Designing a supplier database to support sourcing analysis
Zhang, Yifei (2013)
2013
Master's Degree Programme in Business and Technology
Tuotantotalouden ja rakentamisen tiedekunta - Faculty of Business and Built Environment
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2013-10-18
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tty-201311191456
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tty-201311191456
Tiivistelmä
Nowadays, more and more business organizations emphasize the importance of competitive suppliers in their strategic benefits. On one hand, with the extension of global industrialization, there are much more suppliers available for a company than ever before, which results in the difficulty for the company to develop a proper sourcing decision. On the other hand, advanced data processing technologies can help companies improve their capability of sourcing data analysis significantly. Thus, how to design an effective supplier database to support sourcing analysis has become an essential topic in recent years.
This thesis aims to design a supplier database based on the theory of master data management (MDM) for processing B2B sourcing data, and the discussions are presented according to the previous research in the sourcing department of Sandvik Mining and Construction (China). The whole design was developed mainly in 5 stages. Firstly, necessary information was gathered from the company as well as some academic literature. Secondly, pre-research preparation was done by studying all the collected information. Thirdly, a framework of the database was designed out. Fourthly, more detail design was proposed in different modules, focusing on some practical issues in the existing data systems. Fifthly, the outcome of the design was discussed in a comprehensive way.
Although the MDM-oriented supplier database was designed for a specific project in a company, some basic principles of the design can be adopted prevalent. However, it is necessary to claim that this design is not totally completed, still with more practical work to be done in the future. Regarding the further research in this case, more professionals from different backgrounds (i.e. IT, business, management, etc.) should be involved, and the organizational support from the company is important as well.
This thesis aims to design a supplier database based on the theory of master data management (MDM) for processing B2B sourcing data, and the discussions are presented according to the previous research in the sourcing department of Sandvik Mining and Construction (China). The whole design was developed mainly in 5 stages. Firstly, necessary information was gathered from the company as well as some academic literature. Secondly, pre-research preparation was done by studying all the collected information. Thirdly, a framework of the database was designed out. Fourthly, more detail design was proposed in different modules, focusing on some practical issues in the existing data systems. Fifthly, the outcome of the design was discussed in a comprehensive way.
Although the MDM-oriented supplier database was designed for a specific project in a company, some basic principles of the design can be adopted prevalent. However, it is necessary to claim that this design is not totally completed, still with more practical work to be done in the future. Regarding the further research in this case, more professionals from different backgrounds (i.e. IT, business, management, etc.) should be involved, and the organizational support from the company is important as well.