Data Cleansing and Our CRM-ERP Adventure

william.chiaiese
Member

Posted 03-May-2005 12:49 PM

We are embarking on the CRM adventure in my command. We are preparing to purchasing an off the shel CRM/ERP software package. However, we have over 30 plus different independent data marks. There can be duplicated, erroneous and corrupted data. I believe that we must embark onto a journey of Data Cleansing prior to data translation-migration. I request any advice and guidance in preparing for our CRM-ERP adventure.

vry
Will

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Chris Badger
Member

Posted 05-May-2005 08:35 AM

Hi William,
The challenge you are facing is one of the "iceberg" issues lurking beneath the surface for a CRM/ERP project. However if you don't address it you face user rejection of the project due to lack of confidence in the data. Right or wrong most users equate bad data = bad CRM/ERP vendor and failed project. You must also consider how to keep the data clean over time, not just how you clean and rationalize the data during the implementation.

Most of the CRM/ERP vendors purposely do not take responsibility for cleansing data before or during an implementation. Historically one of the few options is to have the system integrator or IT deptarment tackle this challenge, but few have the tools or experience although they will be happy to charge a lot of money to solve the problem. There are lots of great data cleansing tools from First Logic, Group 1, etc however they require a heavy IT investment to deploy and get trained on, and are typically at least $100k+. If your company is large enough this is an excellent option.

If you are pursuing an on demand ERP/CRM vendor like NetSuite you might consider vendors like InsideScoop, my company. This is obviously a self-serving message but we are a new breed of on demand data management vendor who is tightly integrated to on demand CRM vendors like salesforce.com and NetSuite. Through a project or subscription price model we clean, rationalize, and enrich data coming from multiple sources, and keep it clean and updated over time. Our solution requires minimal, if any, IT resources from a customer. If interested check us out at www.insidescoop.com or email me at cbadger@insidescoop.com.

Good luck,
Chris

CEO, InsideScoop

CEO, InsideScoop
office: 650-345-3508

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Kjell
Member

Posted 05-May-2005 11:10 AM

Will,

I've deployed 10+ CRM launches over the years, as a manager and as a consultant. I find that data integrity and the conversion effort is of vital importance. It is also a black hole where time goes...you have no idea how time consuming good data normalization can be. Your stakeholders see the project through 2 things, the software pages (UI) and the data. The UI becomes a lens, and is ultimately forgotten. The data is the object of focus, and is scrutinized by every stakeholder from day one.

There is a preferred sequence of data conversion for most companies. Without knowing how your project is being run, I cannot tell you exactly what to do next, but remember to lower everyone's expectations and get collaboration in the conversion effort. There are a hundred reasons why any data object will not be perfect at the time you go live...and your team can only take the data conversion effort just so far.

You will make mistakes and will not be able to make a silk purse from a sow's ear; just make sure any fence-sitters do not use lack-of-perfection as a reason to harm the reputation of the project. Create data integrity in phases, involving all users.

Perform objective, independent QC at each mass update step, before committing the changes to the data.

Once the project is "up", especially if you integrate with ERP, there must be some kind of data ownership model, so everyone knows who is responsible for what when it comes to refreshing and entering data...enterprise CRM is like a public park...be sure it does not become polluted, like a "Commons", where "trash" accumulates, and data is missing, and nobody is accountable for good custodianship.

Good luck!

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Edwin Setzpfand
Member Council
Member

Posted 07-May-2005 04:06 PM

William,

I've been in a similar situation myself and to add to the valuable advice already provided in this discussion I want to remark that the business is responsible for the data in the first place, ICT is just providing the tools.

So, if you can provide the business with a rough diagnostic about the data quality and about what it would cost to cleanse it, then they can decide which data is worth to cleanse, deduplicate and keep for the new system.

There might be good reasons to spend a considerable amount on this, from a business, regulatory or other perspective. And like Chris wrote: "You must also consider how to keep the data clean over time."

Two remarks/questions: You ask this question just as you "are preparing to purchasing an off the shel CRM/ERP software package" .. isn't that a little late? Shouldn't this already have been addressed & answered in the business case for your CRM/ERP implementation?

And finally, I hope that your team and board is aware that a "CRM adventure" is a little more than "purchasing an off the shel CRM/ERP software package". If not or if in doubt, I would recommend to first carefully study the dozen or so references & contributions about the heart and soul of CRM on these CRMguru pages!

Success,

Edwin Setzpfand

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Bobby Whitson
Member

Posted 25-Oct-2005 08:17 PM

Iceberg is a great way to describe this issue. Most people go blindly into CRM thinking it will answer all of questions and solve all of problems. You have identified the key issue in the success or failure of an implementation. The lack of proper data hygiene rules and techniques will result in huge problems. Duplicates, postal standardization, NCOA, which address wins when a different address shows up on an existing account, on and on and on.... This is just the beginning. There are companies out there like Acxiom that are leaders in the data hygiene process. I congratulate you on recognizing this up front.

Good luck,

Bobby

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