In industrial ERPand CMMS systems, few data fields have more operational impact thanmanufacturer name, part number, and model number. When these fields areverified and correct, they unlock automated procurement, accurate inventory,and reliable maintenance operations. When they are wrong — which is far morecommon than most organisations realise — the consequences are felt every dayacross procurement, inventory, and maintenance, without anyone tracing theproblem back to the data.
Sharecat DataServices solves this problem directly. When manufacturer names and part numbersin your ERP or CMMS system are incorrect, inconsistent, or missing, SharecatData Services identifies every affected record and replaces the wrong ormissing data with verified information — sourced from a proprietary database ofapproximately one million normalised manufacturer names, part numbers, andmodel numbers built from direct work with OEMs across heavy industries. Everyrecord Sharecat Data Services delivers is verified against the originalmanufacturer — not as-entered by a supplier or a data entry provider. Clientsreport up to 80% reduction in spares expenditure once their procurement systemshave the correct data to operate as intended.
The mostwidespread and damaging data quality error in industrial ERP and CMMS systemsis the confusion between part numbers and model numbers. A model numberidentifies a type or family of product. A part number identifies a specific,orderable item. They serve entirely different purposes — and entering one wherethe other belongs makes automated MRO procurement impossible.
A YokogawaEJX630A, for example, is a model of pressure transmitter — a product category,not a specific purchasable item. An ERP or CMMS material master record thatholds a model number in the part number field cannot generate a valid purchaseorder to the OEM. The system has no orderable reference. The procurement teammust intervene manually: searching for the correct part number, verifying thespecification, and placing the order by hand. This workaround istime-consuming, error-prone, and entirely avoidable with correct underlyingdata.
In Sharecat DataServices' experience across heavy industries, this error is consistent across asignificant proportion of equipment records — and it compounds as new items areadded to the system by people unfamiliar with the distinction. It goes unnoticedprecisely because the manual workaround becomes routine. The data error isnever identified as the root cause of the procurement delay.
When manufacturernames in your ERP or CMMS system are verified — not variant spellings, notabbreviations, not trading names — and part numbers are genuine and correct,the operational and financial benefits are substantial and measurable.
Automatedordering: purchase orders route directly to the correct OEM without manualintervention, reducing lead times and eliminating intermediary costs.
Commonalityanalysis: consistent, verified data makes it possible to identify where thesame part exists under different descriptions across locations — andconsolidate inventory accordingly.
Inventoryoptimisation: knowing exactly what you have, from which manufacturer, withwhich specifications, eliminates duplicate purchasing and reduces buffer stock.
Supplierperformance analysis: verified manufacturer data makes it possible to trackfailure rates, maintenance histories, and lifecycle costs by OEM — supportingprocurement decisions based on actual performance rather than price alone.
Erroridentification: a verified baseline makes wrong entries visible. Outliers standout because they do not match the established pattern, making ongoing dataquality management significantly easier.
Every manualprocurement workaround caused by an incorrect part number or unverifiedmanufacturer name adds cost that is rarely traced back to its source in thedata. Procurement teams buy from intermediaries at premium prices because thesystem cannot identify the correct OEM. Inventory accumulates duplicatesbecause the same part exists under multiple descriptions. Maintenance decisionsare made without reliable supplier performance data. None of these costs appearas a line item — they are absorbed into operational budgets and accepted asnormal.
In regulatedindustries such as oil & gas and pharmaceutical manufacturing, unverifiedmanufacturer and part number data also creates compliance risk. Equipmenttraceability requirements increasingly demand that verified OEM data is presentin the system. When it is not, compliance gaps emerge that are costly toremediate under audit pressure — far more so than planned data enrichment wouldhave been.
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