P&G Minimizes Operational Risk Through Master Data Governance

Just one mistake can cost millions of dollars in lost business. P&G's Master Data team makes sure this doesn't happen

If there's one item that belongs on top of your list of implementations for 2013, it should be the creation of a global master data strategy. That, at least, is what P&G believes. It has put Adnan Behmen in charge of the Master Data team, which manages and introduces product data, customer data, and sales prices within the ERP system. Not that long ago, hundreds of P&G offices around the world were responsible for inputting and managing their own data. Inevitably, there were conflicts and errors that took time – and cost money – to put right. Today, master data is centralized within the Global Business Services team, and the overall governance – and therefore, quality – has improved significantly. It's paying off in terms of significantly lower defects.

To provide some perspective: globally, P&G creates some 20,000 master data records every day, which interact with each other through the SAP system. This data is critical to daily operations. Just one mistake can result in system failures that stop operations in any given country, and cause millions of dollars in lost business. In fact, defects in data can cause stoppages of massive proportions. For example: a faulty code can stop shipments, or a wrong price can block invoices. These are not risks that companies like P&G are comfortable with. As a result of Six Sigma and Lean quality improvement initiatives over the past year, the number of master data defects has dropped significantly. Today, P&G operates at quality levels of 99.8-99.9 – meaning just one or two defects per thousand. And that is a ratio P&G can live with.

What has proven significant is better governance in managing how data is requested and input from the start. In this interview, Adnan shares three lessons he has learned about implementing a global master data strategy.

Listen to the interview.

[inlinead]