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Data Stewardship Council

Process management11/27/2025Intermediate Level

A Data Stewardship Council is an organizational body responsible for overseeing and enforcing data governance policies and standards within a company, including product data.

What is Data Stewardship Council? (Definition)

A Data Stewardship Council is a formal group within an organization, typically composed of representatives from various departments (e.g., IT, marketing, sales, product management), tasked with guiding and enforcing data governance initiatives. Their primary role is to establish policies, procedures, and standards for data definition, quality, usage, and security. For product data, the council ensures consistency, accuracy, and compliance across all systems and channels, making decisions on data ownership, access, and lifecycle management.

Why Data Stewardship Council is Important for E-commerce

For e-commerce, a Data Stewardship Council is crucial for maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of product information, which directly impacts online sales and customer experience. Without clear oversight, product data can become inconsistent, inaccurate, or incomplete across different channels, leading to poor customer perception, increased returns, and compliance risks. A council ensures that product data entering a PIM system adheres to established quality standards, workflows are followed, and changes are managed responsibly. This centralized governance ensures that the single source of truth (SSOT) provided by the PIM remains reliable and trustworthy for all e-commerce operations.

Examples of Data Stewardship Council

  • 1A large retail chain establishes a Data Stewardship Council to standardize product attribute definitions across all brands and regions before migrating data into a new PIM.
  • 2The council reviews and approves new data entry guidelines for marketing teams, ensuring all product descriptions follow brand voice and SEO best practices.
  • 3A member of the council from the compliance department ensures that all product safety certifications and regulatory data are accurately captured and updated in the PIM.
  • 4The council mediates disputes over data ownership between the merchandising and marketing teams, ensuring clear responsibilities for product content.
  • 5Defining a workflow for managing product data changes, where the council approves major updates before they are syndicated to e-commerce channels.

How WISEPIM Helps

  • Supports robust data governance: WISEPIM provides the technical infrastructure to implement policies set by the council, ensuring data quality and consistency.
  • Enforces data quality standards: Facilitates the application of rules and validation checks defined by the council to maintain high-quality product information.
  • Streamlines workflow approvals: Integrates with defined workflows for data entry and updates, ensuring council-approved processes are followed.
  • Provides audit trails and versioning: Offers transparency on data changes, allowing the council to monitor compliance with governance policies.

Common Mistakes with Data Stewardship Council

  • Operating without a clear mandate or scope, leading to indecision and lack of impact.
  • Failing to secure strong executive sponsorship, resulting in decisions lacking authority and enforcement.
  • Excluding critical departmental representatives, which causes policies to be impractical or misaligned with business needs.
  • Focusing solely on technical solutions without addressing the underlying people and process challenges in data management.
  • Meeting infrequently or failing to follow through on agreed-upon actions, diminishing the council's effectiveness.

Tips for Data Stewardship Council

  • Define a clear charter: Establish the council's mission, scope, roles, responsibilities, and decision-making authority from the outset.
  • Secure executive sponsorship: Ensure a high-level executive actively supports the council's initiatives to provide necessary authority and resources.
  • Prioritize data domains: Focus initial efforts on high-impact data areas that deliver quick wins and demonstrate the council's value.
  • Communicate effectively: Regularly inform stakeholders about decisions, policy changes, and the rationale behind them to foster buy-in and compliance.
  • Implement a feedback loop: Establish mechanisms for data owners and users to provide input on data policies, ensuring they remain practical and relevant.

Trends Surrounding Data Stewardship Council

  • AI-driven data quality and governance: AI tools assist councils by automating data profiling, identifying anomalies, and suggesting governance rules.
  • Automation of data policy enforcement: Increased use of platforms that automatically validate or correct data based on council-defined policies.
  • Integration with headless commerce architectures: Councils ensure consistent data definitions and quality for seamless delivery across diverse front-end experiences.
  • Expanded focus on data ethics and privacy: Councils increasingly address the governance of sensitive data in line with evolving regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
  • Sustainability data governance: Overseeing the accuracy and transparency of product sustainability attributes to meet consumer and regulatory demands.

Tools for Data Stewardship Council

  • WISEPIM: Centralizes product data, enforces data quality rules, and provides a single source of truth for product information, aligning with council policies.
  • Collibra: A dedicated data governance platform offering data cataloging, data lineage, business glossary, and stewardship workflows to support council operations.
  • Informatica Data Governance & Compliance: Provides comprehensive capabilities for data quality, data privacy, and metadata management, essential for enforcing council policies.
  • Akeneo: A PIM solution that helps manage and enrich product information, ensuring data consistency and quality across channels as defined by the council.
  • Salsify: A Product Experience Management (PXM) platform that aids in maintaining high-quality, consistent product data for various sales channels, adhering to governance standards.

Related Terms

data-governancedata-stewardshippim-governance-frameworkworkflow-managementdata-quality-governanceproduct-information-team

Also Known As

data governance committeedata council