CDQ and SAP: the master data automation dream team

In the fast-evolving realm of enterprise data management, few aspects are as critical as business partner master data. Whether dealing with customers, suppliers, or other stakeholders, the efficient and accurate management of these relationships stands as fundamental to organizational success. Yet, as businesses expand and data volumes increase, manual processes become more cumbersome and prone to errors. This is where automation emerges as the beacon of efficiency and reliability.

In partnership with SAP, we are committed to advancing automation in master data management (MDM) with a focus on two core pillars: cutting-edge technology and trusted data. And the more trusted business partner data, the more benefits MDM automation can offer.

Our technological solutions drive MDM automation through advanced workflows, automatic derivation and population of master data attributes, and automated approval mechanisms. These innovations significantly enhance the efficiency of master data processing.

We empower companies to seamlessly integrate high-quality, trusted data from external partners into their MDM systems. This collaboration with SAP ensures smooth integration, automating the incorporation of reliable data into master data governance processes and eliminating manual data entry.
 

Automation benefits unlocked with SAP and CDQ

The benefits of MDM automation extend well beyond time savings. For instance, Bayer reduced standard SAP MDG request processing times from two days to just two seconds. Moreover, high-quality master data enhances downstream processes, ensuring accuracy in invoicing, expediting essential deliveries, and preventing customs delays with precise documentation.

Another impactful example involves a CDQ customer who slashed the transition time from prospect to quotable customer from one month to a single day through CDQ services and automation. This efficiency boost allows sales teams to expedite operations with enhanced customer creation using smart data quality rules and automated data entry.

Imagine a future where every interaction with business partners, from initial creation to ongoing maintenance, is seamlessly orchestrated by automated processes. This transformation reduces the burden of tedious data entry, repetitive verifications, and costly errors. Automation in business partner master data management is not merely a convenience—it's a strategic imperative.

Together with SAP, we are dedicated to delivering seamless solutions for companies seeking high-quality corporate data.

The following process offers a highly efficient and automated approach, while focusing on key aspects related to your business partners. With our API-first approach, it can seamlessly fit your specific needs.
 

More automation: implementation in under 6 months

Let's explore a real-world example showcasing the powerful synergy between SAP and CDQ, highlighting how strategic automation deployment achieved substantial efficiency gains and strengthened data integrity for a global technology company specializing in energy, transport, and paper solutions.

Facts and figures of MDG organization

• Serving 135 operational units
• Managing approximately 230,000 master data records
• Utilizing SAP MDG for centralized governance

Business partner master data automation building blocks from CDQ

• Search for duplicates (more)
• Search in external data sources (more)
• Address cleansing and enrichment (more)
• Rule based data quality check (more)
• Tax ID verification (more)
• CDQ Bank Trust Score (more)

Prior to CDQ adoption, the MDG department managed diverse requestors and input channels, including email correspondence and various workflows. Transitioning to a streamlined process involved consolidating entry, alongside email and two designated workflows. Integration with SAP MDG facilitated seamless data validation, empowering requestors to make informed decisions with minimal manual intervention.

The diagram below shows a business partner creation process with maximum automation applied and ensuring the quality of a new record provides can be fully trusted for all downstream processes.

1. The requester enters required information and clicks the lookup button. A list of matches with an 80% or higher matching rate is displayed. If no changes are made by the requester, the system automatically approves the change request without involving the central MDG team.
    
2. After entering the business partner and gathering data from various sources, golden records are created, including the Tax ID and other identifiers.
    
3. Subsequently, the bank trust score is evaluated. Meeting the threshold speeds up the approval process. In case of discrepancies (e.g., mismatched country for the bank account and vendor), exception handling is triggered, prompting the MDG team to investigate further. The four-eyes principle applies to scores below the threshold.
    
4. Automation of the four-eyes principle is possible. Specific countries and payment methods are whitelisted for enhanced security, streamlining the process. Additionally, an error message alerts users to suspicious bank accounts, ensuring the system remains free from fraudulent activities.
    

CDQ integration natively embedded in SAP MDG

The processes explained above can be implemented quickly and easily thanks to a seamless integration with SAP MDG.

Implementing our solutions with SAP MDG ensures fast and seamless integration, leveraging a pre-configured setup for immediate deployment as a standard SAP solution. This enables a streamlined one-click onboarding process for business partners across SAP environments, including SAP Business Suite, SAP S/4HANA on-premise, SAP MDG cloud edition, and MDG on SAP S/4HANA.

Available out-of-the-box and based on a pre-configured mapping, it can be conveniently activated as a standard solution in SAP, so you can benefit right away and enjoy a one-click business partner onboarding process. You will get:

Improved productivity and data quality

• Complete, correct, fit-for-use data from 70+ external data sources provided by CDQ
• One-click transfer instead of manual search, validation, document mining, and error-prone data entry
• Golden Record augmenting results from the international registers (including premium data sources like BvD and D&B)

Automated data creation with CDQ First Time Right

• Look Up and Create button to search for matching reference data in CDQ’s data sources
• Powered by 2,500+ ready-to-use data quality rules
• Direct import from various trusted, open, and commercial sources into SAP
• API-first approach enabling further configurations

Plug & play experience for SAP Master Data Governance

• Lean process in your SAP landscape with the same look & feel available out of the box
• Integration of SAP MDG and CDQ services based on a pre-configured mapping to SAP One Domain Model Business Partner
• Easy technical setup and direct accessibility for the users

Highlights of the solution

Highlight 1: Access to 70 trusted data sources in parallel  

CDQ's integration with SAP MDG provides access to its extensive data pool, comprising high-quality business partner data sourced from multiple trusted providers. When initiating a single lookup request, the system searches up to 70 external data sources simultaneously. It then presents the most relevant matches in a standardized format. Users have the flexibility to select based on additional criteria not initially specified in the request or based on their personal evaluation of specific data sources.

Highlight 2: Integrated view on business identifiers from various sources  

In SAP’s One Domain Model (ODM), which is the conceptual basis for the data model used in SAP MDG, cloud edition, and the cloud-ready mode of SAP MDG on S/4HANA, there are two key types of identifiers for business partners: Identifications and Tax Numbers. Both are vital components of various business processes, requiring precise semantic mapping to external data. While SAP MDG allows for customized code lists, we strongly recommend sticking to default settings, especially for tax numbers due to their deep integration in tax-related processes.  

A significant benefit of using CDQ’s trusted data integration is that it offers business partner records that are already mapped to SAP ODM. This includes both identification types and tax number types. For example, if you find a matching business partner with a value-added tax (VAT) number in an external data source, this information will be automatically mapped to the corresponding SAP tax number type code.  

Highlight 3: Golden Record 

While creating a Golden Record is inherently complex, CDQ software solutions significantly simplify and automate this process through the application of AI, Machine Learning, and advanced algorithms. With access to over 70 external data sources and a vast repository of more than 200 million business partner records within the CDQ Data Pool, the enhanced business partner profile is crafted using standard data curation features as defined in the augmented business partner configuration.

The value of CDQ's Golden Record capability lies in its capacity to amalgamate input data with identified reference records to address specific use cases. Golden records are established based on a set of predefined Golden Record Rules, alongside external managed business partner data sources and other relevant data repositories. The credibility and trustworthiness of these sources play a crucial role in shaping the final composite record. Identified records are thoroughly analyzed to serve as foundational data, enriched further with additional pertinent information sourced from a defined list of primary, preferred, and restricted data sources tailored for each country.

Highlight 4: Uniform categorization of legal forms  

Understanding a business partner’s legal form is crucial for global risk management. Legal forms are defined differently in various countries, adding complexity to this matter. Some data sources offer structured information on legal forms, while others include it informally as part of the name, and some do not offer this information at all. SAP ODM addresses this by providing a legal form attribute within a business partner’s organizational details. However, this attribute has limitations such as a two-character code and various namespace restrictions.

Automation through trusted data

By automating business partner creation with CDQ, you build a solid foundation enabling further master data management automation with trusted data infused into your workflows. Here's how master data records creation turns your data excellence into a value generating asset:

Early screening for compliance:
CDQ facilitates the initial stages of business partner selection by offering the first benefit even before data entry into SAP or MDG. Through pre-screening against sanctions lists, potentially problematic suppliers can be identified and automatically excluded upfront during the selection process.

Correct first-time data entry:
With CDQ, "First Time Right" becomes a reality. By entering the supplier's name and location, you receive a comprehensive data record. The streamlined process saves time during data entry and eliminates the need for search in company registers or manual validation of various attributes such as tax numbers.

Bank details validation made easy:
CDQ's bank score feature enables effortless verification of bank details validity. This includes cross-referencing with other member companies to ensure authenticity. Additional research efforts are minimized, contributing to a smoother procurement process.

Automated approval workflow:
Streamlining the approval step is made easy with CDQ. For suppliers with relatively low turnover expectations, the approval process can be automated, reducing manual intervention. Strategic suppliers may still undergo manual approval, ensuring appropriate scrutiny where necessary.

Start clean, stay clean:
CDQ's batch mode enables regular quality checks to prevent data-related errors. By consistently verifying identifiers such as VAT numbers, all suppliers remain up to date, not just those manually modified. This proactive approach reduces potential errors, particularly in critical areas like export documentation.

For more examples of automation's potential benefits in MDM, explore our white paper. You’ll find more compelling evidence and hard facts on the transformative value of automation in master data management, supported by real-world examples and data-driven insights.