Master data

1. April 2025

In intralogistics, master data, also known as primary data or reference data, refers to data that contains operationally relevant information. This includes information about products, suppliers and customers, for example. Individual data is assigned to an article master, customer master and supplier master. The master records can be managed in simple files or within a business application software.

The contents of an item master can include:

Item number
Item description
Item image
Item group
Dimensions and weight of the item
Storage and retrieval strategies

The contents of a customer master can include:

Customer name
Customer or delivery address
Industry
Bank details

The contents of a supplier master can include:

Name of the supplier
Address of the supplier
Conditions

Some properties can be assigned to master data. They are characterized by the fact that they are often used across departments and on a long-term basis within a company. They are also used as criteria to evaluate products, customers and suppliers.

Good master data management supports the successful use of warehouse management software.

For more information on a warehouse management system, see The development of modern warehouse management.