Avelon lays the foundation for central Master Data Hub at Wavin
Due to the growth of the organisation, Wavin needed a more robust and comprehensive solution for the management of master data. With SAP Master Data Governance (MDG), Wavin and SAP partner Avelon are laying the foundation for a Master Data Hub where all master data comes together for consolidation and storage. This results in more insight and a standard way of working.
With 11,500 employees worldwide, Wavin is a pioneer in the field of water infrastructures. It offers smart solutions for safe and efficient water supply, better sanitation and hygiene, climate-proof cities and improved construction performance. The company - part of Orbia - wants to contribute to the future resilience of cities worldwide.
Master data in control
"The world is changing, and Wavin is changing," concludes Samuël Richters, SAP Master Data specialist at Wavin. "But in order to respond quickly to change, your master data must be perfect." That wasn't always the case in the past. "We had our own SAP workflow for managing master data, but it was fairly basic. As the organization grew, we saw the complexity surrounding master data management increase.
"The world is changing, and Wavin is changing, but in order to respond quickly to changes, your master data must be in order.”
In addition, according to Business Process and Master Data Manager Chris Mallabone, 'the procedures were not always as standard as we thought'. "If you looked at how master data was entered or changed, for example, then the procedures were not the same everywhere. That makes it difficult to offer master data management services from a shared services center in one country. We really needed a standard way of working."
One version of the truth
This insight prompted Wavin to switch to a standard solution for the collection, consolidation and storage of master data in one system. The choice for SAP Master Data Governance was obvious. Richters: "We have an extensive SAP landscape and use SAP ECC and SAP S/4HANA, among others. From the point of view of integration, the implementation of SAP MDG is then a logical step. Moreover, we already had licenses for SAP MDG in house.
According to Sander van der Wijngaart, managing partner of implementation partner Avelon, SAP MDG creates a single source of the truth. "But a standard solution also offers many more possibilities out-of-the-box. Things like Fiori, machine learning, analytics and fuzzy search are standard. With a custom solution, you have to build these functionalities entirely yourself. With SAP MDG, Wavin is completely ready for the future possibilities.
Master data suppliers
The first step in the migration to SAP MDG was to transfer supplier master data for EMEA. According to Mallabone, this was also where the need was greatest. "Vendor master data can contain sensitive information such as banking data. From a compliance point of view, we needed maximum control over this master data".
"SAPMDG allows a limited number of people to update supplier data, and all actions are recorded in great detail".
"SAP MDG really only allows a very limited number of people to update supplier data, and all actions are recorded in great detail," notes Mallabone with satisfaction. "It is important, however, that the users then also become accustomed to a new way of working, and that they have to ask for approval for the implementation of changes, for example. The change management process is very important. Avelon has supported us very well in this respect."
"A new system brings many new aspects, such as new dashboards, new forms and new procedures. One of the starting points of Avelon's Ready to Run method is that users are introduced to a new tool at a very early stage of the project," explains Van der Wijngaart. "We do this by means of training courses, documents and workshops, among other things.
Roadmap
The next step for Wavin EMEA has been to transfer the master data related to materials. According to Richters, 'a large and complex project'. "Make no mistake: maintaining material master data can be quite complex. The users sometimes have to maintain hundreds of fields. You not only have to transfer all that data, but also clean it up and standardise it."
The migration of the master data for finance and customers in the EMEA region also took place in 2021. "This is not a project, but rather a programme," says Van der Wijngaart. "After EMEA, for example, Asia-Pacific and Latin America will also move to SAP MDG. And we will not only create links with the ERP systems that are in use, but also with other systems. Ultimately, Wavin has one system for collecting, consolidating and storing all data worldwide. One Master Data Hub. But we still have a long way to go to achieve that together."
More information
For further questions or information on this subject or for other questions regarding SAP Workflow, Fiori or SAP Invoice Management (SIM), please contact Sander van der Wijngaart.
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