Manufacturing Master Data & Data Governance worked example

Obsolete Item Cleanup at 86% records safe to retire now: a worked example

What does the result look like when records safe to retire now reaches 86%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. A master data manager uses this to budget an obsolete item purge that shrinks an overgrown ERP catalog.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Obsolete item records to retire: 1,500 item records (unchanged)
  • Retirement processing cost each: 12 $/record (unchanged)
  • Records safe to retire now: 86 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 75)
  • Archive and audit trail setup cost: 2,500 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Total cleanup cost = item records x retirement cost each x (safe-to-retire % / 100) + archive and audit setup) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 17,980 $ for total obsolete item cleanup cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 11.99 $ / piece for obsolete item cleanup cost per unit.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 15,480 $ for variable obsolete item cleanup cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 2,500 $ for fixed obsolete item cleanup adder.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where records safe to retire now sits at 75% and the headline result is 16,000 $, this scenario comes in 12.38% above the baseline at 17,980 $.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when records safe to retire now is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It assumes one average retirement cost per record; items with open transactions, history dependencies, or regulatory holds cost far more and should be excluded from the safe-to-retire share.

Results at a glance

  • Total obsolete item cleanup cost: 17,980 $ (headline result)
  • Obsolete item cleanup cost per unit: 11.99 $ / piece
  • Variable obsolete item cleanup cost: 15,480 $
  • Fixed obsolete item cleanup adder: 2,500 $

Run it with your numbers

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

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.