“R300 million a year.” That number hung in the air, heavy and undeniable, during a recent workshop with a client exploring the true cost of their data quality issues

That’s not a typo. R300 million—lost annually due to poor data quality.

1. Where did this number come from?
2. The Root Cause: Lack of Data Governance
3. How Master Data Management (MDM) Solves the Problem
4. The Bottom Line

Where did this number come from?

Where did this number come from? It wasn’t one single catastrophic failure but a combination of smaller, persistent issues that added up to a massive financial drain:

• Days wasted every month reconciling data for reporting – Finance and operations teams spending countless hours fixing mismatched figures instead of focusing on strategic work.
• Off-contract spend eroding savings – Suppliers charging higher rates because purchase orders didn’t align with negotiated contracts, missing out on bulk discounts.
• Inconsistent classifications causing costing chaos – Products miscategorised, leading to inaccurate profitability analysis and flawed demand planning.
• Duplicate or incorrect vendor records – Leading to overpayments, compliance risks, and missed rebates.

This isn’t an isolated case. Across industries, poor master data quality is silently eroding value.

The Root Cause: Lack of Data Governance

The initial reaction is often to throw technology at the problem – new reporting tools, advanced analytics platforms, AI-driven solutions.

But without a solid data foundation, these investments are like building a house on sand. The first, and most crucial, step is to establish robust data governance. Without clear ownership, standards, and accountability, data decays rapidly.

• Who defines what “good” data looks like?
• Who is responsible for maintaining it?
• How do you measure and enforce compliance?

Without governance, even the best systems fail. A global retailer once discovered that 40% of their product data was incorrect, leading to stockouts, excess inventory, and lost sales.

The issue? No central governance—each department managed data differently, creating inconsistencies.

How Master Data Management (MDM) Solves the Problem

Once governance is in place, Master Data Management (MDM) ensures data is accurate, consistent, and usable across the business.

• Single source of truth – Eliminating duplicates and conflicts in customer, product, and supplier data.
• Automated validation rules – Preventing bad data from entering systems in the first place.
• Improved reporting & analytics – Reliable data means better decisions, faster.

A financial services firm reduced reconciliation time by 80% after implementing MDM, because they no longer had to manually correct mismatched transaction records.

The Bottom Line

Poor master data quality isn’t just an IT issue—it’s a business-critical risk with real financial consequences.

• R300 million a year in avoidable costs.
• Wasted time on manual corrections instead of value-added work.
• Missed opportunities due to unreliable insights.

The solution starts with governance, is enabled by data quality tools, and is sustained by master data management.

Is your business losing millions to bad data? The first step is recognising the problem—the next is fixing it.

How much is poor data costing you?