LEAD DATA GOVERNANCE

Job Overview

The Global Supply Chain Master Data Lead is responsible for driving governance, quality, and standardization of supply chain master data across ERP and planning systems. This role partners with Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations, NPI, Intercompany Planning, and IT to ensure critical master data is established accurately, maintained consistently, and aligned with business processes.

The position serves as the global focal point for supply chain-related master data, providing oversight of material, planning, and supply network data while leading data quality initiatives and supporting continuous improvement efforts. The role does not primarily perform transactional master data maintenance, but instead focuses on governance, compliance, cross-functional coordination, and data integrity across sites and systems.

Job Responsibilities

Master Data Governance

• Develop and maintain global master data standards, policies, procedures, and work instructions
• Establish governance processes to ensure consistent master data management across all sites.
• Partner with Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, and IT to clarify ownership and accountability of master data elements.
• Lead periodic reviews of master data compliance and identify improvement opportunities.
• Serve as subject matter expert for supply chain master data processes and requirements.

Material & Planning Data Oversight

• Monitor material master and planning-related data impacting forecasting, planning, inventory management, procurement, manufacturing, and customer service.
• Review site-level master data settings and provide recommendations for alignment with global standards.
• Partner with site planning teams to improve consistency of planning parameters, replenishment settings, lead times, and inventory policies.
• Identify and address master data issues that create planning inefficiencies, inventory risk, or service challenges.
• Support ongoing review of master data changes resulting from business growth, acquisitions, transfers, and portfolio changes.

NPI, Product Lifecycle & Intercompany Coordination

• Partner closely with the NPI Project Manager to ensure master data readiness for new product introductions, product transfers, and end-of-life initiatives.
• Monitor and communicate status of material setup activities, including creation, extension, and planning readiness across applicable systems.
• Coordinate with Engineering, site teams, and Intercompany Planning resources to ensure required material and intercompany data elements are established and available on schedule.
• Support launch readiness reviews by identifying master data gaps and escalating issues that could impact execution.
• Facilitate visibility and communication across stakeholders regarding master data readiness milestones.

Job Responsibilities (Extn)

Data Quality & Continuous Improvement

• Develop and maintain master data scorecards, metrics, and dashboards.
• Perform routine audits to identify data quality issues and compliance gaps.
• Lead root cause investigations for recurring master data problems.
• Track and prioritize corrective actions with business stakeholders.
• Identify automation and process improvement opportunities that improve data quality, reduce manual effort, and increase planning effectiveness.

Planning Data Governance

• Partner with Site Planning teams, Global Supply Chain Managers, Inventory Planning, and Intercompany Planning stakeholders to maintain key planning-related data elements that support effective supply chain execution.
• Coordinate periodic reviews of ABC classifications to ensure alignment with inventory strategies, service requirements, and business priorities.
• Support the development and maintenance of inventory segmentation frameworks and related planning attributes across product portfolios.
• Partner with sites to review and validate MRP controller assignments, planner assignments, and other planning ownership fields to ensure accurate system accountability and workflow execution.
• Collaborate with Inventory and Intercompany process owners to maintain accurate intercompany source mappings and supply relationships across manufacturing and distribution networks.
• Monitor data quality, identify inconsistencies, and facilitate resolution of planning data issues that impact inventory performance, planning effectiveness, or service levels.
• Develop reporting and scorecards to support ongoing governance of planning master data and site compliance with established standards.

Systems & Cross-Functional Support

• Support master data requirements across SAP, SAP IBP, Epicor, Syteline, and related business systems.
• Participate in system implementations, enhancements, acquisitions, and integration projects.
• Document business rules, data standards, and governance requirements.
• Support training efforts and promote best practices across the organization.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Operations, Information Systems, or related discipline.
• 5-10 years of experience in supply chain planning, master data management, ERP systems, or business analytics.
• Understanding of manufacturing, inventory planning, procurement, and supply chain processes.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to influence and collaborate across global cross-functional teams.

Preferred:

• SAP ERP experience.
• SAP IBP experience.
• Experience with Epicor and/or Syteline.
• Experience supporting master data governance initiatives in a global manufacturing environment.
• Power BI, Alteryx, or similar data visualization and analytics tools.
• APICS/ASCM certification.

Success Measures:

• Master data accuracy and completeness
• Compliance to established governance standards
• Reduction in planning and inventory issues driven by master data errors
• Product hierarchy and reporting structure accuracy
• NPI master data readiness performance
• Timely identification and resolution of data quality issues
• Improvement in site adherence to global master data standards
• Stakeholder satisfaction across Supply Chain, Engineering, Operations, and Finance