Although some companies may promote it as
such, materials data is most definitely not a one size fits all kind of thing. Depending
on the industry, business process and ERP/EAM/CMMS application being used, each
client has their own unique set of data requirements that should be respected
and accommodated.
Before any data cleansing project can begin,
a number of questions must be addressed to establish a common set of
client-specific standards. First, a kick-off meeting is held to determine which
ERP/EAM/CMMS application the cleansed item master will be uploaded to. Various
applications have different field names, types and character limitations, which
determine how the data must be formatted. Next, the client must review the
Standard Operating Procedure as a baseline and request any required changes
such as naming convention and abbreviations. In many cases, companies will have
used a certain naming convention or set of abbreviations in their legacy system
that they would like to carry forward. Rather than changing the standards that
have been used for many years, these will simply be incorporated into the data
cleansing process upon the client’s request. Other customizations may include
the assignment of categories and sub-categories, ordering additional
attributes, and using client-specific codification systems.
At the end of the day, no client should ever
feel obligated or forced to adopt a foreign set of data standards that do not
align with their business requirements. Since materials data is the foundation
for critical business decisions, it needs to be available in whatever format is
most useful to its end user, the client.
For more information on Data Cleansing and related services, visit www.imaltd.com or contact info@imaltd.com.
For more information on Data Cleansing and related services, visit www.imaltd.com or contact info@imaltd.com.