Kraft Foods Becomes a Data Master

Kraft Foods Inc. launched a master data management program in 2005 to simplify and harmonize global business processes and enable strategic enterprise information capabilities. Here, Marcelo De Santis, director, Enterprise Master Data for Kraft Foods, shares details of the company's journey.

What pain points prompted Kraft Foods to improve the management of master data?

De Santis: We grew through acquisitions, and an initial assessment of our master data situation revealed challenges impacting our business strategies. We had multiple sources of data with inconsistent data definitions and standards as well as different business processes and organizational approaches for master data management. Data discrepancies were compounded due to a lack of harmonization. We needed a single source of truth.

What is the scope of your master data program?

De Santis: Our master data management program is a key strategic enabler. It is viewed as foundational -- data is critical to the business. We have executive sponsorship from the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Operations and Business Services. The scope of the program includes master data for finished products, materials, vendors, customers and locations. The program will enable several business capabilities. For instance, product portfolio complexity will be reduced, leading to inventory reductions, and we'll also be able to rationalize data attributes for increased data accuracy. Business intelligence initiatives are being directly facilitated by this program -- the ability to obtain an integrated sales view of customer and product; reliability when measuring and ranking partners; enhanced evaluations of product performance during launches; easily identified category/geographical business opportunities; robust analytics and reporting; and last but not least, the ability to respond faster to business changes, such as acquisitions, regulatory changes and customer requirements.

What technology was used to support the program?

De Santis: Diamond Management & Technology Consultants helped to develop a global master data vision, change management strategy, business case and an implementation roadmap. Today, Diamond is assisting with program execution. We decided to implement SAP NetWeaver Master Data Management (MDM) in North America to coincide with our decision to standardize on SAP for enterprise resource planning. Technical and development support for the implementation of SAP MDM, SAP NetWeaver Business Process Management (BPM) and back-office tools were provided by Infosys. We also use BackOffice Associates' CranSoft Data Migration suite of tools for cleansing and harmonizing legacy master data prior to loading it into SAP MDM. Dual data entry efforts -- with SAP and legacy systems -- will continue through 2010 and into 2011 as legacy applications are retired. In 2008, we implemented universal feeds to enable all SAP systems to utilize the data in a self-service scenario. And last year, Kraft continued working toward a complete service-oriented architecture for SAP and non-SAP applications.

Can you share specific examples of improvements so far?

De Santis: To date, we have implemented one global product repository to every country where Kraft's products are produced or consumed. Completed in 2006, it was one of the first global implementations of a system and common business processes in the company's history. A second global deployment for location records is in progress. We also implemented three regional MDM repositories (customer, vendor and material) for North America, the company's largest region. In addition, we enabled one global and seven regional governance teams; identified data owners for key master data domains; implemented technical validations for primary master data repositories; and created 71 governance policies and standards to best govern our data. We have a sound implementation plan for the next three years, and we are in the midst of deploying the global master data solution in North America, followed by other regions, including Asia Pacific, Europe and Latin America.