12 Ways To Get Control Over Supplier Master Data

Procure-to-pay (P2P) automation and analytics won’t work very well without accurate supplier master data. Yet that goal — data accuracy — remains a considerable challenge for many Procurement and Accounts Payable organizations. This Gartner report, “Gain Control Over Your Supplier Master Data Before It’s Too Late,” has lots of ideas for improvement. We’ve captured 12 good ones here, but download the report for the full roster of recommendations. 

12 recommendations for stronger supplier master data governance:

1. Organize and identify responsibility for supplier master data by creating a governance plan as early in the project as possible.
2. As a starting point for your governance model, determine what master data exists and who owns master data decisions.
3. Build a decision rights framework using a “checks and balances” approach to identify the master data governance roles and stewardship responsibilities you’ll need.
4. Align process ownership with data ownership, or else you risk rising operating costs and reduced spend visibility.
5. Work with all internal stakeholders to create a comprehensive data governance framework for supplier master data management. (See the report for specific steps to accomplish this.) 
6. Regularly review master data management (MDM) governance to understand the status of controls and risks across your organization.
7. Improve data models, collection and management by moving accountability for supplier master data to Procurement.
8. Consider master data governance as part of corporate governance processes, not as an isolated practice in Procurement.
9. Enforce stewardship policies within the business to ensure that the roles tasked with supporting master data have the authority to do their work. (See the Gartner Report for RACI steps to accomplish this.)
10. Encourage a Procurement  culture that understands data value, creation, storage, use and deletion.
11. Engage suppliers in data maintenance activities by making them contractually accountable for data quality and levy penalties for nonperformance.
12. Provide suppliers with a standard methodology for managing their data, such as a portal, web form or email. 

Where Are You on Your Digital Procurement Journey? 

Accurate supplier master data is just one aspect of a Digital Procurement journey. Where do you stand in your Procurement practice? Find out with this self-assessment tool from Forrester. You’ll learn more about what you need to do to get better control your processes and your data.