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Also known as: Site Master Data
Authoritative records for physical or logical locations, including identifiers, addresses, and geospatial attributes.
DESCRIPTION
Location Master Data defines facilities, stores, warehouses, offices, and service regions with canonical identifiers, addresses, GLNs, and coordinates. It drives logistics, service routing, compliance, and reporting. Address normalization, geocoding, and deduplication ensure accuracy. Governance enforces validation against postal standards and geospatial checks. Integration supports enterprise structure modeling and customer site linking.
ALTERNATIVE DEFINITIONS
GS1
GLNs can be used to identify any legal, functional or physical location.
Focuses on standardized identification of locations and parties via GLN, central to location master.
Wikipedia
Geocoding is the process of converting addresses into geographic coordinates, which you can use to place markers on a map.
Emphasizes address-to-coordinate conversion, a key quality step for location master data.
RELATED TERMS
Master Data Global Location Number Geocoding Address Standardization System of Record Data Quality Enterprise Structure Data Single Source of Truth Single View
COMPETING TERMS
Transactional Data Reference Data
RELATIONS
- Broader: Master Data
KNOWLEDGE AREAS
Reference & Master Data Data Management Data Governance Data Quality Metadata Management
TARGET AUDIENCE
Data Steward Data Architect Data Modeler Information Analyst Data Governance Manager Chief Data Officer
EXTERNAL SOURCES
- Wikipedia - Master data
- Google Developers - Geocoding API overview
- USPS - Postal address standards
TOP QUESTIONS
What is included in Location Master Data?
Identifiers (GLN), normalized addresses, coordinates, site types, operating attributes, and jurisdictional information.
Category: Definition
Why is Location Master Data essential?
It enables accurate logistics, regulatory reporting, tax calculations, and route optimization across systems.
Category: Relevancy
How is data quality ensured for locations?
By address standardization, geocoding, deduplication, and validation against authoritative postal and geospatial sources.
Category: Requirements
What are common pitfalls in Location Master Data?
Unstandardized addresses, missing coordinates, and duplicate sites degrade planning, delivery, and analytics.
Category: Mistakes
Who governs Location Master Data?
Facilities, Logistics, and Data Stewardship teams under a Data Governance framework define standards and approval workflows.
Category: Management
How does Location Master Data connect to Enterprise Structure?
Locations anchor organizational units like plants and warehouses, enabling reporting hierarchies and capacity planning.
Category: Integration
What standards help identify locations?
GS1 GLN, national address standards, and ISO country/subdivision codes improve interoperability.
Category: Standards
What’s the risk of poor Location Master Data?
Shipping errors, failed compliance checks, and misrouted service calls increase costs and customer dissatisfaction.
Category: Risks
How does a golden record apply to locations?
It consolidates duplicate site records into one authoritative representation with survivorship logic.
Category: Example