Master Data Management is an unheard of term within legal industry. Historically only handful of software providers serves the legal industry. Due to the fragmented nature of the business not many major ERP vendors have targeted this industry. However, this situation is changing, ERP vendors are looking to expand in this space, large and medium-sized legal firms are warming up to the idea of ERP and Master Data Management. When it comes to software for Legal business the following are the top three categories:
- Financial (Billing, Payment, Invoices and Receivables)
- Matter Management (Ability search, track and assess risk before & after taking a legal case)
- Time Entry (Manage Time Keepers – Billable resources)
Big ERP vendors like SAP and others are entering the professional services domain, especially the large Legal firms are taking the big leap into ERP. As part of the ERP strategy it becomes obvious that the Master Data is one of the key data categories needed for successful ERP implementation.
For a Global Legal Firm, managing currency and conversion across the client, matter and timekeepers is a big challenge. Many of the country offices have their own local systems in their local languages. Consolidating the information across the globe is a nightmare. Also migrating from legacy application to new ERP is complex. It will be a disaster, If the idiosyncrasies of Master Data, especially bad Master Data, is not addressed.
- How to map, cleanse, and enrich the Master Data across the enterprise?
- What about the standalone applications like the ‘Profit-sharing’ and ‘Client Credit’ application to various partners?
- How and when to address the historical data?
Before embarking on an ERP journey, which is very expensive and time-consuming, one need to figure out the Master Data challenges. Historical data is very important to answer questions like:
- Who is our top 100 best customers?
- Which customer is not been spending as they used to? Is it because the key partners left the firm?
Without proper data warehouse, Data Quality programs and Master Data management, it is not easy to answer these questions. When embarking on a new ERP route, take the time to understand the underlying initiatives needed to build a strong foundation. Without strategic planning and holistic approach, large initiatives like ERP implementation will end up as ‘Start Over’ projects.
