• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Clean Data: It’s a Must In Order to Have a Solid Foundation for Digital Transformation

Clean Data: It’s a Must In Order to Have a Solid Foundation for Digital Transformation

May 10, 2019
Rich Katz, SCB Contributor

Inaccuracy of data can cost a business money and destroy business value.

Any data record that includes an error is considered “dirty,” which means that the data is out-of-date, inaccurate, incomplete, and just plain wrong. Recent research from Gartner shows that poor data quality is responsible for close to $15m in losses annually. This number increases the more complex and global the organization. 

Data is the success factor for supply chain visibility and digital data is the underlying foundation for digital transformation. As businesses undergo digital transformation, a reliance on this “dirty” data can undermine the entire transformation strategy and journey. In order to get the most value from data, it must be cleaned and linked. To clean the data, businesses must correct or remove corrupt or inaccurate records and identify incomplete, incorrect, inaccurate or irrelevant parts of the data. 

In digital transformation, data first needs to be integrated and collected from disparate systems. It must be made consistent so that every system will “speak” the same language and “talk” to each other. It is recommended that a team of specialists define the scope of items to be cleansed, assign rules for which classification to apply to certain families of parts, agree on abbreviations (e.g., Bearing to BRG) and define the attributes or specification detail to be associated to each part (dimensions, weight, supplier name, color, etc.). 

Different data sets must be linked so that product numbers, shipments and order information is standardized. Now a purchase order is a purchase order; master data is consistent; codes and units of measure are standard; and prefixes and suffixes are harmonized. Once this is complete, transactions can be linked across partners and processes. 

An integration platform with connectors to various ERP systems, and inter-company master data mapping functionality which brings all that data into a common, canonical “Universal Business Document” (UBD) format, might be the key differentiator for a business. Using the clean data, UBDs will improve message translation, foster reliable inter-enterprise communication and speed up collaboration, making it easier for companies to conduct commerce with each other. UBDs rationalize barriers for trading partners, allowing them to connect to each other easily. UBDs create domain-driven expression to business processes and ensure a common language across all trading partners. None of this can be successful without accurate data input upfront. 

UBDs give complete visibility throughout the supply chain for all parties, from the point where a supplier receives a sales order to the point that the invoice is paid and can also include carriers and shippers involved in the movement of goods. A customer service rep could look up the PO or invoice number and see where the order is within the supply chain — whether in shipping transit, in manufacturing or in inventory in a distribution center. With the proper data foundation, companies can track shipments and identify risk, such as the delay in a shipment that can be detrimental to customer satisfaction.

The Outlook

In the future, more and more businesses will gain value from the insights derived from cleaner data. UBDs, populated with accurate data that is linked, will help supply chains react faster. Capturing clean, actionable, real-time information across a critical mass of trading partners in a consistent manner is the cornerstone of deriving value out of the supply chain and the start of a digital transformation. 

Rich Katz is president of Elemica.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Technology Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • Related Articles

    Digital Transformation in Supply Chain Requires a Clear Definition and Strategy

    A Digital Transformation Guide for Supply-Chain Disruptions

    Manufacturing Doesn't Have to Go Looking for Data. It's Already Swimming in It.

Rich Katz, SCB Contributor

Clean Data: It’s a Must In Order to Have a Solid Foundation for Digital Transformation

More from this author

Wake up to Coronavirus Updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • Coronavirus-watch-Armada

    Virus Update: Biden Unveils National Strategy; Pfizer Says It’s Willing to Sell Vaccine to States

    Coronavirus
  • Car Industry

    A Year of Poor Planning Led to Carmakers’ Massive Chip Shortage

    Technology
  • Can Employers Require Employees to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine? Part 1

    Watch: Can Employers Require Employees to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine? Part 1

    Coronavirus
  • U.S. Vaccine Rollout Hindered by Faulty Coordination, Messaging

    WHO Fumes at Western Drugmakers As China Fills Vaccine Void

    Coronavirus
  • COVID-19 Vaccine

    Vaccine Disparities Raise Alarm as COVID-19 Variants Multiply

    Coronavirus

Digital Edition

Scb home issue 27

2020 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • LSP Saves Customer $1.5 Million a Year With MPO Global Inbound Management

  • Auto Supplier Wows Key Client Using riskmethods Supply Chain Savvy

  • Integrating Shipping and Compliance Saves Conglomerate Millions

  • How a Consumer Goods Giant Upped Its On-Time Delivery Performance

  • LSP Wows Global Client, Quickly Advances to Become End-to-End Provider

Visit Our Sponsors

6 River Systems ArcBest Armada
aThingz BluJay Burris Logistics
DSC Logistics DCSA (Digital Container Shipping Association) DHL Resilience360
Genpact GEP Honeywell Intelligrated
Infor Logility Magnitude Software
MPO Old Dominion Oliver Wight
OpenSky Ports America Purolator
QAD Precision Red Classic Riskmethods
TGW Systems Transportation Insights Watson Land Company
Westfalia Technologies Workjam Yang Ming
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright © 2016 - 2018 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing