The Procurement Glossary » Data Quality

Data Quality

Spend & Analytics

Definition

The accuracy, completeness and consistency of the data underpinning procurement analysis and decisions.

Explanation

Bad data undermines everything downstream: spend analysis, supplier management, payment and reporting. Data quality is maintained through validation, master-data governance and cleansing, and is the foundation of trustworthy analytics.

Example

Cleansing supplier and category data lifts spend-classification accuracy from 70% to 95%.

Related terms

• Spend Classification — The categorisation of each transaction into a consistent taxonomy so spend can be analysed by category.
• Master Data Management (MDM) — The discipline of maintaining a single, accurate, consistent set of core reference data across systems.
• Vendor Master Data — The authoritative record of each supplier's key details — legal name, addresses, tax IDs, bank and payment terms.
• Spend Analysis — The process of collecting, cleaning, classifying and analysing purchasing data to understand what an organisation buys, from whom and for how much.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Data Quality?

The accuracy, completeness and consistency of the data underpinning procurement analysis and decisions. Bad data undermines everything downstream: spend analysis, supplier management, payment and reporting. Data quality is maintained through validation, master-data governance and cleansing, and is the foundation of trustworthy analytics.

Can you give an example of Data Quality?

Cleansing supplier and category data lifts spend-classification accuracy from 70% to 95%.

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