Latest developments in SAP MDG

SAP Master Data Governance (MDG) is becoming a popular application for SAP customers in the managing of their master data. SAP MDG is a state-of-the-art master data management solution and consists of different modules – central governance, consolidation and data quality management. This article focuses on central governance, where SAP MDG provides out-of-the-box, domain-specific master data governance to centrally create, change and distribute master data across the complete enterprise system landscape.

Here are some details of the new features and functionality that customers can take advantage of as detailed by Roelof Geldenhuys, Lead SAP MDG Consultant at GlueData.

Enhanced workflow flexibility

It is now possible to define additional steps after the change request activation step. The workflow no longer has to end after the change request activation. A good example would be to send the workflow on for post-change request activation activities, like adding a newly created material to a bill of material.

Follow-up change requests

Additional follow-up processes that are not part of the original change request due to technical or organisational reasons can now be defined. New links on the Change Request UI and in the My Change Requests screen allow you to call up previous change requests and follow-up change requests directly. An example would be for a buyer to be able to create the minimum amount of master data for products to be ordered, but to ensure the entire master record is completed (ie, logistics, sales, accounting, etc) in time for all the subsequent business processes.

Change request tracker

Any processor assigned to a change request can now view the current workflow step, all previously executed dialogue workflow steps, as well as all future steps needed until the change request is successfully approved.

The change request tracker can be called up via the new What’s Next link, which is displayed in the change request header next to the entry for the current work item. This give data stewards an overview of where their step is in the process and therefore provides context and visibility.

Option to search change requests by business data

From within any of the SAP MDG search result lists, processors can now select one or more business objects and find all change requests in the system that are related to these objects, by choosing the new button that is available. They navigate to the list of all open and past change requests and can review those over time, including information of explicit previous and follow-up change requests, again providing more context and visibility.

Domain-specific enhancements

Master Data Governance for Business Partner (BP)

• Improved error handling in user interface (UI)

Message error handling in the SAP MDG Business Partner area has been greatly improved and optimised, allowing processors to see, for example, to which segments, customers or vendors a message is referring. Messages are now grouped according to the corresponding object segment (eg, ERP customer, ERP vendor, company code, sales area, purchasing organisation).

• Enhanced data model and UI

- New ratings and creditworthiness user interface building blocks (UIBBs) available in MDG-BP/C/S.

- Incoterms fields length increased to allow more characters.

- New credit scoring UIBB available in MDG-C.

• Improved handling for central deletion and blocking messages

Messages are displayed to indicate which BPs are blocked or marked for deletion at a BP level when you select BPs from within the SAP MDG Business Partner search result lists. When a BP is viewed, messages are also displayed for subordinate levels if a customer or vendor linked to the BP is blocked or marked for deletion.

• Removed BP with employee data

For reasons relating to data protection and privacy regulations, the BP roles for employees (BUP003 employee, BBP010 service provider, and BBP005 freelance) have been removed from the MDG user interface in S/4HANA, meaning that no business partners with employee data will be displayed in the search results within SAP MDG, Central Governance.

The BP cannot be maintained in the back-end transaction in S4 HANA, therefore there is also no need to maintain it in SAP MDG.

Master Data Governance for Material

• Class and characteristics

- The name of the class is now displaying in brackets after the technical key. Previously only the technical key was displayed.

- “Is empty” and “Is not empty” are two new search parameters available for characteristics.

• Save search criteria with empty values

It is now possible to save search criteria when the search fields are empty.

• Improved handling for deletion messages

When a material is being changed, messages are displayed for any organisational level that is marked for deletion. Previously only the deletion flag was visible.

• Improved multi-record processing performance

The main improvements are:

- Buffering of active area data to avoid redundant read accesses on database tables MARA, MARC, MBEW, MARD, MKVE;

- Field property processing optimisation; and

- Lazy loading for collapsed UIBBs.

• Preferred language for material description in search list

When calling up materials using the material search UI, processors are now able to see the material description displayed in a different (predefined) language in cases where the description is not maintained in the logon language, instead of showing 'No description available'.

• Add missing material master data fields to complete MDG-M data model

Production resource/tool fields and SCM fields on MRP area level are now available in the MDG-M data model in S/4HANA 1909. Technically, the fields were added to the new entity MARCPRT and existing entity MDMABASIC. A set of new UI configurations with suffix ‘_09’ were created (for example BS_MAT_OVP_09).

• Price unit editable

The price unit field is now maintainable and the related prices (for example Standard Price, Moving Price, Future (Standard) Price, Future Planned Price, Planned Price 1, Planned Price 2, Planned Price 3, Costing Lot Size) are recalculated.

Master Data Governance for Finance

• New copy function for company code G/L accounts

It is now possible to copy larger numbers of accounts/company code assignments to a new company code by various selection criteria. The copy feature is integrated into G/L Account (Company Code) and it is triggered by a sub-option of the existing “Copy” button in the SAP MDG search screen. It results in a change request of type “MASS”.

“These new and enhanced features improve the usability of SAP MDG and address some key requirements for SAP S/4 HANA. SAP MDG is reaching a level of maturity and we are seeing a great update of this product in the market,” states Geldenhuys.

GlueData has been involved in multiple SAP MDG projects around the world across industries. Major projects include customers in the retail, mining and financial industries who have implemented MDG for a wide range of data objects, including Business Partner, Material, the Retail Article Master (SAP MDG-Retail and Fashion Management) and Finance.

“SAP MDG is increasingly becoming a core part of SAP S/4 HANA implementations as it addresses core issues with master data management and data quality. Customers that are moving to SAP S/4 from ECC don’t want to repeat the mistakes from the past and are therefore implementing the SAP MDG module for key data objects, typically Materials, Business Partners and Finance objects," states Malan Barnard, Director at GlueData.

“GlueData has developed project templates, SAP MDG accelerators and a proven methodology using some agile concepts to deliver projects successfully either alongside an SAP S/4 project, or as a separate project in parallel,” concludes Malan.

See our Web site www.gluedata.com or contact us at info@gluedata.com to find out more.