The Classification Guru

The Classification Guru is a United Kingdom-based data consultancy that helps organisations clean, classify and normalise their business data. According to its official website, the firm positions itself around the problem of "dirty data" — duplicate suppliers, unreliable classification, untrustworthy reporting and poor-quality data being fed into AI systems. Its core promise is to make data "dirt-free" so that organisations can see where money is being spent, identify fraudulent activity and incorrect supplier charges, and report with confidence. The company's service portfolio is built around four main offerings. Data classification and normalisation makes data more visible and easier to report, with the stated aim of saving clients money by revealing overspend, fraud and incorrect supplier charges. Taxonomy customisation delivers categorisations that are neither too generic nor too specific — described on the site as the "Goldilocks of taxonomies" — in terminology that everyone in an organisation understands. Vendor master cleaning removes conflicting and duplicated supplier information so that payments go to the correct account, on the correct terms and to the right address. Data cleaning supports GDPR compliance, process improvement and CRM migrations by keeping customer data up to date, accurate and relevant. The Classification Guru is closely associated with its founder, Susan Walsh, who authored the book "Between the Spreadsheets: Classifying and Fixing Dirty Data." The book covers data classification, normalisation and taxonomy design, and introduces the COAT framework, which the company says helps organisations create consistent, trustworthy data. The firm's public positioning emphasises doing the job "right first time," fully classifying all data — including tail spend — without shortcuts. As a specialist consultancy rather than a product manufacturer, The Classification Guru sells expertise and managed data services to finance, procurement and data teams. Its market is primarily the United Kingdom, and its messaging targets organisations that depend on accurate supplier, customer and reporting data. The company maintains a newsletter and an online presence through its official website.

The Classification Guru is a United Kingdom data consultancy that emerged around the specialised problem of "dirty data" in business systems. Its public identity is built on the observation that organisations routinely struggle with duplicate suppliers, inconsistent classification, unreliable reporting and poor-quality data being fed into AI and analytics tools. Rather than selling software, the firm sells expertise and hands-on data remediation services. The company's service lines reflect the practical problems its clients face. Data classification and normalisation is presented as a way to make data more visible and easier to report, with the stated benefit of saving money by revealing overspend, fraudulent activity and incorrect supplier charges. Taxonomy customisation addresses the design of categorisation schemes — the company describes the goal as the "Goldilocks of taxonomies," neither too generic nor too specific, expressed in terminology that everyone in an organisation understands. Vendor master cleaning targets supplier databases, removing conflicting and duplicated information so that payments reach the correct account, on the correct terms and at the right address. Data cleaning supports GDPR compliance, process improvement and CRM migrations by keeping customer data up to date, accurate and relevant. A defining element of the brand is its founder, Susan Walsh, who authored "Between the Spreadsheets: Classifying and Fixing Dirty Data." The book covers data classification, normalisation and taxonomy design, and introduces the COAT framework, which the company says helps organisations create consistent, trustworthy data. The book functions both as a thought-leadership asset and as a marketing channel for the consultancy. The firm's positioning emphasises reliability and thoroughness: "Right first time. Know your data is correct from the first time you use us. We fully classify all your data (even tail spend) with no shortcuts." It maintains a newsletter and an online presence through its official website, and its market focus is primarily the United Kingdom. As a private specialist consultancy, it does not disclose detailed financial or ownership information publicly.

• Founder Susan Walsh authors "Between the Spreadsheets: Classifying and Fixing Dirty Data," covering classification, normalisation, taxonomy design and the COAT framework.

• The Classification Guru is documented as a data classification, supplier normalization, taxonomy development and data cleansing firm.

Specialist data-quality consultancy focused on fixing "dirty data" — classification, normalisation, taxonomy design and cleansing — with a "right first time" promise and no shortcuts, including full classification of tail spend.

• Data classification and normalisation

  Makes data more visible and easier to report; aims to save money by classifying or normalising data so clients know where they are overspending and can identify fraudulent activity and incorrect supplier charges.

• Taxonomy customisation

  Delivers customised categorisations that are neither too generic nor too specific, providing analytics-friendly taxonomies in terminology everyone in an organisation understands.

• Vendor master cleaning

  Cleans up supplier databases to remove conflicting and duplicated information so payments go to the correct account, on the correct terms and at the right address.

• Data cleaning

  Helps organisations comply with GDPR, save time and improve processes by keeping customer data up to date, accurate and relevant; also suited to organisations planning a CRM system change.

1. 1Home - The Classification Gurutheclassificationguru.com
2. 2The Classification Guru - Wikidatawikidata.org