SKUs
    • Improve cross-functional communication between business units and system stakeholders to reduce fragmentation.
    • Integrate MDM as a preemptive step before ERP consolidation to create a clean, authoritative source of master data, including products.
  • Data Governance Framework: Introduced accountability for data ownership and stewardship within master data domains, and embedded governance considerations into MDM designs to ensure long-term data health.
  • Support for Future ERP Migration: Positioned MDM as a preparatory step to ensure clean, consistent data feeds into the planned ERP consolidation, reducing downstream complexity and risk.

Premier International provided a pathway to data readiness for the client. The business benefitted from proactively addressing their data quality before launching an ERP transformation, recognizing that clean and governed master data is foundational for successful digital transformation. It is important to build the foundation and toolbox for migration with an MDM framework in place and smartly look for a partner to help your organization solidify that foundation before embarking on an ERP migration. By being proactive, this client allowed themselves to understand the best tools to utilize the build up their data quality before it needs to be fixed.

Looking for a reliable partner for your ERP implementation? Reach out to our data experts for more information!

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