Case Study: Cleaning Up Complexity – How MAHLE Streamlined Its Spare Parts Master Data with SPARROW.Clean
About MAHLE
MAHLE is a global Tier 1 automotive supplier and development partner, serving both traditional powertrain and electric mobility markets. With over 100 production locations worldwide, MAHLE is navigating digitalisation and operational transformation while transitioning to SAP S/4HANA. Clean, consistent spare parts data is critical to their success.
Overview
In 2020, MAHLE launched a pilot across four business units to explore how startup solutions could address complex MRO data issues. That early engagement with SPARROW laid the groundwork for a broader initiative. One BU lead—Robert Muffert—soon requested a dedicated rollout of SPARROW.Clean across his business unit, driven by challenges stemming from a recent acquisition and incompatible data structures.
The Challenge
MAHLE was dealing with:
- Fragmented spare parts data across newly acquired and legacy sites
- Inconsistent quality of data inputs between facilities
- Multiple ERP systems with internal naming conventions
- Multilingual inputs, requiring consolidation into a unified English-language catalogue
- Preparation for a global SAP S/4HANA transition, demanding data readiness at scale
The result was a landscape of disconnected, error-prone MRO records—hard to manage, search, or analyse across the organisation.
On the top of that, a key roadblock was change management, particularly at the site level. While the project was driven by HQ, it took time for local production teams to:
- Understand the value of SPARROW’s solutions
- Allocate resources to support the rollout
- Adopt SPARROW.Clean as part of their daily workflows
Here is a video about the project.
The Solution
SPARROW.Clean was deployed to:
- Harmonise and deduplicate spare parts master data across 14 pilot sites
- Consolidate multilingual records into a standardised English catalogue
- Prepare clean, structured data compatible with MAHLE’s future SAP environment
- Eliminate redundant records and reduce complexity in ongoing operations
Unlike traditional master data clean-up tools, SPARROW.Clean combines automation with MRO expertise to handle linguistic diversity, legacy formats, and classification inconsistencies. The collaboration was particularly effective because SPARROW.Clean was developed in close cooperation with MAHLE’s teams, adapting the solution to their operational requirements and data realities.
“We significantly improved our inventory management and achieved considerable savings. Thanks to the accurate data, we can now plan better and make optimal use of resources.”
— Robert Muffert, Maintenance Expert, MAHLE plant Neustadt a.d.D.
Key Outcomes
- High-quality, harmonised master data across major European sites
- Accelerated readiness for S/4HANA rollout across 110+ sites
- Improved collaboration across business units through shared terminology
- Lower risk and cost for integration projects thanks to clean input data
- Proven impact that positioned SPARROW as a long-term global data partner
