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Masters & Metadata Workflow (MST)

Module Purpose: The "Source of Truth". This module manages the complex relationships between Group Companies, Products, and Contacts. It enforces data integrity so that "Zinc Oxide" is always "Zinc Oxide", no matter what the supplier calls it.

[!TIP] Core Concept: "Hierarchy is King." If you sell to a subsidiary, the system must know it belongs to the Parent Group for credit limit calculations.

Use Case Quick Reference

ID Title Priority
US-MST-001 3-Tier Entity Hierarchies P1
US-MST-002 Online Verification (GST/MCA) P1
US-MST-003 Product DNA & Synonyms P1
US-MST-004 Product Code Master P1
US-MST-005 Contact Lifecycle & Dual-Role P2
US-MST-006 Barred & Active Status Governance P1
US-MST-007 Bank & Compliance Mapping P2
US-MST-008 Three-Tier Master Promotion P1
US-MST-009 Buying vs Selling Grade Management P1
US-MST-010 CC-Contact Auto-Ingestion P2
US-MST-011 Frequent Fluctuation (Spot Pricing Only) P1
US-MST-012 Granular Product Barring & Approval P1
US-MST-013 Advanced Synonym Mapping & Search P1
US-MST-014 Product Compliance (COA/MSDS) Tracking P1
US-MST-015 Automated Product Viability (Discard Logic) P1
US-MST-016 Master Approval Audit View P2

US-MST-001: 3-Tier Entity Hierarchies

What It Does

Models real-world corporate structures. It links individual "Ship-To" locations (Units) to their "Bill-To" entity (Parent), and rolls them up to a "Group" level for big-picture reporting.

Who: Data Manager
When: Creating new Customer/Supplier

How It Works

  1. Structure Definition:
  2. Level 1 (Group): "Tata Group" (Reporting View).
  3. Level 2 (Parent): "Tata Chemicals Ltd" (Legal Entity, Bills here).
  4. Level 3 (Unit): "Mithapur Plant" (Shipping Address, Stock arrives here).
  5. Logic Propagation:
  6. if Credit Limit is set at Level 2, Level 3 units consume from that shared pool.
  7. Prices negotiated for Level 2 apply automatically to Level 3.

Success Signals

✅ Addresses auto-fill correct State/Zone based on Pincode
✅ Shared Credit Limit blocks orders correctly across Units

US-MST-002: Online Verification (GST/MCA)

What It Does

Prevents fake or duplicate companies. It connects to the Government GST and MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs) portals to validate a business before it enters our system.

Who: System / Finance
When: Onboarding a Vendor

How It Works

  1. Input: User enters GSTIN 27ABCDE1234F1Z5.
  2. API Call: System validates with GST Portal.
  3. Returns: "Active", "Legal Name: Alpha Corp", "Address: Mumbai".
  4. Duplicate Check: "Wait! This GSTIN already exists as Customer #55."
  5. Auto-Fill: if valid, auto-populates Name, Address, and PAN.
  6. CIN Check: Similar validation for Corporate Identity Number (CIN) to prevent shell companies.

[!IMPORTANT] Verification Portals: - GST Search - MCA CIN Search

[!TIP] Implementation Reference: Practical User Stories for GST verification and fuzzy matching logic are available in Email Orchestration.

Edge Cases

GST Suspended?
System flags account as "Hold - GST Inactive" and blocks new orders.

US-MST-003: Product DNA & Synonyms

What It Does

Solves the "Banana vs Fruit" problem. Suppliers call it "ZnSO4", Customers call it "White Vitriol", we call it "Zinc Sulphate". This master maps all aliases to one internal ID.

Who: Product Manager
When: Defining Specs

How It Works

  1. Golden Record: Internal Name = "Zinc Sulphate Monohydrate".
  2. Aliases (Synonyms):
  3. Supplier A calls it: "ZSM-33".
  4. Customer B calls it: "Zinc Mono".
  5. Product DNA:
  6. CAS Number: 7446-19-7 (Universal ID).
  7. HS Code: 28332990 (Customs ID).
  8. Usage: When Customer B orders "Zinc Mono", Invoice prints "Zinc Sulphate Monohydrate (Zinc Mono)".

US-MST-004: Product Code Master

PHASE: 1 (MOM Jan 27 Agreement)

Purpose: Manage granular product configurations (Grade, Packing, Division) to ensure accurate and standardized quoting.

Data Structure

Field Type Description
Product ID UUID Link to parent Product Master record.
Grade String Technical grade (e.g., "Technical", "Pharma", "Food").
Packing String Standard unit (e.g., "25kg Bag", "200L Drum").
Division String Business unit (e.g., "Domestic", "Export").
Internal Code String Unique slug for ERP mapping (e.g., METH-TE-25B).

Logic

  1. Dynamic Code Generation: System auto-generates the Internal Code based on the combination of Grade and Packing.
  2. Quotation Integration: When generating a quote, the user selects the Product Code to pull valid pricing and units.
  3. ERP Feed: This code serves as the primary key for syncing stock status with Tally in Phase 3.

Success Signals

✅ Search finds product by any Synonym
✅ Invoice correctly displays Customer's version of the name

US-MST-005: Contact Lifecycle & Dual-Role

What It Does

Manages people (Contacts) independent of companies. Logic handles cases where "John Smith" works for "Company A" but also consults for "Company B".

Who: Sales Rep
When: Adding Contacts

How It Works

  1. Identity: Unique Key = Email + Mobile.
  2. Role Mapping:
  3. Map John to "Ace Chemicals" as "Purchase Manager".
  4. Map John to "Ace Logistics" as "Director".
  5. Private vs Public:
  6. Domain Email (john@ace.com): Auto-verified.
  7. Personal Email (john@gmail.com): Flags "Personal ID - Manager Approval Required".

US-MST-006: Barred & Active Status Governance

What It Does

Commercial traffic control. It allows specific blocks on business partners without deleting them.

Who: Finance / Quality Head
When: Compliance Issues Arise

How It Works

  1. Status Options:
  2. Active: Business as usual.
  3. Barred for Offer: Sales can call, but CANNOT generate a Quote. (Reason: Overdue Payment).
  4. Barred for Campaign: Exclude from mass emails (Reason: Unsubscribed/Spam Complaint).
  5. Blacklisted: No transactions allowed. (Reason: Fraud/Quality Failure).
  6. Visual: Blacklisted accounts appear with specific Red Icon 🔴 in all dropdowns.

US-MST-007: Bank & Compliance Mapping

What It Does

Maps which of our bank accounts should appear on the invoice based on the customer's location or business unit, and tracks their Tax compliance documents.

Who: Finance
When: Invoicing

How It Works

  1. Logic:
  2. If Customer = "Export", use "Citibank USD Account".
  3. If Customer = "Domestic", use "HDFC INR Account".
  4. Compliance Vault:
  5. Store Customer's GST Certificate, PAN Card, MSME Certificate.
  6. Expiry Alert: "MSME Certificate expired. Request new one."

US-MST-008: Three-Tier Master Promotion

What It Does

Enforces a validation funnel from initial ingestion to ERP synchronization. It ensures that "trash" data (Preleads) never reaches the accounting system.

  1. Prelead: Simple name-only record (e.g., from an email).
  2. Prospect: Validated corporate entity (GST/CIN checked).
  3. Customer: Full commercial entity with delivery address (Order received).

Who: Sales / Finance
When: Lead conversion

How It Works

  1. Prelead Entry:
  2. Mandatory: Account Name.
  3. Action: Assigns "Prelead No." and captures Unallocated Owner (Record Creator).
  4. Restriction: Only visible in Lead lists. Cannot be used in Enquiry/Quote.
  5. Promotion to Prospect:
  6. Trigger: User adds GST, PAN, and CIN.
  7. Mandatory: Allocation to Hierarchy Tier (Group, Parent, or Unit).
  8. Validation: Duplicate check based on CIN Number. Blocks if match found.
  9. Action: Assigns "Prospect No." and enables Allocated Owner (Account Manager) field.
  10. Usage: Record now available in Enquiry & Quotation screens.
  11. Promotion to Customer:
  12. Trigger: First Sales Order is received and confirmed.
  13. Mandatory: Delivery Address, Zoning (Auto-assigned), Online Pincode Verification.
  14. Action: Assigns "Customer No."
  15. Action: Record is pushed to Tally Prime ERP.

US-MST-009: Buying vs Selling Grade Management

What It Does

Manages the complexity of chemical grades (Industrial, Food, Pharma) across the supply chain. A product might be bought as "Industrial Grade" but sold as "Commercial Grade" depending on the customer's requirement.

Who: Product Head
When: Supplier Tagging

How It Works

  1. Grade Definition Screen: A central master to list all possible grades (e.g., LR, AR, HPLC, Food Grade).
  2. Product-Grade Tagging:
  3. Tag "Zinc Oxide" with "Rubber Grade".
  4. Tag "Zinc Oxide" with "Pharma Grade".
  5. Supplier Mapping:
  6. Link Supplier A to "Pharma Grade" only.
  7. Link Supplier B to both "Industrial" and "Pharma".
  8. Logic: When creating an RFQ for Pharma Grade Zinc Oxide, the system only suggests Supplier A and B.

US-MST-010: CC-Contact Auto-Ingestion

What It Does

Harvests networking data from daily communication. If a customer tags a colleague in an email CC, the system identifies them as a new contact for that company.

Who: AI Engine
When: Email Ingestion

How It Works

  1. Extraction: AI parses the CC field of incoming emails.
  2. Lookup: Checks if cc_email already exists in Contact Master.
  3. Creation: If new, it creates a Contact record:
  4. Company: Linked to the Sender's Company.
  5. Source: "Extracted from CC - [Subject Line]".
  6. Status: "Unverified" (Sales rep must confirm later).

US-MST-011: Frequent Fluctuation (Spot Pricing Only)

What It Does

Protects margins on volatile commodities. Some products change price daily; assigning a "Standard Price" to them is dangerous.

Who: Pricing Manager
When: Product Configuration

How It Works

  1. Flagging: In Product Master, toggle "Frequent Price Fluctuation" = YES.
  2. Enforcement:
  3. Quotation Module: When this product is selected, the "Standard Price" field is disabled.
  4. Validation: System forces the user to select "Spot" Price State and enter a dynamic current market price.
  5. Expiry: Spot prices for these products are automatically set to expire in 24-48 hours.

US-MST-012: Granular Product Barring & Approval

What It Does

Prevents the system from generating commercial documents for high-risk or non-compliant customers, with a specialized approval gate for supplier-initiated quotes.

Who: Finance / Compliance
When: Compliance Breach or Supplier-Led Enquiry

How It Works

  1. Barring Levels:
  2. Barred for Offer:
    • Scope: Specific Products vs All Products.
    • Enforcement: Direct block on Quotation generation.

  3. Barred for Campaign:

    • Scope: Specific Products vs All Products.
    • Enforcement: Excluded from target lists during bulk mailers.

  4. Supplier-Initiated Quote (One-Time Approval):

  5. Scenario: A supplier requests a quote for a barred/unverified customer.
  6. Flow: System puts the Quote in "Pending Compliance Approval".
  7. Approval: Once approved (1-time basis), the quote is generated but the customer remains in "Barred" status.

US-MST-013: Advanced Synonym Mapping & Search

What It Does

Ensures that everyone speaks the same language, even if they use different names. It allows for multiple synonyms per product, specific to customers or suppliers, and enables universal search.

Who: Product Manager
When: Configuring Product Master

How It Works

  1. Synonym Repository:
  2. Capture Common Name, Short Name, and IUPAC Name.
  3. Add multiple Synonyms.
  4. Tagging: Each synonym can be tagged to specific Suppliers or Customers.
  5. UI Distinction:
  6. Searching "Zinc Dust" returns "Zinc Oxide".
  7. UI explicitly states: "Found via Synonym: Zinc Dust (Common Name: Zinc Oxide)".
  8. Search Depth: Users can search by Common Name, IUPAC, Synonym, or E Code.

US-MST-014: Product Compliance (COA/MSDS) Tracking

What It Does

Manages the technical lifecycle of a product. It tags compliance documents specifically to the source (Supplier) and tracks their validity.

Who: Quality Manager / Purchase
When: Supplier Onboarding

How It Works

  1. Supplier-Product Tagging:
  2. Link Supplier A + Grade B to Product X.
  3. Attachments (COA, MSDS, MOA, Specs) are tagged to this specific triad.
  4. Expiry Management:
  5. COA records include an Expiry Date.
  6. System triggers alerts 30 days before technical document expiry.
  7. Standard COA:
  8. Define a "Standard COA" for a Product Family as a baseline for comparison.
  9. Visual Assets:
  10. Tabs for Product Photos, Packing Photos, and Label Photos.

US-MST-015: Automated Product Viability (Discard Logic)

What It Does

Uses a 4-variable logic engine to automatically route or discard leads, saving management time by filtering out low-potential enquiries.

Who: AI Logic Engine
When: Lead Triage

How It Works

  1. Variable Inputs:
  2. Product Strength (P-Score)
  3. Buyer Seriousness (B-Score)
  4. Supplier Availability (S-Availability)

  5. Margin Potential (M-Potential)

  6. Scenario: Discard (Case 1):

  7. if P-Score=Weak AND B-Score=Low AND S-Availability=None AND M-Potential=Low
  8. Action: Discard Lead.

  9. Trigger: Email to HOD for bulk "Discard Approval".

  10. Scenario: Brochure Follow-up (Case 2):

  11. if P-Score=Weak BUT B-Score=High
  12. Action: Add Buyer to Database.
  13. Trigger: Send "Company Brochure" for alternative products.

US-MST-016: Master Approval Audit View

What It Does

Provides transparency for the data management team. A dedicated dashboard for all masters created but not yet promoted to active status.

Who: Data Head
When: Weekly Data Audit

How It Works

  1. Filtering: Show all Preleads/Prospects created in the last 7 days.
  2. Flagging: "Awaiting HOD Approval" vs "Identity Validated".
  3. Action: Bulk promote or bulk reject masters from a single view.

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