The Data Transformation process commences with Taxonomy Development.

Taxonomy generally refers to the organizational structure of categories and attributes that define how you classify, describe and manage your data. It is also commonly referred to as Data Dictionary or Data Schema. A good taxonomy is like an architectural drawing and is the basic building block for your master data. A good taxonomy will assist with sourcing metrics, enable easy searches in your parts catalog, and allow quick identification of obsolete and duplicate parts.

Unfortunately, many companies either do not have a defined taxonomy, or are using one that was implemented for historical business or technical reasons that no longer apply. Business needs change and a good taxonomy has to be able to support current business requirements.
Utilizing industry best practices, Utopia's data experts will define standards and processes for your data organizing and build a taxonomy that is customized for your business needs.

Once taxonomy issues are covered, the process of building better data by correcting errors, standardizing information across tables and validating information that is inconsistent and inaccurate can begin. We often refer to these as the 4C's of Data Transformation.

Utopia’s Data Transformation solutions encompass a number of features which allows:

Normalization & Standardization - ensuring that attribute values have the same name for the same attribute and abbreviation expansion

NMA Pairing - identification of correct pairings of nouns, modifiers and attributes

Data Dictionary Adherence - follow set of defined attribute names and attribute values

De-duplication - removal or identification of duplicate records

History Transfer

Enrichment - passing the electronic item master through a master library of parts or a manual collection of information

Physical Verification - leveraging "crib crawls" as required

Classification & Coding - assigning like products to common industry standard class groupings (UNSPSC, eCl@ss, eOTD)

CLEANSE & CONSOLIDATE

At the start of the transformation process we compile industry-standardized nomenclature for each part’s description usingmanufacturer’s specifications, information available on the web or information available on the part itself. The item descriptions are then normalized, and duplicate records are identified.

Item normalization includes assignment of a noun and noun modifier and standard spelling and syntax for item description details. The elements of normalized data include:

Noun - identifies a product category
Modifier - identifies a product within a category
Attribute Name - discrete title for descriptive information about a product
Attribute Value - descriptive detail that distinguishes a product within a category

The example below shows an Antenna in the standard format.

CREATE & CLASSIFY

Frequently, the information driving the organization's business processes is incomplete, unspecific or outdated, resulting in lack of recognizing the needs of clients, customers, partners or vendors. Or it may be difficult to link some information about one piece of data, such as a person or a business, to other information in the system. As a result, the business is left with gaps in their understanding about top customers, top selling products and more productive business partners. Utopia’s data management methodology includes an enrichment phase. Data enrichment, sometimes known as data enhancement, allows generating or appending additional bits of data from other internal or external data sources to information already used in the organization. These additional data sources can extrapolate meaningful details from sketchy bits of information within the existing data sources.

Data enhancement procedures can include postal address enrichment, geocoding and demographic data additions. This additional data enables a more accurate picture about the individuals or companies in the corporate data stores and how they relate to each other. Enhancing inventory data significantly improves day-to-day operations by ensuring more accurate purchasing and better control over inventory levels. It also means customers have the right inventory available to keep operations running smoothly. With enhancement, parts are electronically matched using manufacturer name and part numbers and then reviewed and enhanced in accordance with industry standards.

After transformation, items are organized by commodity groups using client customized or standard categorization codes such as NATO, UNSPSC, eCl@ss or EOTD. Coding items provides a framework for classifying goods and services by commodity. By developing the corporate item master list, Utopia helps companies consolidate and organize their database to identify savings opportunities, create a multi-site database, and initiate demand-driven purchasing.

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