Improving the Quality of Article Master Data - Specification of an Integrated Master Data Platform for Promotions in Retail

Winkelmann Axel, Beverungen Daniel, Janiesch Christian, Becker Jörg

Abstract
Today, meaningful data has to be provided intra-organisationally but also inter-organisationally. One of the major problems of information and data exchange in retail is a lack of structure in the data provided by industry and retailers as well as very heterogeneous and, thus, often poor data quality. Not only master data management but also the automation of promotion processes at the point of sale, e.g. with coupons, can greatly benefit from data which can be analysed automatically and maintained in a collaborative effort. We propose a hierarchical concept for handling article master data by analysing the demands on this data with respect to promotion campaigns. Based on that, we present the architecture and implementation of a promotion platform which utilises this concept to structure articles in retail and to support promotion campaigns more consistently and flexibly than traditional approaches can.