Your master data needs to be clean because it is the foundation for every process in your system. When data is inconsistent or incomplete, it spreads errors across all departments and makes your operations harder to control.
According to Gartner, poor data quality costs organizations an average of $12.9 million each year. This number shows that weak control over master data is not just a small technical problem. It is a financial burden that directly reduces your organization’s performance and profits.
If you think about what this means, it is simple. Every duplicate customer record, every wrong supplier detail, and every missing product code adds up. The result is higher costs, wasted time, and decisions that are based on unreliable information.
In this article, you’ll learn what master data cleansing really means, why it matters, and how eSystems provides you with the right tool to keep your data clean. You’ll also see the specific functions that make cleansing effective and practical for your organization.
Read our article “What is a Clean Core Approach?” to dive deeper into the Clean Core Approach.
What is Master Data Cleansing?
Master data cleansing is the process of correcting, structuring, and improving the quality of master data so it can be used consistently across your systems.
Master data refers to the core entities in your organization, such as customers, suppliers, employees, and products.
Cleansing involves removing errors, fixing inconsistencies, and ensuring that each record is accurate and aligned with a common standard. This process makes master data usable as a foundation for transactions, reporting, and decision-making.
Cleansing includes several technical activities:
Standardization ensures that data follows the same formats, such as addresses written in a uniform way.
Deduplication identifies and merges duplicate records so the same customer or supplier doesn’t appear twice with slight variations.
Validation checks data against defined rules, such as confirming that an email address follows a valid structure.
Enrichment adds missing details from trusted sources to make records more complete.
Harmonization aligns master data across different systems so that the same entity is represented the same way everywhere.
For example, consider a supplier who appears in one system as “ABC Ltd.” and in another as “ABC Limited.” Without cleansing, these would look like two different suppliers.
Through deduplication and harmonization, the records are merged into one entity. Then, validation checks confirm that the supplier’s tax ID is correct, while enrichment rules fill in missing contact details.
The end result is one clean, complete, and standardized record that can be used reliably in all your systems.
Why Master Data Cleansing Matters
Accurate Reporting: Clean master data ensures that performance reports are based on reliable inputs. Duplicate or inconsistent records distort totals, such as counting the same customer twice in revenue analysis.
Reliable Analytics: Analytical models depend on data quality. If cleansing is skipped, predictive analytics may suggest false trends or misclassify customer behavior.
Regulatory Compliance: Regulations often require accurate and traceable records, such as financial or supplier data. Cleansing aligns records with compliance rules and provides audit-ready transparency.
Operational Efficiency: When your systems use cleansed master data, workflows such as procurement, payroll, and customer onboarding run without interruptions caused by conflicting or incomplete data.
Decision-Making Risks: Poor-quality master data can lead to wrong business decisions, like overestimating demand due to duplicate product codes or approving a supplier with missing risk information.
Customer Experience: Cleansed master data prevents errors that directly affect customers, such as sending duplicate invoices or misdirected shipments caused by incorrect addresses.
Master Data Cleansing Tool - eSystems
1. Cleaning and Enrichment Rules
Cleaning rules are instructions that automatically find and fix problems in your data, like duplicates, wrong formats, or missing values.
Enrichment rules go one step further by adding missing details from trusted sources so that each record is more complete. Together, these rules make sure your master data is reliable and ready to be used across your system.
With eSystems, these rules aren’t just written once and forgotten. They’re built into the foundation of your master data management setup. You’ll get automated checks that constantly scan your customer, supplier, or product records and correct issues before they spread to other systems.
For example, if two customer accounts exist with slightly different names, the rules will merge them into one consistent profile.
For your organisation, this means you won’t spend hours fixing the same errors again and again. Instead, your system learns and applies the rules automatically. You’ll notice fewer reporting errors, fewer failed transactions, and a smoother flow of information between departments.
2. Harmonization Orchestrator
Harmonization means making sure that data looks and behaves the same way no matter where it’s used. The orchestrator is the part of eSystems that manages this process across all your connected systems.
It checks the data flowing in and out, aligns formats, and ensures that changes in one place are reflected everywhere else.
eSystems runs this as a continuous background process. For example, if your finance system and your sales platform use different formats for supplier IDs, the orchestrator will adjust and synchronize them. It doesn’t just copy the data but ensures it’s harmonized, so your team sees one version of the truth.
When you use this in your organisation, you’ll remove the common problem of “which system has the right data.”
Your sales team, your HR team, and your finance team will all work with the same information. That reduces confusion, prevents double work, and supports faster decision-making.
3. Management Console
A management console is a dashboard where you and your team can view, edit, and control master data directly. Instead of depending on IT for every small fix, the console gives both business users and technical teams the ability to manage data in real time.
In eSystems, the management console provides a secure space where authorized people can review changes, approve updates, or correct records instantly.
For example, if a supplier updates their contact information, your procurement team can adjust it directly in the console without waiting for a backend process.
For your organisation, this means you’ll have more control and visibility over your master data. You’ll catch errors sooner, respond to changes faster, and reduce the bottleneck of passing everything through IT.
This shared access also builds trust in the data because your teams know it’s always up-to-date and directly manageable.
4. Workflow Monitoring and Data Quality Checks
Workflow monitoring means keeping an eye on the steps your data goes through as it moves between systems.
Data quality checks are automatic tests that look for errors, missing values, or unusual patterns that might signal a problem.
Together, these functions protect your data pipeline from spreading mistakes downstream.
With eSystems, these checks run continuously. The system tracks how your data flows, alerts you if something fails, and even points out outliers that could cause trouble later.
For example, if a batch of product records arrives with blank fields, the system can flag them before they reach your analytics or ERP system.
For your organization, this reduces the hidden costs of bad data. Instead of finding issues after they’ve already damaged reports or customer interactions, you’ll stop them at the source.
You’ll also build confidence that every department is working with data that’s been tested and verified.
5. MD Repository and Catalogue
A master data repository is the central place where all your clean and validated records are stored.
The catalogue works alongside it by describing the meaning, source, and usage of each piece of data. These two components give your organization a single, structured view of all master data.
In eSystems, the repository holds the actual records while the catalogue provides the metadata, or “data about data.” This means you’ll know not only what the current supplier address is but also where it came from, who updated it, and how it connects to other systems.
For your organisation, this ensures consistency and transparency. Everyone can trust the repository as the single source of truth, and the catalogue helps your teams understand the data’s context.
That makes reporting, compliance checks, and system migrations much easier and far less risky.
6. Partner Integrations (Workato, etc.)
Partner integrations are connections with external platforms that extend what your master data tool can do.
They help automate processes, improve accessibility, and move data seamlessly between systems that wouldn’t otherwise communicate well.
eSystems works with partners like Workato to enhance its master data capabilities. For example, Workato can automate how cleansed data from your repository is delivered into your cloud warehouse or CRM, keeping everything synchronised without manual effort.
For your organisation, this means your cleansed master data doesn’t just sit in one place. Instead, it flows automatically to the applications you rely on daily.
You’ll save time, avoid manual exports, and make sure every system in your landscape benefits from the same high-quality records.
About e-System
e-System is a Nordic company that helps organizations drive digital transformation and manage their core data with precision.
We focus on giving you the tools and support needed to make your systems faster, more reliable, and easier to control. Our approach is built on low code technology and automation, which means you can improve processes and manage your data without long development cycles.
Our master data management services cover everything from cleaning and enrichment rules to harmonization, workflow monitoring, and reporting. We provide both the foundation to build your master data processes and the operations to keep them running every day.
With our experts, you can manage your data directly, integrate with trusted platforms like Workato, and ensure that your master data stays accurate and consistent across your entire system.
Get started with e-System today and use the right master data cleansing tool to maintain a clean core for your organization.
FAQs
1. What is master data cleansing?
Master data cleansing is the process of fixing errors, removing duplicates, and standardizing core records like customers, suppliers, and products.
2. Why is master data cleansing important?
It ensures your data is accurate and consistent so your reports, transactions, and decisions are based on reliable information.
3. What are the best tools for master data cleansing?
e-System provides a master data cleansing tool that helps you clean, enrich, and manage your data across all systems.
4. How does master data cleansing improve data quality?
It validates records, fills in missing details, and harmonizes data across systems so you always work with one correct version.
5. What is a clean core in master data management?
A clean core means your organization’s central data is free of errors and inconsistencies, allowing all systems to use the same trusted records.
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