In my last post I came to the conclusion that there is no workaround solution for master data maintenance though still some companies seem to search for it đ
The majority of the people I talk to concede that master data maintenance is crucial for modern supply chain management. Without correct master data, we will not be able to free up planners from stupid work and give them the time to care about those issues in supply chain planning and control that require human interference. Only correct master data will allow to reduce planning efforts and automate supply chain planning.
When I talk to supply chain managers, COOs and other board members, everybody confirms the importance of data quality. And still in many companies the quality of the data is at least unsatisfactory. In my area of business, supply chain management, people usually point at the planners who are ânot disciplined enough to maintain the master dataâ. In these cases, I present a small calculation that usually triggers a âwow-effectâ. Have a look at the very cautious sample figures yourselfâŚ
Diligent master data maintenance, besides the daily work of a planner is simply impossible! Even if a planner only cares about 5.000 items and only around 13 parameter per item need sensible care. I know companies, where planners are responsible for 50.000 items and in elaborated planning systems the number of parameters per item that need care is much higher than 13, like in my example.
What do we learn from this?
We need automated procedures for master data maintenance, or we will continue to muddle along.
âŚand the story goes onâŚ
Manual master data maintenance is not only unmanageable, because of the required effort. It is also unfeasible because in most cases neither planners nor experts know how parameters must be set. This will be the topic of my next post…
