It’s no secret that people are a company’s greatest asset. However, it’s also hard to argue that without access to the right data at the right time, even the hardest-working, most well-trained employees will struggle to perform their jobs to the highest level possible. Likewise, the best data organization systems will only reach their full potential when employees understand how to access, leverage, and contribute to them.The two work together to produce optimal outcomes across an organization, and both are better able to function with proper master data management (MDM) systems. Learn how these outcomes can revolutionize quality control.

What Is Master Data Management?

Master data refers to a core set of data that dictates the business rules, processes, and functions that surround sales, marketing, and operations. Therefore, master data management can be described as the parameters by which master data is stored, organized, accessed, and managed.Master data can refer to a number of moving parts, including customer data, individual products and materials, suppliers and vendors, location data, BOMs, and company assets, to name a few.

How MDM Works

Master data is generally considered static. Once developed, it doesn’t often change and tends to function on autopilot. However, the reality for many manufacturers is that critical master data is often stored on disparate systems that have no way of linking together. Improving master data management aims to seek ways to bring all master data into a single, centralized system so that various data sets can function as a whole operation. This might look like uniting data from CRM, ERP, BI, and e-commerce platforms to create a 360-degree view of your enterprise. In doing so, companies stand to gain several unique advantages, including:

• Focus on products and activities that contribute most to the bottom line
• Development of more personalized experiences for greater customer engagement
• Reduction or elimination of products, services, or activities that negatively impact profits or resources
• Saving resources by reducing or eliminating redundancies and improving automation
• Reduction of compliance risks
• Improvement of collaboration between departments and external stakeholders

Master Data Systems and Quality Control

Many of master data management’s benefits directly relate to quality control — on both sides of the development spectrum. On the pre-development side, MDM can improve supply chain traceability to ensure ingredients or components are being sourced from reputable places and suppliers. MDM can also be used for better insights into costs, acquisition delays, vendor performance, and other factors that may impact production times or profitability.On the post-production side, MDM allows companies to improve order fulfillment, satisfy customer expectations, and strengthen relationships with distributors and logistics providers.Also, if a part fails or an ingredient is recalled before or after production, MDM can help companies quickly retrace their steps to address the issue.

How Specright Contributes to Stronger MDM and Quality Control

Specright’s specification data management software provides a straightforward solution to increase visibility across supply chain data. Companies can access data at the spec level, including ingredients, vendors, costs, and production times, among other details, to pinpoint problems at the source and improve quality control. Download our ebook and discover how Specright reduces the complexity of master data systems and helps improve quality control.