---
alias: tutorials-change-package-index
tutorial: deepdive
module: Master Data Management
description: "Understand Master Data distribution, Change Package states, and Global Data Orchestrator deployments across version and approval scenarios"
---

# Change Package and Global Data Orchestrator Tutorial

## Overview

Master Data management keeps the manufacturing model consistent as products, processes, and operating rules evolve. In a multi-site organization, this model is often authored in one environment and distributed to several others, so each change must be structured, reviewed, routed only to the intended sites, and applied in a controlled sequence.

Teams need clear ownership and revision history so they know which environment is authoritative, what was approved, and how the change progressed from preparation to deployment. Without that control, sites can drift apart, changes can be applied out of order, and the source of truth becomes difficult to establish.

In a single-site installation, an engineer can create and maintain this model directly in Critical Manufacturing MES. In a multi-site organization, manually recreating the same definitions at every site is slow and makes it difficult to control which version is approved, where it is deployed, and who can change it.

A Center of Excellence (CoE) solves this governance problem by maintaining a trusted model centrally and distributing the Master Data to the Customer Environments (sites) that need it. The **Change Package** flow provides that controlled handoff. A user selects the items to distribute, includes the required dependencies, assigns a **Master Data Deployment Plan**, verifies its contents, and submits it for approval.

After publication, the **Global Data Orchestrator** service creates an encrypted package, prepares a **Master Data Deployment Instance**, and coordinates delivery to the destination sites. The destination can then load the package through the Master Data mechanism while preserving the source Owner Instance for centrally managed objects.

![Diagram showing a basic Change Package flow from the source site to the destination site.](../../../images/change_package_architecture.drawio.svg)

The **Global Data Orchestrator** is a Critical Manufacturing-managed software that maintains the connections between Customer Environments, manages **Master Data Deployment Plans**, stores the encrypted transport data, and tracks the deployment history. This separation lets the source focus on authoring and approval while the service coordinates delivery and lets each destination control when it accepts the Master Data changes.

For more information, see [[user-guide-change-package-administration]].

## System State Lifecycle

A **Change Package** is a source-side object that groups Master Data changes for distribution to one or more Customer Environments. It is created in the Draft system state, and moves to Approved when its selected revision is set effective. Depending on its publication mode, it is then published automatically or through an explicit Publish action. After the Transport Package is created, the Publish workflow terminates the **Change Package**.

Below is a diagram that shows the transitions between its different states:

![Diagram showing the different system states of a Change Package.](../../../images/change_package_lifecycle.drawio.svg)

The table below provides a summary of the key states in the **Change Package** lifecycle and their corresponding descriptions. It shows how a **Change Package** progresses from creation to publication and termination.

| **State** | **Description** |
|---|---|
| Draft | The Change Package is created and can be populated with contents. |
| Approved | The Change Package is approved and ready for publication. |
| Published | The Change Package has been published to the Global Data Orchestrator, which creates the corresponding Transport Package available for deployment. |
| Terminated | The Change Package is terminated by the Publish workflow after the Transport Package is created. |

Table: Summary of Change Package lifecycle and its states.

## What Happens After Publication

The source-side **Change Package** lifecycle is complete after the **Transport Package** is created. Distribution then continues through the **Global Data Orchestrator**:

1. The **Global Data Orchestrator** creates and stores the encrypted **Transport Package** and preserves its traceability to the source package.
2. The service creates a **Master Data Deployment Plan Instance** from the selected **Master Data Deployment Plan**.
3. The **Master Data Deployment Instance** creates one **Master Data Deployment Instance Item** for each destination and applies the configured approval, deployment, predecessor, and error-handling rules.
4. The destination Customer Environment receives and loads the Master Data file.

## Learning Path

This tutorial is organized into three scenarios. Each scenario builds on the previous one and introduces a different aspect of the distribution flow:

| **Scenario** | **Description** |
|---|---|
| 1. [[tutorials-change-package-basic-flow|Same-Version Deployment]] | Distribute Master Data from a source Customer Environment running version 12.0 to a destination running the same version. Learn the complete **Change Package** flow and manually initiate the package deployment. |
| 2. [[tutorials-change-package-cross-version-flow|Cross-Version Deployment]] | Configure a new **Master Data Deployment Plan** to distribute Master Data from a source Customer Environment running version 12.0 to destinations running versions 12.0 and 11.3. The version 12.0 destination uses the default automatic flow, while the version 11.3 destination requires **Manual Approval** before deployment. |
| 3. [[tutorials-change-package-approval-role-flow|Role-Based Approval and Deployment]] | Extend the multi-destination **Master Data Deployment Plan** with a third destination where the same role is configured as both the Approval Role and Deployment Role, requiring manual approval and manual deployment. |

!!! warning "Source Version"
    All scenarios use a source Customer Environment that runs Critical Manufacturing MES version 12.0. The destination version and deployment settings are identified in each scenario.