Understanding Data Quality

Basic Resources

The Data Quality Business Case	PDF	167 kb
A background presentation of the GS1 Data Quality Framework within GDSN	PDF	492 kb
What is bad data costing a company	PDF	1.65 MB
A world heavily dependant on synchronised, quality data!	PDF	2.1 MB
The impact of bad quality data	WMV	18.6 MB
Improving the information management process	WMV	25.5 MB
Data Quality principles and problems	WMV	8.2 MB
FAQs	PDF	20 kb

Key implementation steps

First steps

A data quality project should be started and turned into an ongoing business process. For this to happen, commitment from senior management is needed. This will only occur when senior management understand:

what benefits could be realized through synchronisation of quality data with trading partners
what “bad” data is costing the company
what other companies have done about it

Awareness of data quality and its relationship with data synchronisation is therefore of the utmost importance!

The relation between Internal Data Alignment (IDA) and Data Quality Management Systems (DQMS

The full potential of the Global Data Synchronisation Network (GDSN) will only be realised if sustainable process to guarantee the quality of the data exists. This is done through actions such as:

Building a data quality management system (DQMS) that will ensure the quality of the data output.
Implementing Internal Data Alignment (IDA) to guarantee an efficient flow of information internally.

Data Quality Management Systems (DQMS) and Internal Data Alignment (IDA) complement one another; organisations may implement one or the other as a starting point for data quality, as certain procedures will be common to both, facilitating their adoption and integration inside organisations.

What standards should we use?

Finally, remember that a proper use of the GS1 System standards is foundational to achieve good quality data. The Global Data Dictionary (GDD), the GTIN Allocation Rules, and the GDSN Package Measurement Rules are some of the standards that should be implemented correctly in the information. Please refer to the technical documentation at the GS1 Knowledge Centre of the GS1 System to ensure a good application of the standards.

For any doubt or questions about data quality and the GS1 System, please send a message to dataqualityinfo@gs1.org or contact your local GS1 Member Organisation.