What are MDM Quick Starters?
SAP NetWeaver MDM provides a generic infrastructure to address manifold business pain points related to misaligned master data. To accelerate the implementation process for specific MDM usages, SAP NetWeaver MDM incorporates preconfigured Business Content. This concept has proven to be successful, and this is why we have decided to further extend this approach by introducing MDM Quick Starters.MDM Quick Starters (QS) are preconfigured business packages that are intended to enable SAP NetWeaver Master Data Management (MDM) customers to rapidly deploy and implement a working scenario for master data management processes on top of MDM and in some cases, in conjunction with SAP NetWeaver Business Process Management (BPM).
What is the Quick Starter for Collaborative Material Master Data Creation all About?
Basic information about how to go about collaborative master data creation processes in heterogeneous landscapes based on SAP NetWeaver MDM and SAP NetWeaver BPM, including the associated benefits has already been highlighted in my recent blog about SAP NetWeaver MDM 7.1 SP4 and in the Error-Free, Consistent Master Data Starts at the Source article.To provide customers with additional value through an accelerated implementation of a scenario that is streamlined towards the central creation of globally-relevant, identifying master data attributes and their propagation to the relevant application systems in a heterogeneous landscape, SDN now features an MDM quick starter package for collaborative material master data creation. This QS package can be used as a template providing relevant sample content for a collaborative creation process for material master data based on SAP NetWeaver MDM and SAP NetWeaver BPM. It serves as a starting point and can be easily tailored to suit specific business needs.
Sample Process Flow
Think of the following typical business scenario in which the quick starter package can be leveraged:
An LOB owner requires a new material to further process it in the supply chain:
- LOB owner checks if the required material record already exists in ERP system. If not, LOB owner requests creation via specific request form. LOB owner can check the completed request form against SAP NetWeaver MDM to find out whether the material’s record already exists in the central SAP NetWeaver MDM registry. If not, the LOB owner dispatches the request.
- Request appears in the inbox of a designated data steward. The Data Steward enriches the material record, runs specific validations and finally approves the record.
- The approved record is now in the inbox of the requestor for review and confirmation.
- Once confirmed, the record is automatically created in SAP NetWeaver MDM and propagated to the requestor's system. The LOB owner who requested the record is notified of the available data.
Process Flow in the Process Composer
Technically, MDM‘s functionality is exposed as Web services and web-based data governance UIs which are wrapped as workflow steps and combined in a logical process flow using SAP NetWeaver Business Process Management. In the Process Composer, the flow of this master data creation process looks as follows:
What Has the Quick Starter Package in it for You?
The new quick starter package for governed material creation provides the following capabilities:- Preconfigured BPMN based process flow
- Preconfigured Web-based Data Governance UI Components (e.g. Enrich & Approve)
- Request form
- Portal roles (e.g. Data Steward)
- Preconfigured MDM Web services (e.g. Update Record)
- Leverages standard MDM Material data model
- Enterprise Service Consumption (Create Material Basic Data)
