Benedikt Weiss

30. May 2023

Updated on June 19, 2026

SAP MDG and SPARETECH for efficient master data management

/ Blog / SAP MDG and SPARETECH for efficient master data management

Key takeaways

MDM and MDG lay the foundation for data quality: Master Data Management establishes the processes to keep data consistent and accurate across systems, while Master Data Governance defines the rules, ownership, and accountability needed to maintain it.

Manual spare parts data management creates costly inefficiencies: Traditional approaches (manual entry, limited system support, and siloed information) lead to errors, poor data quality, and operational drag across MRO processes.

SAP MDG provides enterprise-wide governance: It enables standardized data models, workflows, and policies across the organization, improving consistency and supporting better decision-making, though it requires significant implementation effort.

SPARETECH powers the spare parts data layer your ERP depends on: Purpose-built for spare parts, SPARETECH help teams eliminate duplicates, enrich records with manufacturer data, and automate material management workflows, so teams spend less time on manual data work and more time making reliable decisions.

What is master data management?

Master Data Management (MDM) is the process of ensuring that data is consistent, accurate and up-to-date across all systems and processes in an organization. The main goal of MDM is to create a single source of truth for the organization. This should improve the quality of data, leading to greater operational efficiency, better customer experience, and informed decision making.

In the field of industrial spare parts management, this process is still underdeveloped and often relies on manual methods or even pen and paper.
However, these methods often lead to poor data quality and thus inefficient spare parts management due to human errors in data entry, lack of system support and limited information availability.

Master Data Governance

Master Data Governance (MDG), a subset of MDM, focuses on the policies, standards, and processes that govern the creation, maintenance, and use of master data. MDG defines ownership, accountability, and decision-making authority with respect to master data. It also involves ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

Master data management through software solutions

With automation software, more efficient and accurate master data management is already possible today. One software solution that can help is SAP MDG.

SAP Master Data Governance

SAP MDG is an overarching solution for managing master data across the enterprise. It enables businesses to create a single, authoritative source of master data that can be used across the organization to support various business operations and decision-making processes.

SAP MDG enables companies to:

Define and manage their master data models,
Ensure the accuracy and consistency of data across all systems,
Establish policies for data governance.

The solution provides pre-built content, data models and workflows for different industries and domains, reducing the need for custom development.

Due to the maturity and flexibility of SAP MDG, the solution is also more complex and requires additional resources (e.g. consultants) to be implemented correctly.

SPARETECH

Transforming the way industrial spare parts are managed and distributed, SPARETECH offers an end-to-end solution for data creation and management. Our solution specializes in spare parts data, offering:

Spare part identification
Insights on data enrichment, duplicate and obsolescence checking (data lifecycle management)
Automated workflow for material creation
Automated BOM Check

From our functions and DLM processes, SPARETECH transforms data into knowledge and provides our users with actionable insights for data cleansing and enrichment. In this way, we ensure transparency and informed decisions.

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How can SPARETECH and SAP MDG work together?

SPARETECH can be implemented as a stand-alone solution for spare parts management as well as a complement to other MDM solutions such as SAP MDG.

Many organizations choose to integrate the approval process with SAP MDG to create a robust data governance framework, comply with regulations, and increase operational efficiency. SAP MDG is often used on a global scale to ensure that all master data objects are subject to appropriate assessment and that all stakeholders are involved. This promotes transparency, standardization, and consistency across the organization.

In this context, SPARETECH acts as a “filter” in front of SAP MDG, ensuring that only validated, high-quality data enters your ERP system. SPARETECH is the source of truth for spare parts. Even though some companies do not need this level of complexity for spare parts, they use SPARETECH for end-to-end master data management processes, including creation, modification, and validation.

SPARETECH provides the right level of detail to meet specific customer requirements and takes into account different IT landscapes.

The SPARETECH App can be seamlessly integrated with SAP MDG in two ways for better results.

Manual data exchange in four steps.

Export of the material master from the customer's ERP or MDG
Upload to SPARETECH
Export from SPARETECH in a structured and customized format
Upload to MDG via Master Data Governance Consolidation App

API Interface

With the API interface, the data can be retrieved and synchronized automatically. Retrieval of the creation and change requests from SPARETECH are thus automatically transferred to SAP, so that the approval or rejection of the requests can take place via MDG.

This is an indicative visualization of the data exchange between SPARETECH and MDG. Please note that the process may vary depending on the customer's specific setup.

Your ERP stays the source of truth, SPARETECH makes the data behind it trustworthy

Synchronize data [SPARETECH; MDG]: Export spare parts lists from MDG or ERP and upload them to SPARETECH.
Identify need [SPARETECH]: Find a spare part in a few seconds via our global material search
Manage spare parts in SPARETECH [SPARETECH]:
a. Create a new spare part, extend it to a new plant or modify an existing one using data from our database
b. Transfer new spare part creation, extension or modification directly to your ERP system via API or import.
Retrieve data [MDG] (new creation, extension and change intentions) from SPARETECH with pre-filled fields.
Validate & Activate Material [MDG, ERP, SPARETECH]:
a. Approve material in MDG
b. Submit material in MDG
c. Synchronization with other systems

If you want to optimize your spare parts data management, do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to help you and answer all your questions.

FAQs

If we already use SAP Master Data Governance (MDG), do we still need an additional solution for MRO data?

Even with SAP MDG in place, organizations still benefit significantly from a dedicated MRO data solution for spare parts:

SAP MDG provides strong governance and workflows, but is not specialized for the unique challenges of MRO/spare parts data.
MRO data is often highly fragmented, with duplicates, missing attributes, and inconsistent naming - issues that standard MDG setups may not fully address.
Dedicated MRO solutions like SPARETECH automate duplicate detection, data enrichment, and global parts search and data governance workflow, which reduces manual effort and improves data quality across all plants

For global manufacturing teams, this combination has delivered measurable results: higher team productivity, reduced excess inventory, and smarter sourcing decisions that cut unnecessary spend.

See how leading manufacturers like Nestlé and Bosch benefit from SPARETECH.

What are the risks of entering poor-quality spare parts data into SAP MDG?

Poor-quality spare parts data in SAP MDG can have significant operational and financial consequences:

Duplicates, missing attributes, and inconsistent records lead to excess inventory, stockouts, and unreliable reporting.
Teams spend more time searching for parts, correcting errors, and manually validating data, which reduces productivity and increases process lead times.
Procurement costs rise due to unnecessary purchases and missed opportunities for bundling or sourcing alternatives.
Maintenance and production can be delayed if the right part cannot be found or is mislabeled, increasing downtime risk.
Over time, trust in the system erodes, and users may resort to shadow systems, further undermining data governance and decision-making.

Discover how Data Lifecycle Management helps build a trusted spare parts data foundation for your teams.

How can we reduce the manual workload for everyone involved in spare parts management processes?

The right approach starts upstream - at the point where spare parts data is created and modified:

Ensure data quality at the source: Duplicate checks, manufacturer enrichment, lifecycle status validation, and standardization aligned with your organization's policies
Leverage technology to automate the work: Digital spare parts management workflows handle repetitive MRO data tasks such as BOM checks and obsolescence tracking. This eliminates manual effort, accelerates approvals, and ensures data governance and compliance across all plants and systems.

Leading manufacturers applying this approach at scale have seen 60% greater efficiency in their workflows.

How does SPARETECH complement SAP MDG without replacing it?

SPARETECH and SAP MDG operate at different layers, and that's exactly what makes them powerful together.

SPARETECH brings the depth that spare parts data demands: The industry's largest global catalog with original manufacturers' data and proprietary AI techniques enable precise deduplication, enrichment, and lifecycle management to ensure data quality at the source.
Tailored digital workflows streamline data standardization, enforce governance across all plants, and strengthen collaboration between teams and sites that would otherwise work from fragmented data
Cross-site harmonization ensures the same part is recognized and managed consistently across your production network
The API integration enables automatic synchronization between SPARETECH and MDG, keeping data flowing in real time without manual exports or re-entry.