M30BuildTechnology· Module 6
Data
Reports disagree because the same customer, product or supplier is recorded three different ways.
- Fix
- Manage
- Scale
- Technology
- Governance
- ~5 min · Checklist
The business problem
Poor data quality is behind most unreliable reports and failed systems. Duplicate customers, inconsistent product codes, missing fields and outdated prices accumulate because nobody owns the data and no rules govern how it is created.
Why it matters
Reliable data is the foundation of management information, automation and AI. Fixing it is unglamorous, but nothing built on bad data works.
What you will learn
- Identify master data and transactional data
- Set standards for creating and changing core records
- Assign data owners
- Clean existing data and keep it clean
Core questions
- How many versions of our customer or product list exist?
- Who can create or change a product, price or customer?
- Which fields are essential, and how complete are they?
- Who is responsible when data is wrong?
Work through the module
CaseWhat is happening?
Pharmaceutical distributor, 40 people · Illustrative teaching case
A distributor's sales reports show the same pharmacy under four names, and product codes differ between the warehouse and invoicing. Management cannot tell which customers are growing. A data owner is appointed, naming rules are agreed, duplicates are merged and only two people may create new records.
DecisionWhat does the leader need to decide?
Keep adjusting reports manually, or invest in cleaning and governing the data?
FrameworkHow should they think about the problem?
Data ownership and standards
Master data (customers, products, suppliers, prices) is governed: each type has an owner, creation rules, required fields and a review cycle. Transactional data inherits quality from master data.
ToolWhat can they use?
Data quality checkChecklist
- Count duplicates in customers and products
- Measure completeness of essential fields
- List who can create and change records
- Write naming and coding standards
ApplicationHow does it apply to their business?
Apply it to your own business:
- Run the check on your customer and product lists
- Estimate how many reports are affected
- Draft standards and name owners
ImplementationWhat changes?
What should change in the business:
- Clean duplicates and fill essential fields
- Restrict who can create master records
- Review data quality monthly
ReviewDid it work?
How to tell whether the change worked:
- Have duplicates and gaps fallen?
- Do reports reconcile without manual adjustment?
- Are new records created to standard?
After this module you should be able to decide
Keep adjusting reports manually, or invest in cleaning and governing the data?
And leave with: Data standards and owners for your core records.
Sequence · Technology