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by Stephanie Neil, MA Editorial Staff Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 4:19:32 PM   | Abstract: | New initiatives around the concept of master data management are helping manufacturers create one version of the truth inside and outside the organization. |
Business is confusing. Operating in a global market, where acquisitions and a high mix of suppliers are the status quo, can create an ocean of information that can throw even the best-managed company into a tailspin. Take Airgas Inc., a Pennsylvania-based distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases that has completed over 300 acquisitions and operates through 13 different subsidiaries around the world. As the company built out its business, it needed a way to manage the influx of new information coursing through its IT infrastructure. Each business unit, for instance, had its own way of formatting and describing products and part numbers. That meant that when customers — which range from local gas stations to Fortune 100 pharmaceutical companies — tried to order the same product in a different part of the world, they encountered inconsistent descriptions and varying part numbers. "We have all sorts of data sets out there, and we needed a single repository that would allow us to appear as if we are one company to the customer," says Steve Max, director of e-business marketing at Airgas. [Click to continue] |