Material Master Data Standardisation and Enhancement 

Do you have any of these frustrations executing processes in your ERP? 

 Material master searches yielding inconclusive results 

 Warehouse receiving wrong items from Suppliers 

 Suppliers need more info when you send out a RFQ for items 

 End users receiving wrong items from stores 

 Delays and rescheduled maintenance jobs due to parts problems 

 Concern for the risk of installing incorrect materials 

 Users frustrated by the above issues 

If you said yes to any or all these issues, your business likely has a defective MRO material 

master and admin process. 

Material masters are one the largest and most complex of all master data types. Data has 

accumulated both through everyday operating activities as well as mergers and acquisitions. 

End-users, manufacturing, purchasing, engineering and finance share the resultant common 

data challenges of duplication, inconsistent, inaccurate and incomplete descriptions. Often, 

small in-house data-cleaning projects have attempted to alleviate the problems. 

The first step in any data-cleansing project involves performing a detailed data audit to 

assess the item master's current state, establish a baseline for key performance indicators 

(KPIs) and determine project requirements. During the evaluation, a data analyst will perform 

a series of automated reports to assess the current condition of raw legacy data while 

identifying possible duplicate records and providing multiple before and after cleansing 

samples for review. The results of the data evaluation will be presented to the prospecting 

company in a formal report along with a detailed project proposal. 

Our data cleaning and enhancement solutions provide a stable long-term cure. We utilise 

our own software CuroCat which are based on international standards and a substantial 

technical dictionary and are delivered by a team of experienced professionals. The outputs 

of the project are consistent and compliant enriched descriptions, and duplicate 

elimination. 

The use of the “ISD - Industrial Standard Dictionary” is widely regarded and fully supported 

for any industry need and to comply with ISO 8001. We have invested heavily in building a 

multi-language technical MRO dictionary which enables us to cleanse data in English and 

French, Portuguese, etc. as well as to deliver ERP-ready short and long technical 

descriptions in multiple languages. Our translations are in a constant state of 

development and where additional values are created during the data-cleansing process we 

work with local resources to undertake new translations. Our catalogue data structure has 

been designed to support the inter-relationships between Part Manufacturers, 

Original Equipment Manufacturers, Vendors and Distributors. It also handles the 

various relationships within a specific material item, such as drawing numbers, part 

supersession, obsolescence and old versions of part numbers. 

Enrichment - In addition to the above Standardization activities, we will use information 

provided by the manufacturer and/or supplier name and part numbers to conduct web-

based research on reliable publically available sources reference catalogue to 

investigate items. Identify ambiguous or missing class subclass 

Obviously, there are many benefits associated with a good standardized materials master. 

Some of the benefits (such as holding costs and procurement costs) are easily quantified; 

others (such as the effort spent locating the correct item or the time wasted by a fitter doing 

emergency modifications) are more difficult to quantify, but real never the less. 

Material Master Data Governance 

A well-designed Master Data Governance (MDG) program is essential for the on-going 

maintenance of MRO data quality. Good quality MRO data improves accuracy, optimizes 

supply chain operations and lowers inventory costs. 

Legacy data-cleaning cleaning addresses one piece of the master data jigsaw. Master data 

governance is equally essential. Using our standard and highly configurable software, 

CuroCat, our team of professionals design, build and implement appropriate master data 

governance solutions. Our managed service model with the MDG platform CuroCat enables 

organizations to take control over their inventory, ensure availability of the right MRO part at 

the right time, and implement efficient data governance. A successful data governance 

strategy ensures on-going consistent, accurate material master data is created using 

approved corporate processes, approvals and controls, and that dictionary standards are 

properly implemented and governed 

Material Master Data Cleansing Consultancy 

Master data projects are inherently complex, and our successful solutions combine our niche 

software CuroCat and our specialist services. Effective implementations and projects often 

require a combination of internal and specialist external resources, and our team of qualified, 

experienced professionals add value to your organisation, both during the project phase and 

during long-term governance. We will work with you to blend in with - and add value to - your 

team 

Contact details 

Curo Data Solutions (Pty) Ltd 

Reg 2020/585444/07 

149B Metropolitan Street, Highveld, Centurion, Gauteng 0157, South Africa 

Mobile: +27 72 593 4140 

Email: paul@curodata.co.za