Data Cleaning for Beginners

Where Do You Start with Data Cleaning?

You’ve just been handed a dataset and told to clean it up before it can be used for reporting, analysis, or migration. There’s just one problem—you’ve never done this before.

Maybe you’re a project manager overseeing an IT system migration, and your team tells you the data needs cleaning before it can be loaded. Maybe you’re a data analyst trying to build a dashboard but keep running into errors because the numbers don’t add up. Or maybe you’re an SAP consultant working on an ERP implementation and hearing phrases like “deduplication,” “data validation,” and “standardisation” for the first time.

At this moment, you likely have a lot of questions:

What does ‘cleaning data’ actually mean?
How do I know what needs fixing?
What’s the right order to follow?
How do I avoid making the data worse?

If this sounds familiar, you’re in the right place.

C-suite

Achieving the Impossible

What SAP Professionals Can Learn from DeepSeek

When DeepSeek launched its breakthrough AI model, it sent shockwaves through the tech industry. A small, scrappy startup managed to dethrone giants like OpenAI, achieving the same performance at a fraction of the cost. What made DeepSeek so disruptive wasn’t just the technology—it was the radical approach: focusing on what mattered most and cutting out everything else. Their achievement raised a vital question: Do we overestimate the importance of size, resources, and complexity in achieving success?

Consultants

Structured Documentation and Change Management

A Critical Component of SAP ERP Success

According to a report by Prosci, 70% of projects fail due to poor change management, and a study by PMI found that lack of proper documentation is one of the top reasons for project delays. In the context of SAP ERP implementations, structured documentation and effective change management are essential for ensuring project success and reducing the risks of rework and misalignment.

Consultants

Team Dynamics and Collaborative Communication

Enhancing Success in SAP ERP Implementations

According to a study by Deloitte, 73% of executives consider effective team dynamics and collaboration critical for project success, yet 39% of employees feel that their organisation does not foster a collaborative work environment. In complex projects like SAP ERP implementations, ineffective collaboration can significantly impede progress and lead to costly errors.

Consultants

Role and Responsibility Clarity

The Key to Streamlining SAP ERP Implementations

A report by the Harvard Business Review found that 75% of cross-functional teams are dysfunctional, failing at least three out of five key criteria, including alignment on roles and responsibilities. Another study by Gallup highlighted that only about 50% of employees know what is expected of them at work. In large-scale projects like SAP ERP implementations, this lack of clarity can lead to missed deadlines, duplicative work, and increased friction among team members.

Consultants

Mastering Information Management and Prioritisation

Optimizing Communication in SAP ERP Projects

According to a McKinsey study, the average employee spends 19% of their workweek searching for information and another 14% on internal communication. This means that over one-third of the time is spent on finding information or dealing with ineffective communication channels, directly impacting productivity. In large-scale SAP ERP projects involving multiple teams, poor information management can quickly lead to confusion, inefficiencies, and missed deadlines.

Consultants

Avoiding Ambiguity and Assumptions

How Clear Communication Can Transform Your ERP Implementation.

According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), 56% of all project failures are attributed to poor communication. This figure underscores the critical importance of clarity in communication, particularly in complex projects like SAP ERP implementations, where teams are diverse and project scope is vast. Miscommunication—whether due to ambiguous phrasing or unchecked assumptions—can derail timelines, expand budgets, and compromise project success.

Consultants

CleanCore vs. Lift and Shift

Stop Hauling Your SAP Junk Around

Ready to make the jump to S4HANA? Don’t just lift all your old SAP baggage and shift it to the new system. That’s a one-way ticket to chaos. Instead, go CleanCore: stick to standard SAP practices, cut the bloat, and focus on what drives your business forward. Here’s how the Fast Implementation Track components—Focus, Communicate, Simplify, Commit, Educate—set you up for a streamlined, successful SAP move. Stop dragging those unnecessary boxes around and get ahead of the game.

C-suite

SAP MM: Discover Its Core Functionality

As a C-suite executive, manager, SAP consultant or developer looking to implement SAP ERP on time and within budget, you may wonder what the core functionality of the SAP MM module is. This post provides an overview of this critical component in your ERP system that helps manage procurement activities and inventory levels efficiently – from material master data management to vendor relationship management and more! With both waterfall and agile project methodologies available for implementation, find out how leveraging the features of SAP MM can help bring success to your organization’s goals.

C-suite

SAP SD: Discover Its Core Functionality

Are you trying to understand the core functionality in the SAP SD module? If so, this blog post is for you. This post has been crafted specifically for C-suite executives, managers, SAP consultants and developers who need guidance on implementing ERP projects that stay on time, within budget, yet fit for purpose! We will explore everything from the order entry and delivery processes to pricing and condition management, as well as sales analysis and reporting – all of which are part of the core functionalities within the SAP Sales & Distribution (SD) Module. Learn how it supports an organization’s sales operations from order to delivery with a combination of waterfall project management methodology plus agile techniques.