6 Reasons Your Company May Need Master Data Governance

Every asset-intensive enterprise organization relies on its master data, whether it is good or bad, but generally does not realize how crucial good master data is until a mission critical event occurs.  

This could be setting up digital twin or internet of things (IoT), moving your ERP system from on-premises to the cloud, upgrading your system, or merging two ERP systems after an acquisition.

Regardless of the type of event you encounter, poor master data quality makes any event harder to manage.  

In this article we will cover events you may encounter that you may need master data management services for so that you can prepare ahead of time, rather than try to fix your data when the event occurs.
 

1. You Are Considering or Are Part of the SAP Rise Program

SAP Rise is an innovative program that allows you to transform your enterprise asset management landscape. However, if you start with a complex landscape of data rather than a lean one, the process of migrating your data properly can be complicated and costly.  

We have always been of the mindset that if your data is not clean and standardized, it doesn't matter how good your system is. It is like buying a new car, but putting an old, failing engine inside of it. No matter how nice the exterior is, the old engine can prevent you from keeping the car moving.  

SAP RISE is the new car, the data in your system is that old engine. To be able to make the most of your SAP RISE transformation, you will need good data. If your data is in need of cleansing and standardization, you will need to either to partner with a consultant to begin a master data cleansing project or get Master Data Cleansing Services.  
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2. Your Assets Are a Part of Your Internet of Things Initiative

Using the internet of things (IoT) can be an effective way to make your maintenance more proactive if you have the correct data. However, your IoT advancements are only as strong as the quality of your data.  

Example of your IoT with bad data: your sensors sense a pending motor failure and communicate that to maintenance. The maintenance planner creates a work order based on erroneous asset information in your maintenance system and the inaccurate data in your MRO Supply Chain leads to the incorrect spare parts being ordered. When your maintenance worker arrives to fix the wrong motor with the wrong parts, this results in the motor failing.  

With the correct information and data in your system, your IoT technology will be able to help streamline your maintenance processes and increase your efficiency. Additionally, with solid master data and an IoT, you will be able to generate more accurate KPIs that will help you better understand the current state of your assets.
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3. You Are Moving from On-premises to the Cloud

Moving to the cloud is a great way to improve your system’s scalability and functionality. With a cloud solution in place, your system remains up to date with the newest technology and easily updates your data in real-time. But moving to the cloud is no easy task.  

If you were moving to a new home, you would want to clean your home and get rid of items you don’t need before the move, right? The same goes for bad and unnecessary data in your ERP system.  

If you are moving to a cloud solution, you will want to ensure that your data is clean for the move.
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4. You Are Moving to S/4HANA

If you are an SAP user, you may already be planning a switch to SAP S/4HANA since SAP will soon be focusing all their efforts and updates towards S/4HANA. Just like if you were planning on transitioning from on-premise to cloud, having clean master data will make an S/4HANA transition easier.  

Having clean and organized data before and during this transition process helps increase the likelihood that it is smooth, successful, and quick. Standardized data allows you to decrease costs by not moving over bad data when you move to S/4HANA.  
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5. Systems Upgrades

Getting your master data under control before a system upgrade will allow you to make the upgrade smoothly and without any hiccups.  

Have you ever bought a new computer and it’s light and runs way smoother than your older one? It’s not bogged down by the files. That is the same feeling you can achieve when you upgrade your system with clean master data.  

However, if you perform an upgrade before you have standardized your data, it will still run like the same old system because the bad data in your system dilutes your processes and creates inefficiencies.  
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6. You Are Merging Two ERP Systems After an Acquisition

The difficulty of merging two ERP systems is something that most businesses don’t realize until they are faced with the challenge. When merging two ERP systems after an acquisition, there are many things to consider like:  

• Which ERP system will be kept?  
• What universal taxonomy will be used for the data?  
• How will the data be cleansed?
• How will the data be managed? 
• How will you ensure that the data is correct, and the tables translate properly?
• How will you sustain your master data?  

Using a Master Data Management service enables you to streamline this process and sustain your data long-term so that you can increase your efficiency.  
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Use Master Data Management Services to Streamline Your Master Data Project

Switching to the Internet of Things (IoT), merging your ERP systems, upgrading your ERP system, switching from on-premises to cloud, and moving to S/4HANA are just a few of the events that may require solid master data. If you need to create connection points with your data lakes/historians and your CMMS or ERP system, we provide connectors to help you with that.

Getting on a good master data management program before you encounter these events can help you save time and money on each project.  

To learn how Prometheus Master Data-as-a-Service (MDaaS) can help you manage your master data, give us a call or schedule a demo of the MDaaS solution today.