Since most companies and organizations today publish their data to multiple channels, it pays to manage the data centrally, in one place. You can trust relevant and correct information is in the right place and reduce the cost of managing it. By working with Master Data Management, you can manage that data is secure, compliant, correct, accessable and relevant in your channels, and thus the customer- and user-experience also improves.

Master Data Management (MDM) includes a whole range of information that can be critical to your organization, such as having a digital strategy to manage your product information, customer information, personal data or supplier information.  

MDM is about having a Single Source of Truth or a Golden Record, ie master data exists and is managed in one place. It acts as a source for all other systems and outgoing channels. Centralizing your data gives you control and creates a platform that you can organize, enrich and synchronize across the system landscape. In taking a strategic approach to MDM, you can increase data quality and remove inefficiency, caused by data silos. It's about connecting information, people and processes from a central source in a way that drives your business forward. 

If you’d like to learn more about MDM, download som material here.

What is Master Data Management? And why you need it: White Paper from Stibo Systems (2,7 MB):

The complete A-Z of Master Data Management: Get the eBook from Stibo Systems (2,5 MB) 

 

 

MDM systems

Larger multi-domain MDM systems, like Stibo Systems’ STEP, can handle all kinds of master data. They can work with relationship between products and articles, images and files, customers and suppliers, vendors and locations, digital and printed catalogues and classifications.MDM systems have a strong focus on data quality, version management, analysis and measurability, as well as focusing on efficient administration, workflow management and automation.

Multidomain Master Data Management: Data Sheet from Stibo Systems.(0,3 MB) 

The STEP platform: Get the Brochure from Stibo Systems. (11,6 MB) 

PIM & Product MDM with Stibo Systems STEP

The need for Product Master Data Management (PMDM / PIM) is directly related to the need for quality assured and available product data. Effective management and sharing of all information related to products can be crucial in achieving set business goals. Product data involves countless attributes, data relations and information that most often are found in a multitude of systems, applications and databases.

The quality, security, quantity and availability of product data can be the key element to a company's success. The introduction of Product MDM / PIM is a based on a strategy for acquiring, managing and sharing product information across the entire value chain. Product MDM / PIM provides a centralized, definitive solution for organizing, categorizing, locating, synchronizing and enriching product data.

Product MDM / PIM with Stibo Systems STEP allows organizations to accelerate their business and increase revenue by enabling them to:

• Identify, link and store data from different sources.
• Integrate and synchronize product data.
• Manage and control data with workflows, business rules and user privileges.
• Create a single source of truth.
• Optimize quality, accessibility, relevance and amount of data available for customers in marketing and sales.
• Optimize work on product content management with DAM, Machine Learning and deduplication.
• Compliance with various industry standards across national borders, systems and markets
• Share, syndicate / distribute or register data to various partners and channels
• “Publish & Print” integration

Last but not least, PMDM / PIM with Stibo Systems STEP is an opportunity to develop and make a more effective cooperation with suppliers, retailers and other partners. Updated, accessible, high quality information not only improves the relationship and simplifies collaboration with them, but also creates outstanding customer experience.

Watch a video about Product MDM from Stibo Systems here!

A PIM-Accelerator – based on PMDM for Retail!

The retail industry continues to change at an unprecedented rate and as a retailer you have to keep up and develop in order to survive and compete. You need a fast approach to registering, processing and publishing the right data in different sales and marketing channels, in order to be able to quickly change or expand your product range and to deliver engaging, personalized omnichannel experiences.

Stibo Systems Product MDM for Retail is a solution tailored to handle this. PMDM for Retail has an intuitive web-based user interface to facilitate onboarding of products while maintaining the retail industry data standards. It also includes a link to a cloud-based Product Data Syndication (PDS) solution to accelerate data collection from multiple providers, channels, platforms and content service providers. The solution is built on Stibo Systems' industry-leading PIM and MDM platform STEP, with intuitive, preconfigured retail-specific modules, workflows, business rules, instrument panels, data models and user interfaces.

With our PIM accelerator, Sigma in collaboration with Stibo Systems can offer a tailor-made solution to quickly and cost-effectively get a PIM system up and running. We have looked at the needs of previous customers, the state of the market, user behavior, and the requirements of buyers etc. and have put together an attractive package where we can guarantee a fully functioning, and valuable solution, configured to your business needs at a fixed price and with a predefined project plan.

In addition to project management, test and production environments, workshops, documentation and go live support, the offer also includes configuration of:

• Ready-to-go data model, classifications and hierarchies based on leading industry standards to ensure correct and effective categorization
• Pre-defined and custom attributes and groups
• Built-in workflows for content creation and enrichment, based on an "embedded workflow engine"
• Intuitive user interface to increase merchandising, data quality assurance, marketing, image processing and inventory productivity
• Role-based data access and data ownership
• Language support for English plus another local language
• Business rules engine to support data quality work
• Pre-defined references to handle standard use cases
• Configurable module for working with data quality
• ERP integration to optimize business processes

Product Data Syndication, PDS

For import and integration of the suppliers' product data, we offer a cloud-based interface in the form of a Product Data Syndication platform. The PDS enables suppliers to map, transform and syndicate data for their products to retail and e-commerce channels, mapped to the retailer's data model. This means efficient workflows for both the retailer and the suppliers to review and provide quick feedback. The solution also enables digital e-catalogues that gives business partners a self service UI to view, filter and download relevant product content.

Watch a video about PMDM for Retail from Stibo Systems here!

MDM Strategy & Process

Managing business critical data has always been a challenge. However, as data management channels have become more numerous, the need for controlled management has become greater.   With the help of our MDM Maturity Assessment, you get a visual overview of your current strengths and weaknesses. You will be able to set a vision for what you want to achieve.  

Read more about MDM Maturity Model and Assessment.

Go directly to our free online MDM Maturity Assessment.

  

MDM-system, Implementation projects and Process

The implementation project has a much better chance of success, if you have the following strategies in place: 

• An MVP approach. Over the years, we have found that the best and fastest way to achieve value from a new system is to define a Minimal Viable Product (MVP). We maintain this MVP approach throughout the implementation.  
• Support from stakeholders. A buy-in from management around the purpose of and priorities in the project, and opens up project resourcing.  
• A cross functional team. In addition to a governance model, normally there is also a need for an organizational change project and Change Management. The new system will require changed ways of working, new business processes, new roles and responsibilities for the organization.  Therefore, we recommend that a Master Data Manager is appointed as early as possible. This person can lead and build the new master data team/division, take ownership over the new processes as well as driving the implementation project.  

Sigma’s implementation methodologies are based on many years of experience of working with data management implementations in many different industries. To create the best possible solution for our customer, we first need to understand and together with the customer define the relevant business processes. This is done during the discovery phase, the THINK phase, before the actual implementation.  

Best practice  

• Be ready. Ensure contracts/SOWs are in place, resources on board and pre-requisites are ready, so that the project can start as soon as possible.  
• What is your project approach? Agree on project approach (e.g. waterfall, agile, hybrid, internal processes) with all parties. Do not choose an unfamiliar project methodology. For example, even if an agile/iterative approach is recommended, it will be challenging if the process is not fully understood or does not map to internal project monitoring.  
• Define your strategies as soon as possible, such as organizational change management, communication, data migration, system integration and testing strategies.  
• Define your needs. Initial high-level requirements workshops should ideally cover the full project scope, not just for the first phase/MVP.  
• Clear and focused user stories on an epic level. If following an agile-based methodology, write user stories that can be addressed within a single build sprint.  
• Build knowledge transfer in to the project throughout so that other users will be able to maintain the system after go-live.  

Data Quality Management

Data Quality Management is about trusting your data. We engage in a range of activities to ensure the highest quality of data, such as proof of concept, data analysis and quality assurance. From these activities, we are then able to eliminate any deviations.

Data Quality by Sigma

Data quality by Sigma is our well-proven process for identifying and eliminating data quality problems in an organization. So many business decisions are based on incomplete information. The reasons are many, but often it is corrupt data. The information is changed with little control. Without governance, changes can happen with no clear process, and quality assured systems can be missing.  We carry out this analysis with clear steps through data analysis and modeling, and identification of business rules. We then identify the root causes of the discrepancies and consider how to eliminate them.  

The process consists of several steps in different stages: 

• Measuring data quality maturity       
• Data flow and process analysis       
• Data classification and inventory       
• Identify business rules - what should data look like?
• Data quality measurements - what does it look like?
• Which discrepancies are most important to address?
• Root Cause Analysis - we find the reason for the discrepancy
• Suggestions for improvement    
• Follow-up  

Throughout the process a defined and clear decision structure is necessary.  

Sigma MDM

Whether you are curious about MDM, looking for a partner with data management expertise, to analyse or advise you on your digital journey, or consult you in a MDM project – working with us means expecting a better tomorrow.