Which Data Domains are Relevant?

The idea of Master Data Management (MDM) as a cross-system instance that ensures that a company's relevant data is obtained from the respective data sources, consolidated and further processed in a regulated manner, cannot be applied to just one type of data. Multi-domain MDM thus refers to the extension to include all data domains relevant to a company, such as product data, customer data, supplier data or location data.

The decision which domains to integrate into MDM depends on a company's business goals. As soon as it makes sense to achieve these goals, for example, to combine customer and product data, derive insights from it and improve certain processes, a multi-domain MDM is the right way to go. To do this, the various domains must first be explained and differentiated from one another.

Product Data

For every company that manufactures, sells and/or sells one or more products, product data is of not to be overestimated. Product managers need the information to drive product development forward in a targeted manner, customer service employees must be able to rely on product information when asked questions during customer meetings, marketing managers build their entire communication strategy on product content, sales use product information to derive the best sales strategy and management needs appropriate reporting to monitor the product strategy and make informed decisions.

Product data can be managed by different systems – whether Product Information Management (PIM), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Product Experience Management (PXM) or Master Data Management (MDM), in the end, it is a matter of extracting the product data from the respective data sources, consolidating it centrally and thus providing synchronized data truth. On this basis, the data can then be further processed for a specific purpose and used by different departments.

Customer Data

Important customer data is constantly created when customers interact with the company in some way. This applies to both B2C and B2B customers. With every touch and movement, consumers share something about themselves, refine their image and provide valuable insights about interests, needs, values, and priorities. For companies, this is invaluable information because it makes it possible to tailor product communication very precisely to consumers and thus positively influence purchase decision processes.

However, this data is very often stored in various systems, technologies and documents, is often available in different formats and thus forms an inaccessible, unreliable and unusable information chaos. With the help of MDM, the information from these data sources is brought together and integrated into a uniform and quality-assured database. This gives marketing teams insight into the various customer groups, which enables them to create targeted campaigns and create personalized customer experiences. And the other departments, such as sales and customer service, also receive valuable support to implement their strategies. MDM also helps companies manage compliance-relevant information, such as consent forms or identification features.

Location data

Information about the different locations where the products are sold can provide exciting insights into which products are preferred by which customers buy in which areas. This makes it possible to manage marketing campaigns even more effectively and attract customers to stores with targeted campaigns, for example.

Supplier Data

Anyone with many different suppliers benefits from a uniform view of the corresponding data. On the one hand, insights on profitability help with price negotiation and, on the other hand, the centralization of data import processes supports the onboarding of new suppliers.

Contest

For some companies, it may also be opportune to collect data on competing products and bring it into context with market developments and their own sales developments. When a direct competitor brings a new product to market, it is possible to react more quickly and companies have the opportunity to identify and operationalize differentiation potential more quickly. This provides major competitive advantages.

One Concept – Endless Possibilities

Multi-domain MDM therefore offers great potential to illuminate very different business areas and processes from exciting perspectives and thus contribute optimizations, improvements, reinforcements and completely new ideas. In order to make use of this potential, companies must consider a few things.

• Which goals should be supported with MDM? It is important to define clear goals for every decision – this applies in particular to technologies that are intended to support business processes. Without a clearly defined project, companies would quickly fly blind.
• Which domains are relevant? If the goals are clear, this results in the data domains that are to be represented by MDM.
• What data sources are there? The specialist departments are particularly in demand here, which are often the only ones who know where the relevant data is located, how it gets to it and how it is used. All of this information is important for implementing MDM.
• Which technology makes sense? Scope and functional areas are important indicators for choosing the right MDM. In addition, companies should make sure to rely on sustainable technologies so that they remain flexible in connecting new data sources, systems and channels and remain flexible in implementing new rules in the future.
• How is MDM implemented? Due to the complexity of MDM, it is recommended to have an experienced implementation partner at your side who understands the deep links between the various topics, recognizes the potential and knows how to translate all the requirements into technology.