Act while the order can still be adjusted.
Targeted follow-up with the PO creator, supported by evidence and a proposed correction.
Explore PO Value Signals™Supplier master data
Supplier master data.Ready for migration and integration.
Establish which businesses your records represent, how they connect across systems and what needs to improve for migration, integration or reliable spend reporting.
Start with a scoped supplier data assessment. A quality baseline, evidenced record decisions and a practical plan for the work ahead.
01 / What your data needs to support
Ready for change.
Useful in daily decisions.
A migration needs sound mapping decisions. Procurement needs an accurate view of suppliers. A cleansing project needs a plan that reflects the work.
Before migration or integrationKnow what must move, align or remain local.
An ERP and procurement platform may hold the same supplier under different names and IDs. Establish the common legal identity, retain the source links and decide which attributes synchronise and which operating arrangements stay local.
The useful output: reconciled source-to-target mappings, explicit record decisions and checks against the agreed target requirements.
For procurement and spend reportingSee legal entities and supplier relationships behind the accounts.
Several accounts can represent one business; several separate businesses can belong to an evidenced supplier group. These are different relationships and should remain distinguishable.
The useful output: spend connected to entities and groups, traceable to the original transactions. Category teams can review the wider commercial relationship on a sounder basis.
During a cleansing programmeTurn findings into work that can be planned and managed.
A backlog count does not show the supplier enquiries, internal decisions or transaction dependencies involved. Separate work supported by existing evidence from work waiting for supplier responses, and plan capacity accordingly.
The useful output: a prioritised delivery plan and reporting that distinguishes verified corrections from new, reopened and newly discovered issues in the live data.
02 / Start with an assessment
A clear baseline.
An actionable plan.
Agree the purpose and supplier population. Datanovel turns the findings into evidence, record decisions and prioritised work.
The systems, fields, sources and deliverables are agreed around your project. The outputs below are tailored to that scope.
Discuss the scopeQuality and readiness baselineApplicable field checks, unresolved exceptions and the evidence behind them.
Define what good data means for the intended use, supplier jurisdiction and operating purpose. Report completeness, validation and external verification separately, with the applicable population behind each measure.
You receive a baseline and an exception register connecting each issue to the affected record, check and available source evidence. Unresolved checks remain visible.
Supplier identity and relationship mapLegal entities, cross-system overlap and justified operating accounts.
Connect records to evidenced legal entities while preserving source IDs and transaction traceability. Distinguish purposeful site, currency or payment arrangements from unnecessary records.
Where in scope, map separately evidenced corporate or other supplier relationships. A shared name, bank detail or tax grouping is not treated as proof that records are the same legal entity.
Record decisions with dependenciesWhat to retain, link, correct, restrict or review for retirement.
Give each proposed action a reason, evidence and an accountable owner. Uncertain matches remain investigations. Useful operating accounts can stay separate while sharing an aligned identity.
Review open orders, invoices and other dependencies before retirement. Restricting new use and closing an account after its obligations are resolved can be separate decisions, subject to your approval process.
Prioritised improvement planActivities, owners, capacity assumptions and acceptance checks.
Translate findings into the agreed target mappings and cleansing work. Separate supplier enquiries from internal corrections, identify dependencies and estimate effort and elapsed time using the activities and capacity available.
You receive a proposed sequence of work and acceptance criteria, giving the project team a practical basis for agreeing delivery and tracking readiness.
03 / From findings to delivery
Put the plan
into practice.
Use the assessment to commission the work your project needs. Datanovel can lead the agreed cleansing and mapping work with your team, then establish continuing controls.
Plan and manage the cleansing programmeWork allocation, supplier enquiries, decisions and source-system corrections.
Organise enquiries around the supplier identity so accepted evidence can be reused across linked records. Coordinate the approved corrections, accountable decisions and supplier response dependencies with your team.
Manage the activity plan and capacity; validate completed work in the live source records. Progress reporting shows gross closures, incoming issues and net improvement, giving the project team a basis for adjusting priorities and resources.
Implement the agreed mappings and checksSupport migration and integration with traceable record decisions.
Carry the agreed identities, retained records and relationships into source-to-target mappings. Define which shared attributes align, which remain local and how unresolved cases are handled.
Implement and test the agreed mappings and quality checks with the client project team, against the target requirements and acceptance criteria.
Keep quality visible after the projectRecurring checks, accountable exceptions and better input processes.
Agree the ongoing measures and ownership. Monitor relevant supplier changes and recurring issues, and connect exceptions to follow-up rather than relying on a headline quality score.
Use the findings to improve onboarding and change processes. New issues remain visible alongside completed corrections so reporting reflects sustained improvement in the operating data.
Delivered in your existing environmentYour approved platforms, your processes and your team.
Datanovel implements the agreed checks, mappings, workflows and reporting in your existing ERP, procurement, master-data, workflow or analytics environment, according to the capabilities available.
The assessment confirms data access, integration requirements, approved evidence sources and operational ownership. Procurement, finance and technology teams are involved in decisions, delivery and handover.
See the data issues. Manage the improvement.
Follow quality by field, understand supplier identities and relationships across systems, and track cleansing progress alongside the new issues that still need attention.
Explore the supplier data quality dashboardsField-level quality, supplier records, relationships and cleansing performance.
Supplier master data quality
Four agreed field goals · reporting week 4
VAT / tax identity verified91.3%2,920 / 3,200 applicable records
Purchasing email checked86.5%3,200 / 3,700 required records
Remittance email checked76.8%2,610 / 3,400 required records
Registration verified63.2%2,400 / 3,800 applicable records
Verified / checked field coverage
Same applicable cohort at every snapshot
- VAT / tax identity
- Purchasing email
- Remittance email
- Company registration
Percent of applicable records
Remaining field exceptions
One record can have several field exceptions
Goal status
Completeness, validity and evidence requirements are defined separately for each field.
| Goal | Applicable records | Verified / checked | Open exceptions | Four-week gain | Forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VAT / tax identity | 3,200 | 2,920 (91.3%) | 280 | +400 | 23 Oct |
| Purchasing email | 3,700 | 3,200 (86.5%) | 500 | +680 | 23 Oct |
| Remittance email | 3,400 | 2,610 (76.8%) | 790 | +690 | 06 Nov |
| Company registration | 3,800 | 2,400 (63.2%) | 1,400 | +800 | 20 Nov |
| Forecasts use recent net improvement and a comparable case mix; supplier responses remain a dependency. | |||||
Coverage by field uses its agreed evidence and applicable population.
Field checks and the correction queue
From missing or inconsistent data to a named next action
Open field exceptions2,970Across four field goals; records can repeat
Records with ≥1 field issue1,56039.0% of the 4,000-record cohort
Missing required values1,860VAT, registration and required contact routes
Invalid values130Format or issuer check failed
Why a field is still open
A field exception has one primary reason
- Missing1,860
- Invalid130
- Name mismatch480
- Inactive email500
Registration exceptions by jurisdiction
Count / applicable registration population
Country and field matrix
Exceptions / applicable records · requirements follow jurisdiction and operating purpose.
| Jurisdiction | Source records | VAT / tax | Purchasing email | Remittance email | Registration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1,600 | 100 / 1,280 | 200 / 1,480 | 310 / 1,360 | 500 / 1,540 |
| Germany | 1,000 | 80 / 850 | 120 / 940 | 200 / 870 | 400 / 950 |
| Netherlands | 800 | 60 / 650 | 100 / 740 | 160 / 690 | 300 / 750 |
| Ireland | 600 | 40 / 420 | 80 / 540 | 120 / 480 | 200 / 560 |
| Counts across fields cannot be added to obtain a distinct supplier or record count. | |||||
Record exception log
Selected records from the live correction queue · owner and next action
| Record ID | Supplier / account | System / country | Field | Exception | Owner | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-1007 | Aldermere Service Parts Ltd | ERP A · UK | VAT / tax | Missing required value | Riya Patel | Confirm applicability with tax owner; obtain issuer evidence |
| B-0448 | Northwick Industrial Trading Ltd | P2P B · UK | VAT / tax | Registered name differs | Tom Whitby | Resolve trading name against registration evidence |
| A-1124 | Plenthorpe Facilities Ltd | ERP A · UK | Purchasing email | Mailbox no longer active | Hannah Reed | Relationship owner to confirm the current ordering route |
| B-0836 | Bergtal Technical Services GmbH | P2P B · DE | Purchasing email | Invalid email format | Lena Fischer | Check the approved source; update and retest |
| A-1432 | Westmere Logistics BV | ERP A · NL | Remittance email | Missing required value | Noor de Vries | Confirm AP contact using the approved enquiry process |
| B-1228 | Ardwell Packaging Ltd | P2P B · IE | Remittance email | Mailbox over quota | Aisling Byrne | Ask supplier finance for an operational contact route |
| A-1710 | Bergtal Service Components GmbH | ERP A · DE | Registration | Identifier cannot be validated | Lena Fischer | Check jurisdiction and identifier against the registry |
| B-1364 | Marshfield Workplace Ltd | P2P B · IE | Registration | Recorded legal name differs | Aisling Byrne | Confirm legal entity, update name and retest linked records |
Resolve name mismatches against identity evidence before changing or joining a record.
Supplier identity across systems
Same legal entity, distinct operating accounts and synchronised shared attributes
Source records4,0002,400 ERP A + 1,600 P2P B
Evidenced legal entities2,600100 unresolved records held outside this count
Entities in both systems7001,900 + 1,400 − 700 = 2,600
Pairs needing shared-field work400900 / 1,300 known pairs consistent
Legal-entity overlap
Distinct entity sets after evidenced matching
- ERP A only1,200
- Both systems700
- P2P B only700
Known and consistent record pairs
Improved registration reveals more pairs as well as closing work
- Known pairs
- Consistent pairs
Record pairs
Record-pair consistency matrix
Consistent / known pairs · shared fields only; preserve justified local differences.
| System | ERP A | P2P B |
|---|---|---|
| ERP A | 300 / 440 | 500 / 700 |
| P2P B | 500 / 700 | 100 / 160 |
| The mirrored A–B cell is counted once: 900 consistent + 400 requiring work = 1,300 known pairs. | ||
Source population bridge
Records and legal entities answer different questions.
| Source | Records | Identity resolved | Legal entities | Unresolved records |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERP A | 2,400 | 2,340 | 1,900 | 60 |
| P2P B | 1,600 | 1,560 | 1,400 | 40 |
| 600 additional records occur within a system; 700 further record appearances are the cross-system overlap. | ||||
Identity and account decision log
Examples of mapping decisions used for migration, integration and ongoing synchronisation.
| Source IDs | Supplier / operating purpose | Evidence | Account decision | Owner / action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-2010 + B-0762 | Ternvale Engineering Ltd · central buying | Same registry identity | Converge common identity; retain source-ID trace | Riya Patel · align tax attributes |
| A-0672 + A-0673 | Ternvale Engineering Ltd · UK / EUR account | Same entity; approved currency purpose | Keep both accounts; synchronise shared legal fields | Tom Whitby · preserve local currency |
| A-0840 + B-0390 | Elmstead Packaging Ltd · same operating purpose | Same registration and approved account purpose | One target account; preserve both source mappings | Hannah Reed · approve target mapping |
| B-1081 + B-1082 | Westmere Logistics BV · two approved sites | Same entity; separate site ordering | Retain site accounts and legal-entity link | Noor de Vries · repair missing link |
| A-1603 + A-1705 | Ormond Digital Services Ltd · redundant account | Identity confirmed; open invoice on A-1705 | Hold new buying; retain until open item closes | Tom Whitby · review close-out dependency |
| A-1940 + B-1436 | Bracken Technical Ltd / Bracken Services Ltd | Similar names; identity unresolved | Keep separate; investigate before merging | Riya Patel · obtain identity evidence |
Anchor mappings count each additional record once. Preserve approved site, currency and contact differences.
Supplier relationships and consolidated spend
Make evidenced family links visible without merging separate legal entities
Confirmed links not recorded100280 confirmed relationship links; 180 recorded
Existing links unconfirmed20Review before retaining in the reporting hierarchy
Entities needing consolidation work330110 identity-link + 260 relationship − 40 overlap
Spend requiring link review£6.5mMeasured within £24.0m reviewed invoice spend
Missing evidenced relationship links
Typed relationships between distinct legal entities
Entities affected by reporting links
De-duplicated union; each entity is counted once
- Identity links only70
- Relationships only220
- Both40
Relationship coverage
Confirmed typed links require the appropriate reporting hierarchy and owner approval.
| Relationship | Confirmed | Recorded | Missing | Reporting action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct parent | 130 | 90 | 40 | Add evidenced ownership link |
| Ultimate parent | 60 | 35 | 25 | Connect the group reporting hierarchy |
| VAT group | 60 | 40 | 20 | Maintain as a tax-group relationship |
| Common control | 30 | 15 | 15 | Record the relationship; retain separate entities |
| Twenty additional existing links lack current evidence and require separate review. | ||||
Relationship evidence and decision log
Selected cases for the spend-reporting owner and category manager
| Supplier | Related entity | Evidence / finding | ERP / reporting status | Owner / next action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmstead Packaging Ltd | Elmstead Materials Group plc | REG-024 · direct parent confirmed | Ownership link missing | Hannah Reed · approve and load link |
| Bergtal Technical Services GmbH | Bergtal Industries GmbH | REG-061 · ultimate parent confirmed | Local link only | Lena Fischer · complete group hierarchy |
| Westmere Logistics BV | Westmere Freight BV | TAX-018 · group membership evidenced | VAT-group link missing | Noor de Vries · preserve entity IDs and add group |
| Bracken Technical Ltd | Bracken Services Ltd | REG-072 · common control confirmed | Relationship missing | Riya Patel · add typed link; do not merge |
| Ormond Digital Services Ltd | Ormond Holdings plc | Old parent link; current evidence absent | Existing link unconfirmed | Tom Whitby · resolve before reporting as group |
| Ardwell Packaging Ltd | Marshfield Workplace Ltd | Shared payment detail; no relationship established | Evidence lead only | Aisling Byrne · investigate; no group link inferred |
Spend affected by missing links
Invoice spend associated with affected entities; overlap is subtracted.
| Issue population | Entities | Reviewed spend |
|---|---|---|
| Unlinked operating / identity records | 110 | £2.4m |
| Missing group relationships | 260 | £5.2m |
| Overlap in both issue populations | 40 | £1.1m |
| Combined, counted once | 330 | £6.5m |
| This is spend requiring consolidation review, not a calculated saving. | ||
Affected spend identifies the scope of link review; category teams assess any commercial opportunity.
Cleansing delivery and new issues
Weekly management summary · field checks and record-pair consistency
Open check exceptions3,3702,970 fields + 400 pair-consistency checks
Validated closures this week770680 field checks + 90 record pairs
Incoming / reopened checks250120 intake + 40 reopened + 90 pairs revealed
Net backlog reduction5203,890 last week → 3,370 current
Open checks by reporting week
Fixed field cohorts; pair scope expands as identities are established
- Open checks
Open check exceptions
Validated closures this week
Records are updated and retested before a check closes
Weekly goal delivery
Gross completion and incoming work remain separate.
| Goal | Open | Closed this week | New / reopened | Avg. net per week | Conditional forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VAT / tax identity | 280 | 110 | 20 / 10 | 100 | 23 Oct |
| Purchasing email | 500 | 180 | 40 / 10 | 170 | 23 Oct |
| Remittance email | 790 | 170 | 25 / 15 | 172.5 | 06 Nov |
| Company registration | 1,400 | 220 | 35 / 5 | 200 | 20 Nov |
| Pair consistency | 400 | 90 | 90 revealed / 0 | 0 | Reassess scope; no current finish date |
| Four-week field averages include new and reopened checks. Pair discovery can offset valid progress. | |||||
Cleansing work and escalation queue
Selected work packages; one lead owner reuses evidence across linked records.
| Case | Supplier / records | Work type | Age / dependency | Owner | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DQ-0407 | Aldermere Service Parts · A-1007 | Supplier tax enquiry | 9 working days · evidence pending | Riya Patel | Relationship owner to chase the agreed enquiry |
| DQ-0411 | Westmere Logistics · A-1432 + B-0312 | Remittance contact enquiry | 14 working days · supplier response | Noor de Vries | Escalate through the supplier relationship owner |
| DQ-0418 | Bergtal Service Components · A-1710 | Registry / identity check | 3 working days · analyst review | Lena Fischer | Confirm correct identifier; update and retest |
| DQ-0422 | Elmstead Packaging · A-0840 + B-0390 | Cross-system synchronisation | 4 working days · owner approval | Hannah Reed | Approve common attributes; retain source mapping |
| DQ-0426 | Ormond Digital Services · A-1705 | Redundant account close-out | 12 working days · open invoice | Tom Whitby | Retain account until AP confirms the dependency closed |
| DQ-0430 | Newly created records · intake batch | New-issue prevention | 120 field issues this week | MDM process owner | Review intake requirements and issuer-check controls |
Closures are retested in the source systems. Forecasts use recent net pace; newly discovered pairs are tracked separately from intake defects.
Operating records and unnecessary duplicates
Keep a useful operating account; prevent new buying against records that need review
Records for status decision300200 redundant + 60 inactive-entity + 40 drafts
Open-item dependencies6250 redundant accounts + 12 inactive-entity records
Old incomplete drafts32Older than four weeks; 8 recent drafts separate
Primary records with old names52Update before another duplicate is created
Extra accounts within a system
600 extra records · a purpose is different from consistency
- Purposeful and linked280
- Purposeful; link missing120
- Redundant200
Status-review records by jurisdiction
Distinct 300-record decision population
Record decisions and dependencies
Distinct populations in the 300-record review; the 52-name prevention list is separate.
| Record population | Records | Owner | Required decision / dependency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Redundant · no open item | 150 | MDM + business owner | Approve retirement; preserve audit and source-ID links |
| Redundant · open item | 50 | AP + MDM | Hold new buying; retain until obligations close |
| Inactive legal entity | 60 | Procurement + finance | 55 entities; review status and hold; 12 records have open items |
| Incomplete draft · older than four weeks | 32 | Onboarding owner | Prevent selection; confirm whether the request is still needed |
| Incomplete draft · recent | 8 | Onboarding owner | Finish approved onboarding or withdraw the request |
| Old name on primary account · separate list | 52 | MDM identity owner | Confirm registered identity and update the canonical name |
| Ninety of the 200 redundant accounts use outdated names. This subset is not an additional population. | |||
Selected record-management log
Purpose, dependency and a named owner determine the action.
| Record ID | Supplier / account | Finding | Current restriction | Owner / next action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-0673 | Ternvale Engineering Ltd · EUR | Purposeful currency account | Active · linked to legal identity | Tom Whitby · preserve operating currency |
| B-1082 | Westmere Logistics BV · Rotterdam | Purposeful site; legal link missing | Active · link repair queued | Noor de Vries · add approved identity link |
| A-1705 | Ormond Digital Services Ltd · old account | Redundant · invoice open | New buying held; payment remains available | Tom Whitby · retire after AP close-out |
| B-0562 | Cedarwyn Print Services Ltd | Registry status requires review | New buying held | Riya Patel · confirm status and open-item handling |
| A-1908 | Fenwick Office Services · draft | Incomplete request · 37 days old | Selection held | Hannah Reed · withdraw or complete approved request |
| B-1204 | Ardwell Industrial Supplies Ltd | Primary account has former legal name | Active · identity already evidenced | Aisling Byrne · update name and check alias search |
An inactive legal entity and an account with no recent spend are different findings. Payment and transaction-close dependencies must be resolved before full account deactivation.
Illustrative reports based on Datanovel’s reporting approach. All data and supplier names are simulated, not client results.
Datanovel know-how
Explore the decisions behind the data.
Explore 24 practical articles on supplier identity, field quality, system requirements and managed cleansing. Open the area relevant to your project.
Quality and readinessUnderstand what your data can support and where it needs attention. · 5 articles
Supplier identity and spendConnect records, preserve useful differences and see the commercial relationship. · 7 articles
Supplier change and ongoing controlsKeep identity, contacts and verification useful as suppliers change. · 7 articles
- When a supplier is acquired or its legal entity changes
- When the supplier details point to another business
- Respond to changes in supplier status
- Prevent avoidable supplier communication breakdowns
- Bulk VAT verification within your data workflow
- Make VAT verification part of the workflow
- Improve the process that creates supplier data
Cleansing, migration and capacityPlan the work, implement improvements and measure progress in the live data. · 5 articles
Start with a scoped assessment
What needs to be ready
for your next step?
Discuss the migration, integration, reporting or cleansing priority and the systems involved. Agree an assessment that establishes the data issues, the decisions and the work ahead.
Contact Datanovel on LinkedIn
Andrey Matveev
Founder & Delivery Lead
Datanovel
Experience across supplier data management, procurement analytics and operational reporting, including developing and operating supplier-verification tools.
Andrey leads each engagement directly, with your team involved in delivery.
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