Empower Business End Users With Material Master Data Management
In these changing times, we need to stay updated with current trends. This is also applicable to the business world, since technology has revolutionised organisational activities in such a way, that they are determined to welcome newer technological software and systems, when they are available in the market. The major reason behind this motive is to keep up with the pace of competitors, and to ensure that the need for manual labour and hiring is reduced. However, in spite of all the systems and their broad capabilities, their performance and value relies mainly on one factor, which is also the foundation of all IT systems – Business Master Data. Master data is the ultimate driving force of any business and its diverse set of day-to-day operations. It is the ultimate source for the IT systems to perform their designated functions. However, what happens when this powerful source itself is the cause of trouble for a company? At such times, the quickest, most effective and powerful solution to the problem at hand, is master data management.
Being an extensive, in-depth strategy that revolves around providing and delivering a unique, clear, accurate and authoritative source of master data assets to the business, MDM also aims to deliver these data assets on demand to all the concerned end users and beneficiaries. These beneficiaries may be located across different cross-functional divisions and regions spread throughout the business. It makes business processes highly efficient and enables end users to achieve their well-defined targets at minimal cost and energy. It also provides clean and precise data that is highly decision driven, and acts a quick relief to daily business hurdles. MDM empowers employees and staff members with the ability to make informed decisions and tackle corporate issues. A well-defined and suitably executed MDM initiative will always provide results in the form of improved target achievement for end users, a powerful business life cycle, all-round enterprise view-ability, reduced errors, and absolute performance from all business assets. If the business operates in the manufacturing sector, what it really needs to introduce is an active material master data management(MMDM) initiative.
MMDM provides a clear, accurate and decision-driven material/item master for the business - all in real time! It also enables manufacturing businesses to get an in-depth view into their material inventory, and thus allows the concerned procurement teams and plant managers to find and procure materials with complete ease. It decreases inventory carrying costs and related expenses when merged with other processes such as data quality management, and thus enhances procurement measures with rapid time-to-process numbers. For example, if there is an urgent requirement for certain production materials in a particular plant, the respective facility manager can initiate a search for the same in his plant or other plants in the vicinity and locate it, or request for one with the procurement department. On the other hand, the procurement team can calculate the available options and deliver them by tapping other associated warehouses and plants.
When coupled with the correct master data management software, MMDM can work towards decreasing the unnecessary need for tapping external suppliers to meet procurement needs, and thus can reduce extra costs by a considerable margin by reducing such maverick spend. Moreover, the improved data will also reduce the time spent on expecting request validation and other purchase processes. It also enhances materials forecasting, and thus aids facility managers to tackle downtime issues with improved vigour.
