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What is value harmonisation (LoV mapping)?

Value harmonisation (list-of-values mapping, LoV mapping) maps the reference values used in source systems — payment terms, account groups, countries, currencies, units, plants, storage locations, chart-of-accounts entries — to the values the target system allows, so that every record loads with a valid value and every site uses the same ones. It is step 6 of a migration and a standing task in BAU master-data governance; done in spreadsheets it is one of the most fragile parts of a programme, because real mappings depend on combinations of keys.

Updated · Visehub

Definition

Value harmonisation — also called list-of-values (LoV) mapping or value mapping — is the translation of reference values from source systems into the values a target system allows. Every ERP field that is a code rather than free text has a list of allowed values: payment terms, account groups, countries, currencies, languages, units of measure, plants, storage locations, reconciliation accounts, cost-centre categories. A migration has to map every old value to a new one; a consolidation has to make several sources agree on one list.

It is step 6 of vise DMW — after field mapping, before load simulation — and it is the step that quietly consumes months, because it looks like a spreadsheet task and is not one.

Why it is harder than it looks

  • The lists differ per site. Three operating companies have three ways of saying “net 30 days”. The target has one.
  • Mappings depend on combinations. A storage location belongs to a plant; a customer’s values depend on the sales area. (plant, storage location) → (new plant, new storage location) is a two-key mapping. A spreadsheet column cannot say that, and the result is incorrect stock levels, failed postings and emergency corrections at cut-over.
  • Exceptions live in e-mail. The rule that NT30 becomes NET90 for one supplier category exists in a thread, not in the mapping.
  • Nothing is reused. Wave two starts from zero, with a new Mapping_final_v7.xlsx.

How a governed catalogue works

A value-mapping catalogue such as vise LoV-MAP holds every mapping in one place with: a global or local scope (one answer for the group, or an exception for a site), validity periods (from which wave or date a mapping applies), multi-key support with dependency validation (the tool refuses to save a combination the target does not have), ownership and approvals (business users propose in an Excel-like interface, an owner approves), and versioning (every change recorded for audit).

The validated mappings feed the migration — DMW applies them before the load simulation, so an unmapped value is caught before the load, not in it — and they export to BODS or any other load tool. After go-live the same catalogue is maintained daily by the master-data team and reused by vise Data Run for everyday changes.

Read more

The longer article — what goes wrong when mapping lives in Excel, single-key vs multi-key, where customers use the catalogue — is Value mapping: how global companies finally standardise master data. To see your own file in the tool, send us a mapping file.

Frequently asked

01
What is a list of values (LoV)?
The set of allowed values for a field: the payment terms configured in the target, the ISO country codes, the account groups, the units of measure. A value not on the list fails the load — or, worse, loads and breaks a process later.
02
What is a multi-key mapping?
A mapping whose result depends on more than one source value: (plant, storage location) → (new plant, new storage location), or (customer, sales organisation, distribution channel, division). Single-column spreadsheets cannot express the dependency and silently produce invalid combinations.
03
Who should own value mappings?
The business users who know the values — finance for payment terms and accounts, logistics for plants and storage locations — in a tool with ownership, proposals and approvals. IT gets the validated export and the API, not a spreadsheet to repair.
04
Is harmonisation only a migration task?
No. After go-live the same catalogue governs everyday changes (a new payment term, a reorganised plant) and keeps reporting consistent across ERP, BW and planning systems.

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