This white paper addresses the value of a company’s ability to integrate, analyze and optimize all types and sources of information throughout the product life cycle.
IBM Software Group, Information Management
Business value of
Master Data Management and
Product Information Management.
By Gaurav Deshpande, senior marketing manager and Prem D'Cruz, Industrial Sector marketing manager
August 2006Business value of Master Data Management and Product Information Management.Page
IntroductionContents Chris, a race car enthusiast, is browsing the Web looking for an air-intake system to give his vehicle a big boost in power. He finds a product called the 2 Introduction Typhoon and is disappointed that the manufacturer's Web site has only basic 3 What is Master Data information-the part number, dimensions and description, and no ordering Management? details. After numerous phone calls he finds that both his dealership and 6 Why manufacturing companies local auto parts retailer do not stock the part and is forced to turn to an online should consider MDM distributor. Chris anxiously awaits his new part; it is now more than 10 days 10 Product Information since he ordered it, and the distributor blames the manufacturer for shipping Management solutions the incorrect part. Chris therefore abandons his purchase and turns to a 11 Conclusion competitor's product. Does this story sound familiar? All across the board in 11 For more information the manufacturing sector - automotive, aerospace, electronics and industrial companies-managing product and customer information is a huge challenge. Poor information and disconnected processes are a hidden crisis in the industry today. The cost of this inconsistency in terms of operational efficiency, customer dissatisfaction or lost opportunity is enormous. Whether it is product numbers, item relationships, service codes, warranty information or customer identifiers, what should be a unique entry might have multiple values and locations. These issues manifest themselves in numerous challenges being faced by organizations today:
. Real-time access to product and parts information and availability. Sales tools like configurators and product guides lacking the latest information. Access to unstructured information in context - technical manuals, service bulletins, ring tones, images, data sheets, computer-assisted design (CAD) drawings and instructional videos. Reuse of assemblies and components to lower design and procurement costs. Ability to link product data with supplier and customer data for more-meaningful business insights. Streamline processes for new-product introduction, warranty and returns . Lack of a 360 degree customer view for improved and differentiated serviceBusiness value of Master Data Management and Product Information Management.Page
Today, organizations are looking to grow profit, gain market share, contain costs and differentiate their products. This is achieved by getting the right information to the right people with the right processes at the right time and in the right context. It is about creating business value by integrating, analyzing and optimizing all types and sources of information throughout the life cycle. More than 60 percent of CEOs and line of business (LOB) executives say quality information is their top priority for improving business processes, employee 1productivity and customer satisfaction.
What is Master Data Management?Master Data Management (MDM) is a comprehensive strategy to determine and build a single, accurate and authoritative source of truth of your company's information assets and deliver this on demand as a service. Master data is core data needed to uniquely define objects like parties (customers, vendors, suppliers, trading partners or employees), places (locations or geographies) and things (products, services or accounts). It does not change as frequently as transactional data and is referenced by business processes and other applications. Today, this data is located in multiple applications and is often out of synchronization, without a true "golden" source. Why maintain the same data in multiple applications when it is cheaper and more efficient to manage it once and feed the various consuming systems? When organizations use master data at the enterprise level, it eliminates the need for separate, departmentally maintained "versions of truth." Today in most organizations, two different departments have the freedom to give specific products or customers their own names. For example, in one system (ori... [download for more]
