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Glossary term

What is Reference Data Management?

Definition

Reference data management governs standard codes, classifications, units, and controlled vocabularies used across product and master data. Examples include UOMs, country codes, and currency codes. PIM systems maintain this reference layer to ensure consistency, compliance, and interoperability.

Reference data supplies controlled vocabularies shared by records and processes. For example, an autonomous product data operation could take supplier records using varied mounting-type labels, map recognized values to the approved mounting vocabulary, and route new labels for reference-data approval.

Reference Data Management in an autonomous operation

  1. Step 1:

    Input

    Supplier records using varied mounting-type labels

  2. Step 2:

    Reference Data Management

    Map recognized values to the approved mounting vocabulary

  3. Step 3:

    Outcome

    Route new labels for reference-data approval

Reference data supplies controlled vocabularies shared by records and processes.