Not just maintaining master data, but strategically controlling it
cenitCONNECT
APM for article lifecycle management
High-quality master data – the key to scalable, digital processes
Digital excellence requires a solid database. However, material master data is a critical bottleneck in many companies: it is maintained inconsistently, difficult to validate, distributed across different systems, and often not reliable enough to automate processes or use AI applications.
The APM solution package Article Lifecycle Management (ALM) extends the holistic process solution cenitCONNECT APM with comprehensive, maturity-based, and semi-automated control of material master data creation and maintenance. ALM combines sophisticated workflows, role-based control, validations, automated checks, and a powerful SAP add-on to create a consistent end-to-end process for clean and reliable master data.
Why master data determines digital competitiveness
Its quality determines how efficiently companies can operate, how stable processes run, and how successful digitization and automation initiatives are.
But in reality, master data is often incomplete, duplicated, contradictory, outdated, non-compliant, and distributed in silos.
Studies from 2016–2025 confirm that
Companies with high-quality master data are significantly faster, more productive, and more economical.
The consequences:
- Delays in development, purchasing, logistics, and production
- inefficient approval and planning processes
- High error rates and manual corrections
- Rising process and material costs
- AI and automation are not reliably possible
The path to high-quality master data
– maturity-based, secure, integrated
With ALM, the creation and maintenance of articles and material masters becomes a structured, end-to-end process:
- Maturity-based data maintenance throughout the entire lifecycle
- Automated validations, mandatory fields, and dependencies
- Clear verification steps, approvals, and responsibilities
- Single point of truth for PLM, ERP, and MES
- Seamless integration into development and change processes (PEP & ECM)
This transforms master data maintenance into a controlled, value-adding process that systematically ensures quality.
APM solution package Article
Lifecycle Management (ALM)
Excellent processes for excellent master data.
The APM solution package ALM bundles all the components that companies need for structured, transparent, and compliant creation and maintenance of article and material master data.
It combines the process capabilities of cenitCONNECT APM with a special SAP add-on and ALM-specific automation modules.
APM – the process solution for controlling workflows
- Powerful solution for process control with outstanding capabilities
- Simple design of agile and efficient business processes
- Use in a wide range of applications – from engineering to downstream business scenarios
- Technologies for targeted automation of business processes
APM thus provides the procedural basis on which ALM is built.
SAP add-on “Material Master Management”
– for simplified creation and maintenance of master data
- Input and maintenance of relevant data organized by field groups
- Independent control of field groups without classic MMR views
- Organization of field groups in task- or user-specific profiles, linked via user roles
- Storage and automatic filling of default values
- Use of BRF+ to map dependencies between fields
- Automatic creation of the required views and organizational units
This add-on enables clear, consistent, and transparent master data maintenance.
ALM-specific modules for control and automation
- Templates for creation and maintenance processes
- Special execute and decision apps based on Advisor technology, tailored to article creation and maintenance
- Modules for interaction between the material master management app and activities at the process level
- These components ensure efficient, semi-automated, and rule-based execution of master data processes.
Clean master data. More stable processes. Greater added value.
With ALM, companies gain a clearly structured, secure, and efficient path to high-quality master data—without additional effort in day-to-day business. APM ALM turns master data into a real competitive advantage: consistent, automated, scalable, auditable, and future-proof
Your advantages:
- Powerful, role-based workflow application
- Reusable processes & templates
- Automation of recurring steps
- Role-based master data maintenance independent of classic MMR views
- Clear, tabular display of all fields
- Simultaneous maintenance of multiple organizational units
- Flexible arrangement and configuration of fields
- Definition of field properties per user group
- Available for SAP ECC & SAP S/4HANA (on-premises & private cloud)
As part of the cenitCONNECT APM platform, it integrates seamlessly into development, change, and operational processes—ensuring that digital excellence is built on a solid data foundation.
Your contact person
Schlotter Contact me now
Business Development Executive SAP Solutions
CENIT AG