Leading manufacturers and retailers like Mars, PepsiCo, Kraft, Wegman’s and McLane are using the Gladson Certified Master Data Program to achieve significant improvements in their internal operations and to exchange certified data with their trading partners. Gladson’s extensive experience in acquiring product master data combines with widely-accepted industry standards to deliver data that finally delivers the benefits of state-of-the-art systems across the supply chain.

Costs Reduced and Data Accuracy Scorecards Improved. The Gladson Certified Master Data Program is based upon Gladson’s industry-leading processes for compiling product master data. It creates a comprehensive, accurate and continuously-updated database of product information for product cases, inner-packs and retail units. These databases help streamline internal operations and support data exchange with trading partners to simultaneously build trust and eliminate the need for costly manual verification.

• Manufacturers and retailers can be assured that the dimensions, weights, images and product identifiers/barcodes have been captured and verified according to GS1 standards.
• Internal systems across the supply chain – including transportation, distribution, warehousing, ordering and invoicing – can eliminate errors and reduce costs by using accurate information, reducing cuts and reloads and increasing fleet utilization.
• Manufacturers will improve their data-accuracy scorecards by exchanging product data with their trading partners that meets industry standards.
• Retailers, wholesalers and distributors can reduce their costs by eliminating costly and time-consuming measurements when they receive new items. Like Wegmans and McLane, leading retailers are relying on certified master data from Gladson to run their operations.

Standards-Based Master Data from the Best Source: Salable Product. Unlike other data accuracy or audit initiatives, the Gladson Certified Master Data Program samples multiple cases and products that come from manufacturer’s regular stock which ensures the master data accurately represents the products that are in the supply chain and on the shelf. It represents a single source of the truth and eliminates the inconsistencies that arise when master data is assembled from multiple pre-production and planning systems. The program leverages the Gladson production systems that process thousands of products a week. Your costs are low because we are the experts: we have the tools, processes and people to get the job done quickly and right the first time.

Gladson’s proprietary validation engine checks the data against industry-defined measurement tolerances by packaging types; it ensures consistency and the proper product orientation for each measurement. The validation engine recognizes the relationship between the retail units, inner-packs and the outer product case, further ensuring that the measurements and other master data are logically consistent with each other. Finally, the validation engine recognizes the relationships across products within a product family and uses this knowledge to identify inconsistencies and ensure high-quality master data.

Creating a product master data file is an ongoing effort and Gladson will be your partner. Too often, a high-impact initial audit is not followed by a sustainable process to maintain accuracy. Gladson works with manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and distributors to build integrated processes for new products and continuous updates as products and packaging change.