ERP Migration

ERP Migration in CluedIn — Step-by-Step Implementation Guide

ERP migrations (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Dynamics, NetSuite) demand clean, reconciled, and governed master and transactional data. CluedIn helps you discover, cleanse, standardize, deduplicate, enrich, and publish trusted data into the target ERP, reducing risk and accelerating migration timelines.

Outcomes

  • Trusted Golden Records for master data domains (Customers, Suppliers, Products, Chart of Accounts, Cost Centers, etc.).
  • Standardized and reconciled reference data (currencies, units of measure, payment terms, tax codes).
  • Cleansed and deduplicated transactions (open POs, invoices, orders) linked to correct masters.
  • Audit trail and rollback capabilities for all transformations.
  • Exports packaged in migration-ready format for ERP cutover.

Prerequisites

  • Source system access: legacy ERP(s), CRM, PIM, Finance/HR systems, spreadsheets.
  • Agreement on scope: which entities are in migration wave (Customers, Vendors, Products, GL, etc.).
  • Target ERP design: field mappings, canonical formats, mandatory attributes, coding standards.
  • RACI: Ensure stewards/owners have Accountable access to governed objects.
  • Dedicated environment/VM for heavy ingestion and matching runs.

Reference Data Model

Core Master Data Entities

  • Customer
  • Supplier
  • Product / Material
  • Employee (for HR modules)
  • GLAccount, CostCenter

Reference Data Entities

  • Currency
  • UnitOfMeasure
  • TaxCode
  • PaymentTerms

Transactional Entities (optional, for cutover)

  • PurchaseOrder
  • SalesOrder
  • Invoice

Step 1 — Connect & Ingest Legacy Sources

Portal: Data Sources → Add Source

  1. Add legacy ERP extracts (Customers, Vendors, Products, GL, etc.).
  2. Add supporting systems (CRM, PIM, Finance).
  3. Add spreadsheets/flat files for reference data overrides.
  4. Profile volumes, completeness, duplicates, and data health.

Tip: Load into staging entities with clear provenance (SourceSystem, SourceRecordID).

Step 2 — Define Target Canonical Entities

Portal: Entity Explorer → + Create Entity Type

  1. Create canonical entity types aligned with target ERP design.
  2. Map legacy attributes → canonical attributes.
    • Example: VendorName → Supplier.LegalName
    • Example: MatDesc → Product.Description
  3. Preserve lineage: store original values + mapping metadata.

Step 3 — Standardize & Cleanse Data

Portal: Governance → Rules (Data Part Rules)

  • Names: trim, case, remove stopwords.
  • Addresses: parse, normalize, geocode, standardize country codes (ISO).
  • Identifiers: validate Tax IDs, DUNS, IBANs, GTINs.
  • Reference Data: map currencies, UoM, tax codes to canonical sets.
  • Contacts: normalize phone numbers to E.164; validate emails.

Tags: Standardized, InvalidTaxID, InvalidUoM, LegacyCode.

Step 4 — Deduplicate & Match

Portal: Entity Matching

  1. Configure blocking & matching keys per domain:
    • Customer: Tax ID, Email, Fuzzy Name + Address.
    • Supplier: Tax ID, DUNS, Fuzzy Name + Country.
    • Product: Brand + MPN, GTIN, Fuzzy Title + Category.
  2. Run matching jobs; steward ambiguous cases in Data Stewardship.
  3. Approve merges, unmerge mistakes, tag ambiguous records.

Step 5 — Golden Record Survivorship

Portal: Governance → Rules (Golden Record Rules)

  • Define attribute precedence: ERP > CRM > Spreadsheet > Other.
  • Apply tie-breakers (most recent, highest quality, verified source).
  • Compute CompletenessScore.
  • Tag records: ReadyForERP, Incomplete, NeedsStewardship.

Step 6 — Reference Data Management

Portal: Governance → Reference Data (RDM)

  • Create canonical code sets for Currency, UoM, Tax Codes, Payment Terms.
  • Map all legacy codes to canonical values.
  • Validate completeness: 100% of source codes must map.
  • Version & publish approved sets for ERP cutover.

Step 7 — Transactional Data Preparation (Optional)

Portal: Entity Explorer / Rules

  • Cleanse open transactions (POs, invoices, orders).
  • Link to new Golden Records (CustomerId, SupplierId, ProductId).
  • Validate mandatory fields required by target ERP.
  • Drop obsolete/closed transactions per business rules.

Step 8 — Stewardship & Governance

Portal: Data Stewardship / Governance

  • Queue unresolved duplicates, invalid addresses, or unmapped codes for review.
  • Enforce RACI roles (Accountable = stewards, Informed = migration team).
  • Track approvals in History; enable rollback for changes.

Step 9 — Export Migration Packages

Portal: Exports

  1. Create export pipelines aligned with ERP migration load templates.
    • Example: Customer master load (CSV/XML/JSON).
    • Example: Supplier master load.
    • Example: Product master load.
  2. Include mapping keys (old → new IDs).
  3. Validate against ERP staging load; adjust formats.

Step 10 — Validate & UAT

  • Sample 100+ customers/suppliers/products across sources.
  • Confirm Golden attributes align with ERP requirements.
  • Validate reference data usage (currencies, UoM, tax codes).
  • Test full end-to-end load into ERP test environment.
  • Steward sign-off + ERP functional team approval.

Step 11 — Cutover & Go-Live

  • Freeze legacy systems for final extract.
  • Re-run ingestion, cleansing, matching, golden record, and exports.
  • Deliver final migration package to ERP team.
  • Run post-load reconciliation dashboards (counts, sums, duplicates).

Step 12 — Post-Migration Governance

  • Use CluedIn as ongoing MDM hub feeding ERP & other systems.
  • Continue to steward Golden Records; enforce retention & policies.
  • Monitor KPIs: duplicate rate, completeness, ERP load exceptions.

Example Rules (Snippets)

Normalize Address

  • Condition: Address.Raw present
  • Action: parse into Line1, City, Postcode, Country (ISO); geocode; tag StandardizedAddress.

Currency Mapping

  • Condition: CurrencyCode not in ISO4217
  • Action: map legacy code (e.g., USDOLLARS) → USD; tag LegacyCode.

Golden Survivorship (Customer Name)

  • Source precedence: ERP > CRM > Marketing list.
  • Tie-breaker: longest non-abbreviated version.

Tag Ready for ERP

  • If completeness ≥ 90% AND mandatory fields populated → ReadyForERP=true.

Common Pitfalls & How to Avoid Them

  • Ignoring reference data: unmapped codes cause ERP load failures → enforce 100% mapping.
  • Over-merging customers/suppliers: require Tax ID or multi-evidence for auto-merge.
  • Late data freeze: always plan final extract & delta runs.
  • Running heavy jobs on laptops: use a dedicated VM/server to avoid timeouts.
  • Skipping audit trail: regulators may require proof → keep History enabled.

Success Metrics

  • Duplicate rate < 2% across Customers/Suppliers/Products.
  • 100% reference code mapping coverage.
  • Completeness ≥ 95% for mandatory ERP attributes.
  • ERP load exception rate < 0.5%.
  • Stewardship backlog cleared before cutover.

Summary

ERP Migration with CluedIn ensures that data entering the new system is clean, standardized, governed, and auditable. By creating Golden Records, reconciling reference data, preparing transactions, and exporting in ERP-ready formats, you minimize cutover risk and establish CluedIn as an ongoing MDM hub post-migration.