Material master data cleansing
Material master data cleansing: one code and one description for every item.
Material master data cleansing, also called materials data cleansing or material master cleanup, is the item-by-item review of the catalog to remove duplicates, standardize descriptions with the Descriptive Material Standard (PDM), classify items in NCM and UNSPSC, normalize unit of measure and packaging and enrich technical attributes, before loading the result into the ERP.
Within a few days you see how many items in your catalog are duplicated, missing attributes or carrying conflicting classifications. No commitment required.
Trusted by 160 clients
Symptoms
Symptoms of a dirty material master.
The same item with three codes
Three requesters, at three different times, registered the same bolt with three texts. Inventory does not know it is a single item.
Free-text description, no attributes
No standard, no size, no finish: nobody can compare two items or buy the right one from the description.
Conflicting NCM across plants
The same material carries a different tax classification at each site, and the tax risk comes with it.
Inconsistent unit of measure
Bought by the box, stocked by the piece and consumed by the kilo, with no reliable conversion factor between them.
Obsolete item still active
Material nobody has bought in years is still open for requisitions and clutters the catalog search.
Search that finds nothing
Whoever cannot find the item creates a new one, and material duplicates grow with every requisition.
MRO
Indirect materials, MRO and spare parts.
MRO brings together maintenance, repair and operations materials: replacement parts, spare parts, tools and consumables. It is the domain with the most duplicates in the material master, because every plant, every technician and every supplier describes the same part in a different way, almost always without complete technical attributes.
In MRO, the same part registered twice becomes double inventory on one side and an emergency purchase on the other, for an item that was already in the storeroom.
Cristália cleansed its indirect materials master with 4MDG: MRO and consumables cleaned and standardized, with operational improvement and lower costs.
We show the MRO duplicates in your own catalog.
What it covers
What material data cleansing covers.
Taxonomy by family
Each item gets a family and subfamily, with the attribute template specific to that material family.
PDM with short and long descriptions
The description follows the Descriptive Material Standard rule: short for the ERP and long for buyers.
Deduplication with scoring and survivorship
Repeated items become a single code, with similarity scoring and the rule that decides which value survives.
NCM and UNSPSC
Tax and procurement classification checked item by item, the same across all plants and all systems.
Unit of measure and conversion factor
Normalized unit, with a conversion factor between purchasing, inventory and consumption units.
Packaging
Standardized packaging attributes, so you buy, receive and stock in the same unit.
Translation into Portuguese, English and Spanish
Short and long descriptions in all three languages, for plants, buyers and suppliers in other countries.
Regulatory attributes and attachments
ANVISA regulatory attributes when applicable, plus item photos and data sheets when available.
Method
How to cleanse your material master data in five steps.
STEP 01
Catalog diagnostic
We measure the state of the catalog: duplicate items, non-standard descriptions, empty attributes, conflicting NCM codes and obsolete items still active.
STEP 02
Taxonomy and PDM
We organize families and subfamilies, define the attribute template for each one and apply the rule for short and long descriptions.
STEP 03
Deduplication
We merge repeated materials into a single code, with similarity scoring and survivorship, and every merge is recorded.
STEP 04
Classification and enrichment
We check NCM and UNSPSC, normalize unit of measure and packaging and complete the technical attributes, with the help of AI.
STEP 05
Loading and governance
We load the catalog into the ERP and set up entry rules and an approval workflow, so the duplicate item does not come back.
The fifth step is what keeps the catalog clean after the project.
Your catalog is not clean just once: it stays clean.
The diagnostic shows where to start in your material catalog.
Example
Before and after one catalog item.
Three records of the same bolt become a single item, described by the Descriptive Material Standard and classified in NCM and UNSPSC.
The diagnostic runs the same exercise with real items from your material catalog.
| Field | As it arrives | As it leaves |
|---|---|---|
| Code | Three codes: 100234, 100871 and 204415 | One code: 300184 |
| Short description | HEX BOLT M8X30 ZP; Hex bolt steel 8x30; hx hd bolt M8 zinc | HEX BOLT M8X30 STL 8.8 ZINC |
| Long description | Does not exist | Hex head bolt, M8 metric thread, 30 mm length, class 8.8 carbon steel, zinc-plated finish |
| Attributes | None filled in | Thread M8; length 30 mm; class 8.8; zinc-plated finish |
| NCM | 7318.15.00 in one plant, empty in the others | 7318.15.00 |
| UNSPSC | Not classified | 31161500 |
| Unit of measure | BX, PC and EA | EA (each) |
Real items from your catalog go into the diagnostic, with nothing to install.
Results
Clean catalog, measured results.
−84%
Wella Company · material master SLA, with 100% of master data managed by 4MDG.
+174k
Manufacturing (SAP) · records standardized and cleansed, with optimized e-procurement and fewer purchases made from wrong descriptions.
60M
records under management, across 321 projects for 160 clients in 6 countries.
Wella Company cleansed its master data with 4MDG and cut the material master SLA by 84%.
A manufacturer running SAP cleansed and standardized more than 174 thousand records, with optimized e-procurement and fewer purchases made from wrong descriptions.
Cristália cleansed its indirect materials master: MRO and consumables cleaned and standardized, with operational improvement and lower costs.
I want these results in my catalogIn SAP
Material master data cleansing in SAP.
Material master (SAP MM)
The item reaches the material master with a standardized description, material type, material group, unit of measure, NCM and UNSPSC checked.
Description by language
The short and long descriptions are loaded in Portuguese, English and Spanish, following the same descriptive standard.
Loading by IDoc, BAPI and file
The cleansed catalog enters SAP ECC or S/4HANA through API, IDoc, BAPI or file, day to day and in projects.
Rollout and migration to S/4HANA
In a rollout or migration, the catalog is cleansed before loading: the new system starts without duplicate materials.
Governance after go-live
Entry rules and an approval workflow prevent a duplicate material from being created again in SAP.
What you gain
What changes when the catalog becomes reliable.
Fewer duplicate purchases
A single, findable item cuts repeat purchases and idle stock.
Inventory you can find
Whoever searches for a material finds it, and stops creating a new code for the same part.
Consistent tax classification
NCM checked item by item reduces tax risk and prepares the material master for Brazil's Tax Reform.
Spare parts found on time
A well-described part is a part found when the machine stops, without an emergency purchase.
Migration and rollout on clean data
A catalog cleansed before loading keeps duplicates out of S/4HANA and out of new plants.
AI-ready data
AI models and agents only deliver value on reliable, traceable master data.
Purchasing, inventory, tax and maintenance start talking about the same item.
Investment and timeline
How much it costs and how long it takes.
Price and timeline depend on the size and depth of the work, not on a fixed price list. Five factors define the investment.
That is why the first step is to measure: the free diagnostic counts the items, the duplicates and the empty attributes in your catalog and estimates the timeline before any quote.
Number of items
How many materials the catalog has and how many families it covers.
Depth and tax classification
Deduplication only, or a full PDM with attributes, NCM and UNSPSC.
Languages and external sources
How many languages the description comes out in, which external sources are consulted, and whether it is a one-off project or monthly Data as a Service.
The diagnostic measures the catalog before quoting, with nothing to install.
Contact
Let's look at your catalog before proposing anything.
A specialist analyzes a sample of your catalog and shows the current state of your materials. No commitment required.
Av. Queiroz Filho, 1700, Torre E, Conjuntos 715 a 718
Vila Leopoldina, São Paulo, SP, 05319-000
FAQ
Questions about material master data cleansing
It is the item-by-item review of the material catalog to remove duplicates, standardize the description with the Descriptive Material Standard (PDM), classify items in NCM and UNSPSC, normalize unit of measure and packaging and enrich technical attributes. The result is a material master with one code and one description per item, loaded into the ERP and protected by entry rules so it does not get dirty again.
PDM is the rule; material master data cleansing is the project that applies the rule to the existing catalog. The Descriptive Material Standard defines the family, the attributes and the format of the short and long description. Data cleansing uses that standard to review the items that already exist, merge the duplicates and classify each material. Neither lasts without the other: without PDM, cleansing has no criteria; without cleansing, PDM only applies to new items.
Yes. The item reaches the SAP material master with a standardized description, material type, material group, unit of measure, NCM and UNSPSC checked. Loading into SAP ECC or S/4HANA happens through API, IDoc, BAPI or file, day to day and in rollout and S/4HANA migration projects.
It depends on the number of items, the depth of the PDM, the tax classification, the description languages, the external sources consulted and whether it is a one-off project or monthly Data as a Service. There is no fixed price list: the free diagnostic measures your material catalog before any quote.
It depends on the depth. Deduplication alone is faster than applying a full PDM, with attributes, NCM, UNSPSC and translation. The free diagnostic measures the duplicates, the empty attributes and the families in your catalog and estimates the timeline before the start.
MRO is maintenance, repair and operations materials: replacement parts, spare parts, tools and consumables. It is the domain with the most duplicates because every plant, every technician and every supplier describes the same part in a different way, almost always without technical attributes. Whoever cannot find the item creates another, and the same spare part ends up existing under several codes.
With governance at entry: the description of a new item follows the PDM rule, duplicates are checked before creation and every request goes through an approval workflow. That way the next requester does not create the same material with another free-text description. 4MDG can also run your master data continuously, under an SLA.
Yes. From a loose description, a code or a document, ADAM, the 4MDG AI, fills in the mandatory fields and suggests the optional ones: group, unit of measure, material type, technical attributes and tax data. Whatever it is not sure about is flagged for review by a specialist.