GOVERNANCE BRIEF Implemented standard
Payment-Term Reference Data
Standardise the code. Preserve the business meaning.
Assessed duplicate payment-term definitions and helped coordinate regional adoption of a shared standard without changing the underlying payment conditions.
Regional impact assessment and communication supported a central reference-data change.
The business problem
Two payment-term codes represented the same condition. Standardising them required checking configuration and organisational effects before asking local teams to change their practice.
My contribution
I clarified equivalence with a central specialist, explained the implications of shared supplier records and local settings, and communicated the harmonisation to regional colleagues. Central data management initiated and executed the wider programme.
A shared standard, with exceptions to finish.
A central update in December 2024 confirmed the mass change and identified remaining exceptions for local follow-up. My documented contribution was impact assessment, clarification and regional communication.
The underlying payment conditions did not change. No cash-flow benefit or completion of every local exception is claimed. Example codes below are fictional.
SEE THE WORK
The idea in practice
Illustrative examples use fictional data.
Same meaning. One standard.
Local exceptions remain for follow-up.
Fictional payment-term codes
LEGACY-A → Equivalent conditions → STANDARD-B becomes STANDARD-B → Conditions unchanged → Shared creation guidance. Local exceptions remain for follow-up.