Master data management (MDM)
Managing the key data shared by many processes (customers, products, suppliers, employees) so there is one single reliable version.
Master data are the core business entities that appear in almost every process: customers, products, suppliers, employees, locations. MDM (Master Data Management) is the set of processes, rules and tools that ensures there is one single correct version of each.
Without MDM, the same customer appears three times under different names in the CRM, billing and warehouse; sales by customer do not add up and any AI model learns from duplicated data.
An MDM programme defines who owns each entity, which fields are mandatory, how duplicates are detected and merged, and which system wins when there are discrepancies. It is one of the first practical applications of data governance.
Reference: DAMA-DMBOK
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← Back to the glossaryUpdated: October 2026 · Informational content, not legal advice.