Many companies tend to get into a muddle when it comes to master data. If data is distributed across different systems and applications, poor master data maintenance often leads to conflicts – and also to increased costs and annoyed customers. Unsynchronized master data occurs more frequently in small businesses and midsize companies than in large enterprises.

For example, a spare part for a car can be ordered from various suppliers, all of whom use a different material number. At the same time, the part can be built into different models manufactured in different years. If companies don’t adopt a systematic approach, a jumble of data with many specifications can quickly result. The consequences are expensive manual data entry, combined with delays and processing errors.

To avoid such and other problems – in customer relationship management, inventory management, employee administration, and so on – SAP offers two products:

SAP NetWeaver Master Data Management (SAP NetWeaver MDM) and SAP Master Data Governance.

Technical and process-related criteria dictate which product is better suited for which company. SAP.info uses a comparison to show which solution is preferable in which case.

For further information, please read the article: “Keeping Tabs on Master Data”

Read on: SAP NetWeaver Master Data Management