Three Common Master Data Management Use Cases You Need to Know
Solutions Review highlights the most common Master Data Management use cases you need to know about so you can select the best software.
Master data is made up of essential company-wide data points. This data typically provides insight related to the core of the business, including customers, suppliers, accounts, employees, goals, and operations. Decisions about what constitutes as master data are made by management teams and business stakeholders. Once these data standards have been met, users can analyze the data as they need to identify key metrics that reveal areas of concern so appropriate actions can be taken to improve operations.
Master Data Management (MDM) products enable business and IT leaders to ensure accuracy, stewardship and governance over an organization’s shared master data. Key capabilities of MDM software include workflow and business process management (BPM), loading, synchronization and business services integration, data modeling, and information quality and semantics.
With this in mind, our editors have compiled this list of the most common Master Data Management use cases you need to know.
Party Data (B2C, B2B)
Party data is often referred to as ‘customer data’ and makes up the whole of an organization’s information on an individual. In some scenarios, companies and organizations can also be treated as individuals. Party data can be used to author organizational customer master data within a workflow, batch or transaction-oriented process that aligns with common MDM implementation techniques (or a hybrid approach). B2C and B2B customer data are usually organized differently, with B2C in a consolidation-style environment and B2B in one where master data can be managed via a workflow.
In B2C scenarios, entry points of master data are not controllable by the technology whereas in B2B they are.
Product Data (B2C, B2B)
Product data can be divided into two types, with ‘buy-side’ master data focused on the internal organization and its supply chain. MDM software for this use case will enable users to collect data from suppliers. ‘Sell-side’ MDM use cases are focused on the processes of relaying product information to consumers. Sell-side MDM tools commonly interface with product life cycle management or enterprise resource management tools. Product data (whether B2C or B2B) is commonly managed within a workflow.
MDM of sell-side product data should support customer requirements and be communicated to related consumer channels.
Multidomain MDM
Multidomain MDM simply refers to the management of multiple domains. Multidomain MDM remains the current trend in the industry, as organizations in need of master data solutions are increasingly looking to vendors who can assist in more than one individual domain. Opting for a multidomain MDM solution enables the buyer to avoid a best-of-breed approach when building a data management or governance initiative, and use only a single tool. The big benefit to using a multidomain MDM product is that every user works within the same framework. This reduces the need for training and makes the process less complex in general.