When implementing a business system, such as an ERP system,
it is recommended that the maintenance of clean data is understood and defined.
If you read my post about my parent’s fridge freezer then
you will know about the long delay in receiving the product due to missing
order information.
Computer based systems work brilliantly when they are full
of useful, relevant and accurate information.
They don’t work as well when they have holes in their data.
This is where the use of housekeeping routines can become really effective.
The most common approach is to use a report writer
associated with your computer system to comb the existing data to look for
these ‘holes’.
By reporting these holes on a frequent basis and acting upon them
accordingly you can help to maintain your data quality both effectively and
efficiently.
And of course, with better quality data you can make better
informed decisions for your business.
Have you got well defined reports and routines for maintaining your
business data?
Giles Johnston
Author of 'Business Process Re-Engineering', a practical plan to improve business performance.