Bootstrap Market Research: Master Data Management (What, Who,
How)
I've been asked a lot of questions about "Master Data Management"
over the past few weeks - what does it mean, who does it, and what are
some tools and metrics that organizations are using to reign in this
important aspect of ERP and analytics systems. I started reaching out to
the folks in my professional network with some results, but I thought I
might be able to leverage LinkedIn and Twitter to get
input from far and wide. This "bootstrapped" market research might not
deliver the depth and reach of the bigger technology research firms, but
it will be interesting to see what can be gathered.
Bootstrap Market Research: Ground Rules
- I've put together a little survey (download
from here) which is intended to take about 15 minutes to complete -
that should give you an indication into the amount of rigor and depth
I am looking for.
- Please fill it out and email the result to BMRMDM@cazh1.com
- I'm trying to get input from a number of companies - large
and small, with all sorts of ERP systems. So in return for your
input, I'll be happy to email you an aggregated, anonymized summary
of what folks are telling me. Please note that none of your specific
answers will be tied to your company name in any way.
Some Definitions
What do I mean by master data? Compare and contrast to transactions
...
- Transactional Data – describes “events”
- Production orders, material movements, and confirmations
- Customer orders, shipments, and invoices
- Payments, credits, rebates, and returns
- Journal entries
- Master Data – describes “facts”
- Finished goods, raw materials, and work-in-process
- Manufacturing routings, warehouse picking strategies
- Customers, vendors, employees
- Organizations and hierarchies
- Chart of accounts
- (also referred to as Reference Data, Configuration Data)
The Question of Ownership
I've asked this question before – who
owns Master Data? – but there may be some different understanding over
what “ownership” refers to. Is the "owner" responsible for …
- Master Data Quality?
- Data Structure, including requirements and
interdependencies
- Process & Procedure for getting Master Data into
the system
- Access & Training for getting Master Data out
of the system
- Audits & Quality Checks to make sure corporate
requirements and standards are met
- Metrics & Visibility for critical Master Data
processes, especially when adding new products
- Master Data Content? (for example …)
- Structure of the chart of accounts
- Bin configuration and capacity
- Modeling manufacturing processes in a routing
- Product families, sales org hierarchies
- Credit ratings
- Material substitution
Benchmarking Survey Questions
The survey asks some high level questions in these areas:
- Master Data Definitions
- Size & Scope of Master Data
- Organization Structures
- Scope of Responsibilities
- Positives
- Challenges
There is also space at the end to bounce back some questions -
let me know what else is on your mind!
AtDhVaAnNkCsE
Thanks (in advance) for your input - and watch this space for the
results!