Master data and relation maintenance

Purpose

This page describes the recurring maintenance of MDM master data and relations. The focus is on relations, company assignments, dependencies, exclusions, DSR filters, substitutions, and the preparation needed for later consistency checks.

Business value

• Makes the business maintenance of relations and rule sets understandable as reusable master data.
• Supports a consistent mapping between source and target companies.
• Helps teams prepare controlled deviation handling through rules, DSR, and review logic.

Content focus

Relations as the central maintenance object

The MDM relation is the leading object for maintaining the business data relationship. It combines table context, routing rule, distribution behavior, status, and the related company assignments in one shared maintenance context.

Assign source and target companies clearly

Every relation works with a source and a target company. This assignment determines where data originates, where it is mirrored or reviewed, and in which context later consistency messages must be interpreted.

Maintain dependencies for related fields

Dependency Lines describe which fields or tables must be considered together. This prevents values from being interpreted in isolation when they can only be evaluated correctly in combination with other information.

Use exclusions and substitutions deliberately

Exclusions define fields or contents that should deliberately be left out of processing or review. Substitutions, by contrast, control how target values are derived or replaced when source and target contexts cannot be maintained identically.

DSR filters and distribution matrix as part of relation maintenance

When Selected Record Distribution is used for a relation, DSR filters and the distribution matrix also become part of recurring maintenance. This means teams do not only manage general relation-level rules, but also the business decision about which concrete records are distributed or excluded per target company.

Keep status and review readiness in view

Open and released relations, open substitution changes, and consistency checks together form an important control picture. The central MDM setup provides counters and summaries that help you assess the maintenance state quickly.

Result

• The key master-data and relation objects of MDM are classified from a business perspective.
• Source/target assignment, dependencies, exclusions, and substitutions are described in one coherent context.
• The page establishes the basis for later detail pages about reviews and processes.