Glossary

What is a Material Master?

What does Material Master mean?

The Material Master is the central data record in ERP systems, such as SAP S/4HANA, that contains all key information about a material or spare part. It integrates technical, commercial, and logistical details into a single structured record, ensuring that procurement, inventory, maintenance, and finance all use the same accurate dataset.

For asset-intensive industries, the Material Master is the foundation of effective spare parts and MRO management. Incomplete or inconsistent material master data can lead to duplicate parts, incorrect stock levels, procurement errors, and costly downtime.

Key elements of a Material Master record

  1. Basic data – Material description, part number, unit of measure.
  2. Procurement data – Vendor, lead times, and purchasing group.
  3. Inventory data – Stocking levels, warehouse location, reorder points.
  4. Accounting data – Valuation class, cost centre, and pricing.
  5. Classification – Applying standardised coding such as UNSPSC or eClass.

Why Material Master quality matters

The Material Master ensures that all departments work with the same accurate spare parts data. Poor-quality material master records result in duplicated items, excess inventory, and unreliable reporting.

By applying Data Cleansing, Data Standardisation, and Data Enrichment, companies can create a Material Master that is complete, standardised, and business-ready.

Sharecat Data Services helps organisations build high-quality Material Master records by cleansing, enriching, and cataloguing spare parts data. This ensures accuracy across ERP, CMMS, and EAM systems, supporting efficient procurement and maintenance.