When a company lacks a single source of truth for MDM, PIM, or DAM.
Assessment of the concrete impact on governance, operational efficiency, and omnichannel strategy
Data is fragmented across disparate systems, scattered files, and manual processes. The ERP holds one piece of the puzzle, the CRM another; teams manage supplementary data in spreadsheets, while assets (images, documents, videos) sit in various drives, and updates are circulated via email or niche business tools.
Without a single source of truth, the business operates with several competing “versions of the truth” in parallel. This isn’t just an IT issue: it’s a matter of performance, compliance, time-to-market, customer experience, and the ability to scale up.
Data fragmentation and the lack of a “single source of truth”
When there is no MDM, PIM, or DAM acting as a single source of truth:
- Data is duplicated (multiple copies, several versions, various owners).
- Data is incomplete (missing fields or attributes, lack of documentation, unattached media, unavailable supporting documents, missing metadata).
- Data doesn’t age well (obsolescence, inconsistencies across channels, lack of traceability, no synchronisation).
- Data is not governed (who is responsible? who signs off? what are the rules? traceability is limited).
The result is predictable: the business spends a massive amount of energy “fixing” information instead of leveraging it.
Impacts on governance: blurred responsibilities, fragile validation, lack of oversight
Without a single source of truth, the same setbacks keep cropping up time and again:
Teams search, recreate, and correct.
- Teams spend time searching for the right information instead of finding it instantly.
- Teams recreate content and data (files, versions, fields) that already exist elsewhere.
- Teams are constantly correcting inconsistencies: formats, labels, units, translations, versions, statuses, usage rights, and so on.
- Sign-off processes are sluggish and unreliable (email back-and-forth, attachments, no clear “approved / published” status).
On the Company projects lose momentum
- Sign-off processes are sluggish and unreliable (email back-and-forth, attachments, and no clear “approved / published” status).
- Getting a product online depends on manual checks and informal approvals.
- Omnichannel projects become “one-offs” rather than industrialised processes.
- In the absence of dedicated tools, “makeshift” solutions serve as repositories: a shared drive becomes a makeshift DAM, a spreadsheet becomes a DIY MDM, and an e-commerce back-office is forced into being a PIM. The result: clunky interfaces, longer loading times, slower data entry, and administration that becomes a daily point of friction.
A loss of performance and productivity.
Often, the business tries to “force” this role onto its management system: but an ERP is not an MDM/PIM/DAM. An ERP is designed to execute workflows (purchasing, stock, orders, invoicing), not to drive collaborative enrichment, quality rules, version control, validation workflows, nor governance and omnichannel distribution.
The impact on data quality and reliability
Without MDM/PIM/DAM, data quality isn’t managed—it’s merely endured. The direct consequence is that data can no longer act as a catalyst for growth. Instead, it becomes a liability.
The impact on your organisation
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The impact on governance: blurred responsibilities, fragile validation, and lack of oversight
Without MDM/PIM/DAM, the business lacks the operational framework to:
- Define who is responsible for what (creation, enrichment, validation, publication).
- Implement workflows (draft, in review, approved, published, archived).
- Establish quality rules (completeness, consistency, uniqueness, compliance) and measure them.
- Manage versioning, history, and auditability (who changed what, when, and why).
- Secure access and distribution (rights, roles, permissions).
The result: the organisation operates in a constant “firefighting mode” and relies too heavily on key individuals.
The impact on operational performance and the ability to scale up
When data is not centralised, every new requirement adds another layer of complexity:
- More channels, more countries, more partners: more formats, more exceptions, and more files.
- Integrations become point-to-point connections that are difficult to maintain.
- Every change (new rule, new field, new constraint) leads to regressions and data rework.
The business moves forward, but it doesn’t industrialise: it simply piles one process on top of another.
The impact on compliance and risk management
Without a single source of truth, maintaining compliance becomes difficult to guarantee over the long term:
- Regulatory information and documents are scattered, with uncertain versioning.
- The risk of using an obsolete user guide, an expired certificate, non-compliant wording, or an unauthorised visual.
- Difficulty in proving traceability and sign-off (for internal/external audits).
Even when errors are one-offs, the exposure is real: reputation damage, litigation, sanctions, and the cost of remediation.
The impact on customer experience and sales performance
The quality of product and media information is directly visible to the end customer.
- Incomplete product sheets, contradictory information across touchpoints (website, marketplace, catalogue, after-sales, in-store), and content that isn’t tailored to the channel.
- Inconsistent documents and media (wrong version, incorrect format, lack of variants).
- Less control over brand messaging, as content is not centralised, approved, or reusable.
The result: lower conversion rates, higher return rates, increased pressure on customer service, and a breakdown in trust.
Team by team: when everyone compensates in their own way
IT & Data
- Point-to-point integrations, custom data flows, and dependencies that are difficult to maintain.
- “Patchwork” effects: every new requirement results in a custom development or a workaround.
- Data governance and security become harder to guarantee. Fragile synchronisation between ERP/CRM/business tools, leading to side effects during system updates.
- Difficulty industrialising the governance of access rights, versioning, and publications.
Marketing & Communication
- Difficulty producing consistent and reusable content.
- Slow campaign response times: lengthy updates and fragmented sign-off processes.
- Catalogues, websites, and sales collateral: multiple versions and late-stage corrections.
Digital & E-commerce Operations
- Product enrichment is not industrialised.
- Data quality varies across categories, countries, and channels.
- Increased complexity in managing SEO, GEO, marketplaces, syndication, and personalisation.
- Overstretched e-commerce administration: the back-office becomes bloated when forced to act as a PIM, slowing down production and increasing the risk of errors.
Sales & Retail Network
- Sales pitches that are out of sync with actual product reality.
- Difficulty finding the right documentation or the correct media assets.
- Loss of credibility with customers when information varies across different platforms.
Customer Service & Support Teams
- Time wasted searching for reliable information.
- Increase in queries related to incomplete or inconsistent product sheets.
- Risk of providing incorrect answers if the source is not unified and up to date.
- Purchasing, Supply Chain & Operations
- Supplier, item, site, terms, and contact repositories: duplicates and inconsistencies.
- Mapping issues between product versions, variants, and packaging.
- Difficulty consolidating the information required for trade and logistics flows.
Procurement, Supply Chain & Operations
- Supplier, item, site, terms, and contact repositories: duplicates and inconsistencies.
- Mapping issues between product versions, variants, and packaging.
- Difficulty consolidating the information required for trade and logistics flows.
Quality, Regulatory & Legal
- Complicated validation: where is the “official version” located?
- Limited traceability: who modified what, when, and why?
- Increased risk of non-compliance and incorrect communication.
Impact on your budgets and performance.
The impact on time-to-market and launch capabilities
Every launch (new range, new collection, new country, new channel) exposes the same weakness: information is not ready at the same time for everyone.
- Increased back-and-forth (collection, enrichment, validation, corrections).
- Dependence on key individuals “who know where the info is.”
- Delays caused by content (photos, documents, translations, compliance).
- Staggered, incomplete, or inconsistent market launches across different channels.
In practice, the company launches later, or launches with compromises that have a cost further down the line (returns, disputes, support tickets, loss of trust).
Ensure data compliance and mitigate your risks
MaPS System supports you in adhering to standards and regulations by automating the monitoring and control of your data compliance.
- Manage sector-specific rules and standards through configurable business workflows
- Full traceability and audit trails for all modifications to guarantee total transparency
- Customisable rules engine to automatically apply compliance policies unique to your industry
- Advanced protection for sensitive data and comprehensive access management
Real-world compliance cases managed with MaPS System:
- Digital Product Passport (DPP)
- PEP ecopassport®
- INCO Regulation
- MDR/IVDR Regulation
- Omnibus Directive
A critical challenge: avoiding sanctions and protecting your business Non-compliance with current regulations can have severe consequences: fines reaching millions of euros, product recalls, and a breakdown in trust with partners and customers.
Mitigate these risks and ensure data governance that is perfectly aligned with legal and industry requirements.
The impact on partners and external exchanges
Without a central repository, exchanges with your ecosystem become unstable:
- Different files sent to different partners.
- Non-harmonised formats and conflicting channel-by-channel requirements.
- Increased volume of returns, corrections, delays, and disputes.
- Difficulty aligning with industry standards and meeting quality commitments.
Hidden costs: what isn’t always measured
The lack of a central repository doesn’t just mean “a bit more work.” It creates recurring costs:
- Time wasted searching, re-keying, verifying, and correcting data.
- Duplicate (and sometimes triplicate) content production.
- Longer and higher-risk digital projects.
- Incidents linked to information errors (support tickets, returns, disputes).
- Dependence on key individuals and the loss of institutional knowledge.
These costs are diffuse but permanent. They act as a drag on growth and the ability to scale operations.
The business needs a “single source of truth”
A central repository (MDM, PIM, DAM) is not just for storing data. It serves to establish operational discipline:
- Define clear responsibilities (who creates, who enriches, who validates).
- Implement validation and publication workflows.
- Apply quality rules and measurable controls.
- Ensure traceability, versioning, and auditability.
- Distribute data consistently across all channels.
Without this framework, the organisation is constantly adapting — but its processes never stabilise.
When a company lacks a centralised MDM, PIM, and DAM repository, data becomes an obstacle: it slows things down, creates fragility, and incurs costs.
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