Master Data Management – Simplified

Who would have thought 100 years ago that one of our biggest headaches in 2019 would be information and way too much of it?  Data, data and more data. How to store it, how to sort it, how to manage it, how to keep it safe.

Data collected from all different sources about our customers, our suppliers, our employees, our products, our locations, our numbers – about every aspect imaginable in our business.

Which is why most companies, big and small, prefer to outsource their Master Data Management (MDM) to specialist companies like Profisee.

What is Master Data Management?

There are loads of different definitions around but this is how I understand it best.

Master Data Management is the process of sifting through all data within an organisation, across all departments, to create one single reference point for all key data.

There are 3 main reasons we need an efficient MDM strategy.

1. Accuracy of Data

Data collected from various sources at different times can easily become out of date, scrambled, duplicated or corrupted.

Bad data leads to wasted resources and bad business decisions.  Accurate data helps you find accurate answers and develop targeted solutions.

One Simple (but expensive) Example:

If you have the wrong customer address in the Customer Master you’ll be sending bills and marketing materials out but getting no payments and no sales.

2.  Consistency of Data

Cleaning up a Master Data List once is not enough.  If you don’t have the tools and processes in place to keep data consistent over time as more and more data is added or details are updated, you’ll be in for problems a few months or years down the line.

Maintaining a Master List is just as important as the original sifting and merging process.

3. Safety of Data 

Your Master Data List is a major asset in your business – especially your Customer Data.  In some cases, customer data is the most valuable asset a company owns. Some companies are sold purely to obtain their Customer Data.

Which makes keeping sensitive client information confidential a priority. You don’t want to leave your organisation open to a potential leak or breach.

Here are the Top Benefits of Master Data Management.

8 Benefits of MDM

1. Edits made to Master Data reflects across all departments
2. Only core, critical data is captured, eliminating unnecessary data
3. Lighter data is quicker and easier to backup
4. Clean data is much easier to analyse
5. Consistent data is easier to use making business processes more efficient
6. Accurate data helps organisations make better decisions and provide better solutions
7. Inaccurate, inconsistent data can cost you customers 
8. Accurate, consistent data saves you time and money

Have we given you enough reasons to clean up your data?

Now all that’s left to consider is which Data Management software to employ.

Here are the Top 8 according to Predictive Analytics Today.

Top 8 MDM Suppliers

1. Ataccama
2. Profisee
3. Orchestra Network
4. Talend Master Data Management
5. SAS Master Data Management
6. Hybris Product Content Management
7. SAP Master Data Governance
8. Agility Multi-Channel
   

You can find their comprehensive list of the Top 17 here:

Top Master Data Management Software

Are you using MDM software?  If so, which solution did you choose and why?