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Master data management has traditionally been the purview of IT or specialized Master Data teams. The solutions, terminology, and processes are designed primarily to meet the needs of IT architecture, integration, and ETL. Business teams from Finance, Purchasing, Sales, Customer Service, and Supply Chain are usually outside looking in. If they are lucky, they end up as consumers of (good, bad, and ugly) Master Data.
Most Common Scenario for Master Data Management
Firstly, most organizations don’t use a Master Data Management solution. Historically and even today, Master Data Management solutions have been perceived, rightfully due to their cost, as a luxury item by IT departments. Business teams wouldn’t even know that a Master Data Management solution exists, even if one were to come and kick them in the back.
Business teams use a mishmash of Excel sheets, SharePoint forms, and Emails to request the creation and updates to Master Data. The picture below highlights all that happens and the negative impact. The consequences of the master data approach outlined below for operations and the supply chain are severe. In short, no organization should have a Master Data Management process as shown in the picture below.
It is time to rethink your Master Data Management strategy if master data errors, dropped handoffs, bottlenecks, excessive non-value-added work, and long cycle times persist as ongoing issues and an obstacle to business and supply chain excellence.
Why your Super Turbo Master Data Management Solution became a White Elephant
The following picture illustrates why the Master Data Management situation might even deteriorate after adopting an expensive Master Data Management solution.
When Business Teams own Master Data Management
When business teams own master data, it eliminates the disconnect between Master Data and its impact on business processes and business excellence. The domain expertise of business stakeholders, combined with accountability, creates more accurate, timely, and actionable master data. The key question is how to enable business teams to own Master Data. The picture below shows the most common workflow-driven pattern for enabling Business Teams to own and be accountable for Master Data Excellence. This is predominantly how most of our customers use ZMDM.
