What is a Master Data Management (MDM) system?

The MDM system is a central data repository. Data modeling and structuring functions are needed to consolidate a lot of data in an efficient way. It is important that data management functions are easy to use, scalable and efficient even for large or complex services. 

Using workflows allows to divide the process into stages, facilitating quality control and data management (merging, unification, detection of duplicates, standardization). At each stage, data is supplemented with information from different departments or systems. Decision makers can verify completeness and validate data for specific channels or language versions

Since the MDM system consolidates data, ease of connection with other systams and databases is crucial. This applies not only to downloading data from various sources, but also to publishing in multiple channels (own store, marketplace, product configurator, PDF catalog generation, etc.).

The ability to store files is also significant. Digital asset management modules are a huge help in managing what content to send to a specific distribution channel. 

A good MDM should be highly rated and current users should have confidence in it. Many awards, decorations, honors, high rankings, are an assurance of quality and satisfaction in the future. 

If the technology is well established in the market there are more companies offering implementation support and more people in the labor market familiar with the technology. The ability to implement independently or switch vendors reduces the risk of failure during implementation. Large systems have the resources to develop the technology on a regular basis, so the risk of problems with maintaining outdated technology for which there are no longer specialists is reduced.

Open-source software reduces costs by not requiring licensing fees or the cost of maintaining and developing the technology.

With a copyright on the code, the system is flexible and almost anything can be changed in it. Such versatility can give, on the one hand, a lot of "out-of-the-box" functions, potential modules spreading those modules and full versatility for customization.

Many people are developing the technology, and even more are implementing it in enterprises. Errors are less likely to occur, and if they do occur they are easier to spot and quicker to fix. This gives stability and security, which is especially important for large organizations storing a variety of data. 

Reduces time-to-market (time-to-market). Workflows make all the steps involved in completing and validating data transparent, allowing you to optimize the process in a measurable way.

Consolidates data from different sources in different formats in one place, making it easier to standardize naming and introduce a unified product structure. By spotting inconsistent and unstructured data, it helps manage it. It also collects images and other multimedia information, linking them with product references. 

It supports marketing activities by giving reliable data to automate the creation of marketing content, e.g. titles, descriptions. Customers with more information are more likely to buy, even more so if MDM on DXP modules and takes care of the user experience.