Business-led Master Data Excellence – Session Materials

Table of Contents

These are materials from the session conducted on October 23, 2025. The session covered the following topics

How to use a business process-centric governance to simplify and empower business teams to drive SAP master data excellence
How to use end-to-end material master data process orchestration to achieve a 90% reduction in cycle time and process costs
Achieving perfect master data using mistake proofing
Tapping suppliers and customers as your trusted master data providers to reduce the burden on internal teams

What Business Teams want from Master Data Management

Presentation

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Yes, it is possible to achieve perfect master data and keep it perfect

Q&A

Is there an opportunity to make the workflow parallel instead of sequential – the lead time for the workflow has been a significant pain point for the business?

Yes, parallel activities, which incorporate sub-activities that can be performed simultaneously, are a key activity type in ZMDM. Parallel activity types can be used for data collection, review, and approval to streamline and dramatically reduce the cycle time of master data management processes.

How does ZFlow/ZMDM integrate with SAP ECC and S/4HANA? Is it a plug-in, middleware, or does it use SAP APIs or BAPIs?

ZMDM has seamless connectivity to SAP ECC and S/4HANA (and other solutions such as EWM, MDG, APO) via SAP APIs(BAPI, IDOC, oData). ZFlow leverages Java Connector for seamless connectivity to SAP ECC and S/4HANA. oData APIs are supported via a REST client. There is no need for a plug-in or additional middleware.

How does ZFlow/ZMDM differ from SAP MDG (Master Data Governance) and traditional MDM tools?

ZFlow/ZMDM differs significantly from traditional MDM/MDG solutions because it fundamentally relies on business processes (Engineering/NPI, Supplier Development, Quote-to-Cash, and others) to support Master Data Management. It allows Business Stakeholders to own and govern master data (with the help of the master data team in the loop). Below are different ways ZMDM approaches Master Data Management.

Criteria	Business-led Master Data Management(ZMDM)	Traditional Master Data Management
Approach to Data Quality	Preventing errors	Fixing errors
Primary Focus	Business Excellence (Smooth product launches, supply chain optimization, customer experience…)	Data Excellence (Technical and data quality metrics achieving the “golden record”)
Ownership	Business teams own and govern master data; MDM/IT teams partner and support.	MDM/IT teams own and govern master data; business teams consume it.
Implementation Approach	Business users work with master data in existing business processes (NPI, Quote-cash, Finance, Supply Chain…)	MDM/IT teams use separate processes and systems, and business users are not part of the process
Integration Approach	Plug-and-play integration as part of existing business processes	Separate and expensive ETL/Integration

How does this inform the users in the workflow of a pending task? Is there a way to escalate the task if the workflow agent is not responding? Can a substitute for a workflow agent be set up in case the primary agent is on vacation?

Emails are the primary way the right people at the right time are informed about an activity that needs to be completed. When activities are not completed on time, it can escalate, send repeat notifications, notify others, and be reassigned.

Is there a dependency on MDG for integration?

There is no dependency on any other solution (MDG or third-party integration tools)

Does the UI / workflow support the creation/extension of many (20 or more) materials at a time?

Yes. Workflows can be used to create/extend multiple materials (hundreds….). It can also be used to create and update large Bills of Materials.

Can ZMDM work for a Retail Company?

Yes. ZMDM has a specialized master data domain for SKUs to support Retail Master Data Management and related data. ZMDM also has an in-built Supplier Portal that can be used to allow suppliers to publish/provide/modify Master Data, which can be reviewed, validated and accepted via workflows.

Is ZMDM cloud-based, on-prem, or hybrid?

ZMDM is available as a hybrid or on-prem solution. It can run on different public cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform) and on-premise infrastructure (Linux and Windows Server). Most of our customers run the solution within their environments and have complete control over security, integration, data, and data protection policies.

Can an SLA be set for the workflow? What, for example, might happen if the workflow is overdue?

Yes. You can set SLAs for workflow activities. Several options are available when workflow activities are overdue, including reminders, escalation, alternate performers, or even skipping an activity.

Will this work with an on-premise SAP installation (ECC)?

Yes. ZMDM works uniformly with SAP ECC, S/4HANA, and S/4HANA RISE. In addition, it can integrate with solutions such as APO, EWM, S/4HANA-based EWM, and others.

ZMDM also integrates seamlessly with SaaS solutions (Salesforce, Dynamics) and AI platforms such as OpenAI and Claude.

You showed a feature of Continuous Master Data Quality improvement through Information Steward – 1. How are processes handled if a record failure occurs at a particular step of the workflow, and other steps are pending and cannot be addressed until the failure is resolved? Is the record failure notified to business or ZFlow admins?

When a workflow activity fails (for any reason—3rd-party system is down, data issue), the workflow stops at that activity so that the business or admins can retry it (automatic retries are also possible). Once the activity is completed, the workflow will continue to the end. When activities fail, appropriate people (typically process admins or system admins) are notified.

What does a typical implementation timeline look like?

Typical implementation can range from 3 to 6 months and depends on the scope.

We always recommend that organizations approach it in a phased manner, focusing on domains (Materials, Customers, Suppliers) and related business processes (New Product Introduction, New Customer Onboarding, Supplier Qualification/Onboarding, Continuous Error-correction workflows). Many of our customers continue to add new scenarios/regions and improve business processes even after 2-3 years.