Data Maintenance: How Companies Can Use It To Speed Up Their Processes

Data maintenance should always be part of the corporate culture. Because instead of the data waste slowing down the processes, the proper use of data can increase profits.

According to market research and consulting company IDC study, every company records data growth between 31 and 60 per cent per year. According to IDC estimates, the global amount of data will grow to 143 zettabytes by 2024. A large part is formed via materials management and CRM systems. “The growing data and the ever-growing variety increasingly present companies with problems. It is hardly possible to trade anymore, and so instead of usable databases, digital garbage dumps are growing. A business model, however, even in manufacturing companies, is always partly data-driven. However, this requires continuous data maintenance to separate the useful from the superfluous.”

Planet has specialised in ERP software for companies in production for more than 40 years and, with Fepa, offers a platform that can be adapted to the individual needs of companies with single and large series production. In consulting, Planet also recommends data maintenance and how data can be used. The potential is enormous: Users can streamline numerous processes if they draw the right conclusions from the data.

When It Comes To Data Maintenance, It Is The Master Data That Counts

According to the IDC study, ensuring data quality is a key challenge for 37% of those surveyed. IT and business decision-makers from 261 organisations with more than 100 employees participated in the study. “Insufficiently maintained master data causes losses in efficiency, especially in an ERP system. We encounter old products, data left over from migrations and a lack of links daily in our projects,”.

Anyone who keeps their master data in the ERP system and modules such as CRM fresh and disposes of unused data loads benefits from faster processes, less irritation and less potential for errors. The better the information is maintained, the more dashboards show what users need in daily production and administration processes. Some data is withheld from the ERP system because usually, only a minimum of data maintenance takes place. However, the decision as to which information is important in the ERP should only be made with a provider who can work in a sector-specific manner.

Scenarios For Insufficient Data Maintenance

The scenarios for cause and effect are diverse, as the following examples show. In detailed planning, inaccurate data can lead to delays in production. Which work steps does a production piece have to go through in order and time frames? Missing data can make software-based planning completely unusable. Materials management monitors what is available and what is about to leave or be delivered. If the database is not comprehensively up-to-date, production or unnecessarily high inventories increase with the related costs.

Close contact with customers is crucial, especially in times of crisis: If there is no data maintenance in the CRM system, customers will not be informed or may be incorrectly reported. Data shows that up-selling only works for companies that know their customers well. In addition to the managing directors, controlling also needs data that dashboards and cockpits display. On this basis, users can make decisions that affect the entire company. However, the KPIs cannot be shown correctly if the database contains errors.

Precise Analyzes Are Required In Times Of Crisis

The last few months have shown impressively how quickly crises in the world affect companies. Supply chains are interrupted, suppliers cannot work, and raw materials are becoming immensely expensive: “Only those who have maintained their data regularly and well – who have made this process part of the business culture – can now generate targeted analyses. Data maintenance must therefore be part of business processes and must not be sacrificed for convenience,”.

In the basic version, the software covers the areas of sales, procurement, logistics, production planning and control with production data acquisition and business applications. In addition, industry-specific functions can be integrated as required, and various add-ons such as a DMS or CRM system can be used.