Manufacturing Master Data & Data Governance worked example

Duplicate Item Cost at 52% flags that are true duplicates: a worked example

Push flags that are true duplicates up to 52% and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. A data governance analyst uses this to price an item master de-duplication project before an ERP consolidation.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Suspected duplicate item records: 800 item records (unchanged)
  • Merge and rework cost each: 22 $/record (unchanged)
  • Flags that are true duplicates: 52 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 45)
  • De-duplication tool and rules cost: 6,000 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Total duplicate cost = item records x merge cost each x (true-duplicate % / 100) + tool and rules cost) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 15,152 $ for total duplicate item cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 18.94 $ / piece for duplicate item cost per unit.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 9,152 $ for variable duplicate item cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 6,000 $ for fixed duplicate item cost adder.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where flags that are true duplicates sits at 45% and the headline result is 13,920 $, this scenario comes in 8.85% above the baseline at 15,152 $.
  • It computes the total cost to remediate a population of suspected-duplicate item records, splitting variable merge cost from fixed tooling cost. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.

Results at a glance

  • Total duplicate item cost: 15,152 $ (headline result)
  • Duplicate item cost per unit: 18.94 $ / piece
  • Variable duplicate item cost: 9,152 $
  • Fixed duplicate item cost adder: 6,000 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Duplicate Item Cost calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.