The initial configurations for the enablement solution provide a generic set of configurations for a basic Customer & Supplier MDM system for the purpose of providing quicker time to value.
This document provides an in-depth overview of the initial configurations as a compliment to the Customer & Supplier MDM Enablement Guidelines. The target audience for this guide is any party interested in taking the initial configurations as a starting point to a new implementation.
To request the customer and/or supplier MDM initial configurations, contact Stibo Systems Support or send an email to cmdm@stibo.com.
Enablement Initial Configuration Overview
The initial configurations include basic data models, i.e., object types, attributes, references, etc., component models, workflows for clerical review of entity deduplication, inbound integrations for data consumption, and web user interfaces (Web UI) for data stewardship.
The initial configurations are largely based on the Merge Golden Record solution and addresses various implementation styles. The implementation styles that are addressed in this guide are:
- Consolidation
- Coexistence
- Centralized
Based on the implementation style that is most relevant to your requirements, the following configuration files may be provided:
Base Configuration
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Mandatory (select one of):
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Consolidation & Coexistence
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Centralized
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SAP Data Model
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- Optional Extension for B2B: D&B Web UI Configuration
It is recommended that the initial configurations are loaded into a STEP environment with the appropriate STEP Base. STEP Base is a clean, fresh install of the STEP application. For details on which STEP Base to take which corresponds to the purchased STEP version, contact Stibo Systems’ Technical Services team.
STEP System Components
The following components are required to be activated in your STEP system prior to loading the initial configurations:
- Party Data Matching (partydatamatching)
- Company Data Visualization (companydata-visualization)
- Customer MDM Monitoring (cmdm-monitoring)
- Profiling (profiling)
- Matching Agent (matchingagent)
Deployment of STEP components require adequate working knowledge of patching STEP environments. For deploying STEP components, it is recommended to solicit the assistance of Stibo Systems Support or Technical Services.
Third-party services
Stibo Systems provides native integrations with the following third-party services to enhance the data quality and reliability of master data.
- Dun & Bradstreet – for entity matching and company profiling in B2B implementations
- Loqate – for address verification
- Experian – for email validations
If any of these third-party integrations are to be part of a solution, contact Stibo Systems to ensure properly licensing is procured.
Installation of third-party services that require dedicated system components are not included in this guide. Information regarding the Customer and Supplier MDM third-party integrations is available in the Data Integration documentation here. Further detailed deployment instructions may also be available upon request.
Customer MDM Base Configuration
The Customer MDM Base Configurations includes a basic data model and other configurations that are shared across the subsequent configurations. Hence, the Base Configuration file should be loaded first.
Object types and corresponding attribute definitions that are included are Organization Customer, Supplier, and Contact Person.
For more information on data modeling, refer to the Data Modeling section of the this guide here.
Data Model
Organization Customer
For B2B implementations, the initial configurations provide attributes, references, a match algorithm, and clerical review workflow for Organization Customer entity type.
Supplier
For B2B implementations, the initial configurations provide attributes, references, a match algorithm, and clerical review workflow for Supplier entity type.
Contact Persons
Contact Person are also relevant for B2B implementations. From an attribution standpoint, Contact Person is similar to Individual Customer with the exception being that a Contact Person has its own algorithm and clerical review workflow.
A Contact Person is associated to an Organization Customer or a Supplier.
Hierarchy Object Types
In company hierarchies, aggregate types may be used to represent aspects of an entity that do not directly represent customer or supplier entities. Aggregates may be used to model categorizations to accommodate specific organizational hierarchy structures. For example, a legal hierarchy structure may include aggregates representing a parent holding company, business units, subsidiaries, and divisions. A sales hierarchy structure may include aggregates representing regions and territories.
Aggregates are applicable to both internal and external hierarchy types, such as legal hierarchies, financial hierarchies, etc.
Address Standardization
Included with the Base configuration is the Address Standardization business rule using the Loqate integration. For details on configuring and setting up the integration, refer to the Loqate Integration topic in the Data Integration documentation here.
Lookup Tables
Lookup tables may be used to compliment the match algorithms. A Word Alias Table is included for organizations Organization (Word Alias Table). An Unmatched Word Factor Table is also included for organizations (Organization Unmatched Word Factor Table).
Consolidation & Coexistence MDM Style Configuration
The system setup of the Consolidated and Coexistence styles is rather similar, hence, only a single configuration file is required for either implementation style. However, one major difference between the two styles are with regards to the synchronization of master data back to external systems. Data synchronization requirements must be carefully vetted and designed for during the implementation.
Data Model
Individual Customer
For B2C implementations, the initial configurations provide a match algorithm and clerical review workflow for Individual Customer entity type.
Household
The Household entity type is relevant to the Individual Customer use case for B2C implementations. The initial configurations provide a match algorithm and clerical review workflow for Household.
Workflows
Four clerical review workflows are provided with this configuration.
- Individual Customer Clerical Review
- Organization Customer Clerical Review
- Contact Person Clerical Review
- Household Clerical Review
- Supplier Clerical Review
Clerical review workflows provide the data steward with an interface to view and resolve potential duplicate findings by the respective algorithms of each object type.
For more information on configuring Match Algorithms and Clerical Review Workflows, refer to the Matching, Linking, and Merging documentation here.
User Privileges
The Consolidated and Coexistence configurations provide a generic user group for Data Stewards. No special privileges are configured for this group and all users have system super user privileges.
Event processor
The preconfigured event processor collects events for Individual Customer, Organization Customer, Supplier Contact Person, and Household entities to run through their respective match algorithms
Web UI
A Web UI configuration is provided for the purpose of meeting the operational needs of the MDM Data Steward. The Web UI affords the data steward the ability to carry out their daily tasks such as clerical review remediation, ad hoc stewardship responsibilities, maintaining internal hierarchies, monitoring of data governance, and running data profiles.
For more information on configuring a Web UI, refer to the Creating a New Web UI topic in the Web User Interfaces documentation here. For more information on Data Stewardship, refer to the Data Stewardship topic in this documentation here.
Inbound Integration Endpoint
An inbound integration endpoint (IIEP) is provided and used in conjunction with the Match and Merge Importer. For more information, refer to the Inbound Integration Endpoints topic (here) and the IIEP - Configure Match and Merge Importer Processing Engine topic (here) in the Data Exchange documentation.
Component Models
The following component models are included in the Consolidated and Coexistence Configuration file.
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Matching, configured for:
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Individual Customer
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Household
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Organization Customer
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Contact Person
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Supplier
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Matching – Merge Golden Record, configured for:
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Individual Customer
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Organization Customer
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Contact Person
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Supplier
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Matching – Link Golden Record, configured for:
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Household
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For more information, refer to the Component Models topic in the System Setup documentation here.
Centralized MDM Style Configuration for B2B Customer & Supplier
In a centralized MDM style, all master data originates within MDM and may be synchronized downstream / throughout the enterprise. In such a scenario, operational oversight and data governance is of utmost importance to an organization. The MDM must be able to accommodate complexities of data structures as well as business processes.
Data Model
As the centralized style deals primarily with the B2B use case, companies must be able to model B2B customers and suppliers as well as their respective of lines of businesses. As such, the centralized configuration includes Organization Customer, Supplier and Contact Person with line of business data containers. These data containers contain attribution that are specific to the line of business the customer does business with.
Organization customers, Suppliers, Contact Persons, and line of business data containers are provided in the Base Configuration file.
Workspaces
The Approved workspace is utilized as part of the centralized onboarding story. Workspaces allow for distinguishing the final state of a new entity which denotes active and publishing status to surrounding applications.
Attributes
Corresponding attribution and match algorithms are also provided in the configuration.
Workflows
As data origination / authorship resides within MDM, an onboarding, mechanism must be present to allow all departments and personas that are part of the process a means to interact with the data and even collaborate with one another.
Organization Customer Onboarding Workflow
The Centralized configurations include an Organization Customer Onboarding Workflow that is designed for contribution by the following personas:
- Sales Manager
- Finance Specialist
- Logistics Specialist
- MDM Specialist
The workflow allows each persona to fulfill their respective enrichment activities, while providing a means for intra-departmental collaboration.
Supplier Onboarding Workflow without Self-Service
The Centralized configurations include a Supplier Onboarding Workflow that is designed for contribution by the following personas:
- Procurement Manager
- Finance Specialist
- Logistics Specialist
- MDM Specialist
The workflow allows each persona to fulfill their respective supplier onboarding and enrichment activities, while providing a means for intra-departmental collaboration.
Organization Customer & Supplier Approval Workflow
Complimentary to the Onboarding workflows, an Approval workflow is also in place which is owned by the MDM Specialist. The purpose of this workflow is to accommodate ad hoc stewardship of data as it relates to changes to customer and supplier hierarchy relationships and providing a means for the MDM Specialist to review such changes and execute relevant business validations.
Complimentary to the Onboarding workflow, an Approval workflow is also in place which is owned by the MDM Specialist. The purpose of this workflow is to accommodate ad hoc stewardship of customer data and providing a means for the MDM Specialist to review changes and execute any business validation on the changes.
User Privileges
The Centralized configurations provide distinct system user privileges for each user persona that interfaces with customer and supplier data. User privileges are important to governance and provides are tighter control in ensuring the right people deals with the right data.
User Privileges for Supplier MDM
Currently, the MDM Specialist may be considered as the super user of the Centralized MDM and has privileges to access, edit, and approve all data in the system, whereas Sales, Finance, and Logistics do not have permission to approve customer data.
When it comes to Supplier onboarding activities, the Procurement manager will initiate the onboarding of new supplier entities. The Procurement manager, along with other internal users such as Finance, and Logistics also has privileges to edit and enrich, whereas the MDM Specialist may access, edit, and approve the data.
Event Processor
The preconfigured event processor collects events for Organization Customer, Supplier, and Contact Person entities to run against their respective match algorithm.
Web UI
Organization Customer Onboarding Web UI
A Web UI configuration is provided which allows direct user interface to onboard, maintain, and approve customer data as it pertains to the company’s operational processes. In the Web UI, users from Sales, Finance, Logistics, Procurement, Merchandiser as well as MDM Specialist are able to carry out their day to day activities.
Supplier Onboarding Web UI
A Web UI configuration for Supplier Onboarding is provided which allows users to onboard, maintain, and approve supplier data. In the Web UI, users from Procurement, Finance, Logistics, and the MDM Specialist are able to collaborate with each other and interface with their supplier data.
The Web UI configuration also provides the means to create new contacts to be associated with supplier entities.
For more information on configuring a Web UI, refer to the Creating a New Web UI topic in the Web User Interfaces documentation here.
Inbound Integration Endpoint
No inbound integration endpoint is provided with the Centralized Configuration.
A Find Similar algorithm is provided to support the Onboarding workflow user experience. This allows users to determine whether a given party they intend to onboard, already exists in the system.
Component Models
The following component models are included in the Centralized Configuration file:
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Matching, configured for:
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Organization Customer
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Supplier
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Contact Person
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Matching – Merge Golden Record, configured for:
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Organization Customer
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Supplier
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Contact Person
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For more information, refer to the Component Models topic in the System Setup documentation here.
Centralized MDM Style Configuration for Supplier with Self-Service
As a compliment to the Centralized Configuration, the initial configurations include an extension that allows supplier users to actively participate in the onboarding and maintenance of master data.
The configuration includes:
- Supplier Privileges and User Groups
- Supplier Classification Data Model
- Supplier- and Contact Person onboarding and maintenance workflows that includes the supplier persona
- Workflows for setting up suppliers for self service
- A Supplier Web UI
Data Model
Supplier Entities Classification
Supplier Entities Classification folder structures are included for Supplier Onboarding with Self-Service. Entity objects for a particular supplier are referenced to a corresponding classification folder for the purpose of governing and ensuring that supplier users may only view and edit entities associated to their respective supplier.
Workflows
As an extension to the support of data origination / authorship within MDM, a self-service onboarding mechanism is made available to external supplier users who must interface with MDM to manage their supplier information.
Supplier Onboarding Workflow with Self-Service
The Supplier Onboarding Workflow with Self-Service is intended for contribution by the following personas:
- Procurement Manager
- Supplier Admin User
- Supplier User
- Finance Specialist
- Logistics Specialist
- MDM Specialist
This workflow not only allows for the onboarding and enrichment of supplier entities, but also facilitates the use case of supplier admin users self-servicing their relevant supplier entities by directly interfacing with MDM.
Contact Person Onboarding Workflow
As Supplier Admin Users and Supplier Users onboard new supplier location entities, they may also need to create new contact persons to associate to the new supplier location entities. The initial configurations provide a Contact Onboarding workflow for this very purpose.
User Privileges
When it comes to Supplier Onboarding with Self-Service activities, Supplier User Groups are included to provided delineation of users for different suppliers. The Supplier Admin User can create additional users called Supplier Users who may optionally have administrative privileges. Both the Supplier Admin User and Supplier Users can view and edit only the entities associated with their respective Supplier.
Web UI
Supplier Onboarding with Self-Service Web UI
A Web UI configuration for Supplier Onboarding with Self-Service is provided which allows internal users to onboard, maintain, and approve supplier data. Additionally, external supplier users may also interface directly with MDM to enrich and maintain their supplier data. This provides suppliers as well as internal users a collaborative interface to ensure supplier data is sustained and governed.
The Web UI configuration also provides Supplier Admin Users the means to create new contacts to be associated with supplier entities as well as creating additional Supplier Users and assigning or revoking admin privileges for those users.
For more information on configuring a Web UI, refer to the Creating a New Web UI topic in the Web User Interfaces documentation here.
Inbound Integration Endpoint
No inbound integration endpoint is provided with the Centralized Configuration.
Customer MDM SAP Data Model Configuration
The initial configurations include data modeling SAP business processes in a B2B scenario. As many companies utilize SAP as their primary ERP solution, the goal of this configuration is to allow for a more seamless bridge between customer master data and SAP data structures.
The SAP configuration will include the SAP data model and corresponding business conditions to enforce SAP data modeling constraints.
Data Model
The SAP data model configuration uses the same Organization Customer entity types as the other configuration sets. The intent of this configuration is to be able to model complex SAP data structures to provide a more seamless user experience for companies that utilize SAP as their primary ERP platform. As such, the usage of relationships in between data structures is highly emphasized.
Data Model Constraints
The support of complex SAP data structures denotes the supporting of data integrity complexities and maintain proper constraints between the data structures. This configuration includes basic SAP data integrity validation rules to sure data integrity is maintained in MDM.
For more information on SAP data model constraints, it is recommended to research SAP documentation for the Sales & Distribution module for customers and vendors, as well as the relevant sections in this enablement guideline as a complimentary resource.
Extension: Dun & Bradstreet Web UI Configuration
A separate Dun & Bradstreet Web UI configuration is available for those who are interested in implementing the third-party integration. The Web UI configuration provides an interface for data stewards to run D&B Match to obtain the DUNS number and other relevant match information. Furthermore, data stewards may also level the Web UI configuration to run the D&B Company Profile service to obtain a more detailed overview of an organization.
Component Model
For security reasons, D&B subscription credentials may not be loaded via STEPXML, so users are recommended to utilize the 'Easy Set-up' feature of the D&B component model within the Customer MDM application. Deployment of 'Easy Set-up' will automatically create the relevant D&B object types, attribution, and references in the system.
Extension : Supplier Self Service
As a compliment to the Centralized Configuration, the initial configurations include an extension that allows supplier users to actively participate in the onboarding and maintenance of master data.
For more information, refer to the Dun & Bradstreet Integration topic in this documentation here.
The configuration includes:
- Supplier Privileges and User Groups
- Supplier Classification Data Model
- Supplier- and Contact Person onboarding and maintenance workflows that includes the supplier persona
- Workflows for setting up suppliers for self service
- A Supplier Web UI
Sample Data Load Files
For the Consolidated, Coexistence, and Centralized configurations, three sample data Excel files are available for each of the three customer entity types to be imported via the match and merge import configuration (i.e., Individuals, Organizations, and Contact Persons).
The names of these sample data files are:
Extension: Supplier Self Service
As a compliment to the Centralized Configuration, the initial configurations include an extension that allows supplier users to actively participate in the onboarding and maintenance of master data.
The configuration includes:
- SampleIndividuals.xlsx
- SampleOrganizationCustomers.xlsx
- SampleSuppliers.xlsx
- SampleCustomerContacts.xlsx
- SampleSupplierContacts.xlsx
Note: Users should import SampleOrganizationCustomers.xlsx before importing SampleCustomerContacts.xlsx and import SampleSuppliers.xlsx before importing SampleSupplierContacts.xlsx.
Sample data files must be imported with the Match and Merge Importer via the Asset Importer Widgets available within the Web UI.
Address Typeahead
The initial configurations include system setup objects to support Address Typeahead. The system setup objects for Loqate and Google API include:
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Gateway Integration Endpoint
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Address Typeahead configuration
Included with the Address Typeahead configuration are recommended JSON response mappings and query parameters.
Usage of Loqate or Google Address Typeahead services requires commercial license agreements and API keys. Due to this, the initial configurations do not include typeahead functionality for the Web UI, but it can be added by administrative users.
For more information on the Address Typeahead license agreement, contact Stibo Systems.
For more information on the Address Typeahead feature and how to configure it, refer to the Address Typeahead topic in the Web User Interfaces documentation.
Faceted Search
The initial configurations provide system setup objects to support Faceted Search for entities. Faceted Search provides end users with an improved search experience within the Web UI. The system setup objects include:
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Elasticsearch Configuration Type
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Elasticsearch Event Processor
Note: Initial configurations for Faceted Search are only available upon request.
For more information on Faceted Search licenses, contact Stibo Systems.
For more information on setup of Elasticsearch, refer to the Elasticsearch Setup topic in the System Setup documentation.
For more information on Faceted Search Screen configuration in the Web UI, refer to the Search Screen Search Configuration topic in the Web User Interfaces documentation.
Pair Export Excel Formatter
Match tuning is an essential step to ensuring that your match algorithm produces the desired outcome and accommodates data scenarios presented by your party data set. The resulting pair export is a CSV file that is used for evaluating the effectiveness of your current match rules and it provides opportunities for identifying areas of improvement.
The initial configurations include a pair export Excel formatter which re-formats the pair export to allow end users to easily identify match pairs. This tool provides visualization improvements to the CSV file and is helpful when reviewing large data volumes in the pair export file.
For more information on configuring match tuning, refer to the Match Tuning topic in the Matching, Linking, and Merging documentation.
For more Solution Enablement information on match tuning, refer to the Matching Algorithm Tuning topic in the Solution Enablement documentation.