Master Data Management

In brief: Master Data Management (MDM) provides a central, reliable repository for a company’s master data, such as customers, suppliers, materials, locations and products. PIM, by contrast, focuses on product data for marketing and sales.

MDM and PIM: the difference

MDM typically supports multiple domains and focuses on data quality, duplicate detection and governance across many systems. It provides a “golden record”, for example for each customer, shared by ERP, CRM and billing systems. A PIM system specialises in a single domain, the product, and offers capabilities that MDM rarely provides: managing marketing copy and translations, media management, variant logic and channel-specific output.

When do you need MDM, and when do you need PIM?

• PIM, when the main goal is to improve product presentation in online shops, catalogues and retailer channels.
• MDM, when multiple data domains need to be harmonised across many systems, typically in large enterprises.
• Both, when MDM manages the product master data and PIM enriches it for marketing and sales.

Some vendors combine both in a single platform. The overview of PIM vendors shows which systems cover MDM, PIM or both. The article PIM vs. MDM compares the two approaches in detail.

See also

• PIM
• ERP systems
• Consolidation
• Product data quality
• PIM vs. MDM