What is master data management? #

Master data management is the administration of a company’s central, business-relevant information. This includes, for example, employee and customer data, product information or key financial figures. Master data management ensures that there is only one single master data record for all this information, which is complete, up-to-date and error-free. This avoids inconsistencies and increases the efficiency of your business processes.

Why is master data management so important? #

Like most other companies, you probably work with many different software applications, such as CRM systems, project management tools, accounting systems, etc. which are used in different departments. If you do not store data centrally in one place, but in each system individually, this creates data silos that are cut off from the rest of the company.

Central master data management prevents data silos

The data records in the departments are then not only isolated, but also redundant and quickly outdated. They also come into contact with lots of people who make changes and create their own versions. At worst, these divergent data sets can lead to inefficient processes, incorrect reports and wrong decisions.

The advantages of centralized master data management #

Get an overview of the benefits that master data management can have for you:

Greater efficiency and less redundancy

A master data management tool can synchronize and merge data from different systems. This allows you to avoid duplicate and inconsistent information. It is also much more efficient to only make changes to the master data record than to have to manually update data records in many different places.

Lower IT costs

By maintaining only one master data set that can be accessed by all departments, you avoid unnecessary data silos. As a result, you can replace a large number of different systems that consume more storage and computing capacity and cause higher costs than centralized master data management. This saves you money.

Well-founded analyses and decisions

Analyzing incorrect or outdated data leads to useless results. In a master data management system, on the other hand, you will find cleansed and updated data that forms a reliable foundation for your analyses and strategic decisions. With the help of BI tools that use this master data, you can uncover reliable figures and insights for reports and presentations.

Smooth, automated business processes

Standardized, up-to-date and correct master data enables smooth processes, for example in marketing and sales. Think, for example, of sending personalized advertising to customer addresses that are no longer correct. With high-quality customer data, on the other hand, you can accelerate and automate the lead-to-cash process.

Easier implementation of data protection

You can comply with legal requirements such as the GDPR more easily if you store all data in a central location in a traceable manner. For example, the GDPR regulates when you have to delete certain data. Without master data management, this data can be scattered across several data silos, which makes compliance more difficult.

What counts as master data? #

Master data is business-relevant data that you absolutely need for functioning company processes. This can be information about people (e.g. customers, employees, or suppliers) and objects (such as products and assets).

Master data remains relatively constant over time and does not change very often. Compared to short-term transaction data (such as orders or payments), master data usually represents only a small part of all data in a company. However, it is of great value to the success of your company.

All departments require master data

Examples of master data:

  • Customer master data: Whether e-mail or delivery address, accounts or purchase history: everything you need for business and payment processing with customers is hugely important. You should therefore extract this master data from webshops, ERP or CRM systems and merge it into a master data management system.
  • Employee master data: In addition to work-related data (e.g. name, position, educational qualifications and date of hire), this includes sensitive data such as tax class, bank details, social security, nationality, marital status, and emergency contacts. It is best to keep this HR master data well protected in an HR database .
  • Supplier master data: This is about all the data you need for smooth procurement processes. This can be contractually agreed prices and delivery quantities, but also location and logistics data. Usually, an ERP system is the central data source for supply chain management.
  • Product master data: As your product data is relevant across departments (e.g. for marketing, sales, logistics, and product development), an up-to-date, centralized database is of the utmost importance. This includes unique product numbers, quantities and prices as well as attributes such as dimensions, color and material.
  • Asset master data: This refers to the assets of your company, which you usually record in an inventory list . Tangible assets can be real estate, machinery, vehicles, office furniture or financial resources, while intangible assets include patents or your company’s master data.

Challenges in master data management and how to overcome them #

  • Master data management is more in demand than ever when companies are acquired, merged or restructured. In these cases, a master data management tool helps you to reconcile and harmonize several large data sets.
  • Is your company experiencing dynamic growth? Then you should simplify, accelerate and automate processes with centralized master data management!
  • If your business is booming and there is a rapid increase in data volumes, you can eliminate the chaos with a master data management tool and reduce it to the essentials.
  • Parallel systems and duplicate data storage require unnecessarily high storage and computing capacities. If the systems are not synchronized with each other, data silos are created with all the problems mentioned above. With a central master data management tool, you can avoid redundancies and reduce costs.
  • Master data is accessed by many different departments. You should therefore agree on uniform, common guidelines (e.g. specific data formats) so that everyone can work with the master data and still maintain data consistency.

Sub-areas in master data management #

Master data management is a special case of data management, which in turn consists of several sub-areas. The most important tasks in master data management include

  • Data governance defines rules, standards and responsibilities for master data management.
  • Data integration enables the consolidation and synchronization of data across different systems.
  • Data quality assurance identifies and updates incorrect, outdated or incomplete data records.
  • Data modeling structures data so that it can be used more efficiently and quickly.
  • Data security protects sensitive data from unauthorized access or loss.

You can find out more about this in our blog article on data management .

The master data life cycle #

All master data goes through a life cycle from initial creation to archiving and deletion:

  1. Creation: Define which data you want to include in the master data record and which systems it should be linked to. You then merge the data in the master data management tool, reconcile it and eliminate inconsistencies.

  2. Sharing: Which departments and users are given access to the master data? And with what authorizations? With master data management, you can precisely control who can see and edit which data.

  3. Maintenance: Probably the most important process in the life cycle is the maintenance of master data. During this phase, you update, complete, correct and use the data. If you integrate new data into the master data record, you must of course always cleanse and adapt it. This is how you ensure the consistency and quality of the master data.

  4. Archiving: A customer made a one-off purchase years ago, an employee has left the company, or you have withdrawn a product from the market? If data is out of date, you can archive it. The data is then no longer accessible for active use, but is not deleted either.

  5. Deletion: The life cycle ends with the final deletion of the data. Observe any deletion deadlines (e.g. in accordance with the GDPR) and delete personal data immediately on request.

Tips for master data management

6 tips on how to successfully implement master data management #

If you are now convinced and want to introduce a master data management tool, you should take the following tips to heart:

  1. Analyze your current data inventory: In how many systems is important data stored? Where do data silos arise? Identify redundancies, inconsistencies and weaknesses in your existing data structures.
  2. Define a strategy and a framework: Determine which data you want to manage centrally and which processes are necessary for this. Give your master data management an orderly framework with the help of data governance guidelines.
  3. Train your employees: The best strategies and guidelines are useless if there is a lack of implementation. Make your team aware of the importance and benefits of master data management and explain how each individual can contribute.
  4. Continuously maintain and optimize your master data: Regularly review data quality and adjust master data management processes as needed. You can use artificial intelligence and machine learning to compare large master data records with other data and automatically check for matches or discrepancies.
  5. Choose a suitable master data management tool: There are many solutions on the market that specialize in managing specific data, such as customer data or employee data. However, a master data management tool should cover many different use cases and be able to centralize master data from all departments of a company in one system.
  6. Manage your master data in the cloud: Cloud solutions are particularly suitable for master data management as they can be scaled as required and break up data silos. This allows you to make a central master data set accessible to all users. A data warehouse can also help you to merge and cleanse data from different systems.

Master data management with SeaTable - simple and flexible #

SeaTable is a no-code database that makes master data management particularly easy for you. An extremely relevant feature for this are common datasets . You can manage and maintain these centrally in order to always provide the latest customer or employee master data, for example. Your departments can use the data records in a wide variety of contexts and adapt them flexibly to their needs. As soon as you synchronize, all changes to the master data record are transferred to the dependent data records so that they are up-to-date everywhere.

If you want to customize your master data for different user groups, the no-code app builder also offers you an excellent option. You can use it to create your own apps without any programming knowledge. You have control over who can see and edit which data and how it is visualized. You can control the access rights of apps even more granularly than the sharing of common datasets.

As SeaTable is not only designed for master data management, your departments and users can develop their own processes in separate workspaces and bases and store specific information that goes beyond the master data. The countless use cases cover IT management , marketing , project management and human resources , among others.

Another advantage that makes SeaTable stand out as a master data management tool is the free choice of deployment type. Benefit from the convenience and scalability of the SeaTable Cloud or retain full control and data sovereignty with an on-premises installation of SeaTable Server . In either case, SeaTable grows flexibly with your company.

Register today , use the free basic version and only pay for additional functions, users or resources as soon as you need them.

Conclusion: Use master data management as a competitive advantage #

Without centralized master data management, you risk having duplicate, outdated or contradictory information in different systems. With well thought-out master data management, you can improve the data situation, optimize your processes and make more informed decisions. So it’s about far more than just technical cleanliness - it’s about the success of your company! Revolutionize your master data management with SeaTable to make your company fit for the future and stay ahead of the competition!

TAGS: Data Management & Visualisation