Master Data

What is Master Data?

Master Data, also called Reference Data Items (RDI) in the YuzeData platform, represents centralized, reusable data entities that model real-world objects within your organization. These include assets, locations, equipment, suppliers, products, facilities, and any other entities that are referenced across multiple workflows and processes.

Master Data provides a single source of truth for organizational information, enabling consistent data usage across the platform and integration with external systems.

Key Characteristics

Master Data is:

• Centralized: A single repository for organizational reference information
• Reusable: Referenced by multiple workflows, reports, and processes
• Structured: Organized by types with flexible metadata schemas
• Versioned: Changes are tracked over time
• Integrated: Can map to external system identifiers for data synchronization
• Searchable: Quickly find items using filters and queries

Item Identifiers

Every master data item has a unique identifier that can be used to reference it in workflows, APIs, and other parts of the system.

Internal Identifiers

Internal identifiers are the primary way to reference master data items within YuzeData. They follow this format:

master-data:{type}:{key}

Examples:

Item	Internal Identifier
Equipment with key "PUMP-001"	master-data:Equipment:PUMP-001
Location with key "BERLIN-SITE"	master-data:Location:BERLIN-SITE
Supplier with key "ACME-CORP"	master-data:Supplier:ACME-CORP

External Identifiers

External identifiers allow you to reference a master data item by its ID in an external system. This is useful when integrating with systems that use their own IDs.

External identifiers follow this format:

master-data-ext:{type}:{source}:{external-key}

Examples:

Description	External Identifier
Equipment by SAP ID	master-data-ext:Equipment:SAP:10045678
Location by Salesforce ID	master-data-ext:Location:Salesforce:003Dn00000ABC
Supplier by legacy system ID	master-data-ext:Supplier:LegacyERP:V-456

Automatic Resolution

When you use an external identifier, YuzeData automatically resolves it to the correct internal item by looking up the mapping identifier. This means you can work with external system IDs without needing to know the internal keys.

Mapping Identifiers

Mapping identifiers allow you to link a master data item to its corresponding ID in external systems. This is essential for integrations where the same entity exists in multiple systems with different identifiers.

How It Works

Each master data item can have multiple mapping identifiers, one per external system:

Master Data Item	SAP ID	Salesforce ID	Legacy System ID
Pump-001	10045678	003Dn00000ABC	P-123
Valve-002	10045679	003Dn00000DEF	V-456

Adding Mapping Identifiers via Import

In CSV/Excel imports, use columns prefixed with Id_ followed by the source system name:

Key	DisplayName	Id_SAP	Id_Salesforce
PUMP-001	Main Pump	10045678	003Dn00000ABC

The column name Id_SAP creates a mapping identifier with:

• Source System: SAP
• Value: 10045678

Unique Identifiers

Mapping identifier values must be unique within the same source system. You cannot have two items with the same SAP ID.

Master Data Types

Master Data is organized into types. Each type represents a category of reference data in your organization.

What is a Type?

A type defines a distinct category of master data items. For example:

• Equipment - for pumps, valves, sensors
• Location - for sites, buildings, rooms
• Supplier - for vendors and contractors

Each type can have:

• Display Name: A human-readable name shown in the UI
• Schema: An optional schema that defines the metadata fields and their data types
• Grid Columns: Configurable columns displayed when viewing items of this type

Schematized Master Data

Master data types can optionally use a schema to define the structure of their items. When a schema is assigned:

• Item metadata must match the schema's field definitions
• Data types are enforced
• Required fields are validated
• All items of that type have a consistent structure

A master data schema must include these required fields:

Field	Data Type	Description
Identifier	ReferenceData	The unique identifier for the master data item
DisplayName	Text	The human-readable name shown in the interface

Key Fields

Some schemas designate certain fields as key fields. Key fields are the fields whose values make up the item's unique identifier. For example, a Translation type might use Language Code and Country Code as key fields, so the combination of those values uniquely identifies each translation.

When key fields are defined:

• Creating items: The identifier is generated automatically from the key field values. You fill in the key fields and the system derives the identifier for you.
• Editing items: Key fields cannot be changed after creation, because changing them would change the item's identity.

Creating Types

Types are automatically created when you first add an item of that type, or you can create them explicitly to configure a schema before adding items.

Hierarchical Structure

Master Data items can be organized in parent-child hierarchies within the same type.

How Hierarchies Work

An item can have a parent item of the same type, creating a tree structure:

Region: Europe
├── Country: Germany
│   ├── Site: Berlin Factory
│   └── Site: Munich Warehouse
└── Country: France
    └── Site: Paris Office

Use Cases for Hierarchies

• Locations: Region → Country → Site → Building → Room
• Organizations: Company → Division → Department → Team
• Products: Category → Subcategory → Product Line → SKU
• Equipment: System → Subsystem → Component → Part

Setting Parent Relationships

When creating or importing items, specify the parent using:

• UI: Select the parent item from a dropdown
• Import: Use the ParentKey column with the key of the parent item

Cross-Type References

Parent-child relationships are within the same type. To link items across different types (e.g., Equipment to Location), use metadata fields with Reference Data Item data type.

Shared Master Data

When your organization uses a parent-child customer structure, child customers can access master data from their parent organization. This enables centralized management of common reference data such as countries, regions, currencies, or product categories, while allowing each child customer to maintain their own local master data alongside it.

How It Works

A parent customer maintains master data types and items as usual. A child customer can be configured to access specific types from the parent. Once configured, those parent items appear alongside the child's own local items — but are read-only. The child cannot create, edit, import, or delete parent items.

Parent items are clearly marked in the interface so you can tell them apart from your own local data.

What Can Child Customers Do With Shared Items?

• View and browse shared items from the parent
• Use shared items in workflows and connectors
• Create your own local items of the same type alongside the shared ones

You cannot edit, import into, export, or delete shared items — they are managed by the parent organization.

Configuration

Shared master data types are configured per child customer. See Child Customers — Shared Master Data for setup instructions.

Use Cases

• Countries & Regions: Maintain a single list of countries across all child customers
• Currencies: Centralize currency codes and exchange rate references
• Product Categories: Share a standard product taxonomy
• Regulatory Frameworks: Distribute compliance reference data from the parent

Common Examples

Master data typically includes entities such as:

• Equipment: Pumps, valves, sensors, machinery, vehicles
• Assets: Buildings, facilities, production lines, infrastructure
• Locations: Sites, regions, zones, rooms, warehouses
• Suppliers: Vendors, contractors, service providers
• Products: SKUs, materials, finished goods, components
• Personnel: Employees, contractors, teams, departments
• Organizational Units: Departments, business units, cost centers

Import & Export

Master Data can be imported and exported via CSV or Excel files, making it easy to bulk manage your reference data.

Exporting Data

You can download all items of a master data type as an Excel file. This is useful for:

• Reviewing data offline
• Making bulk edits in a spreadsheet
• Creating backups
• Sharing data with stakeholders

Importing Data

Upload a CSV or Excel file to create or update master data items in bulk.

Required columns:

Column	Description
Key	Unique identifier for the item (required)
DisplayName or Display Name	Human-readable name for the item

Optional columns:

Column	Description
ParentKey or Parent Key	Key of the parent item (for hierarchical data)

Additional columns:

• Any other columns are treated as metadata fields
• Columns prefixed with Id_ are treated as mapping identifiers (see below)

Import behavior:

• If a Key already exists, the item is updated
• If a Key doesn't exist, a new item is created
• Duplicate keys within the same file are rejected
• The import validates data against the type's schema (if one is assigned)

Separator Detection

CSV files automatically detect the separator (comma, semicolon, or tab) based on the first row.