SEMA Internet Symposium 2009

Mythbusting the ACES and PIES Data Standards
Gigi Ho
gigiho@digitalperformance.com
Co-founder & Data Goddess
the leading comparison shopping guide for automotive parts

Current state of product data in our industry.
The real meaning of the terms being used.
What are the goals and why we NEED data standards.
What is and what is NOT “electronic data.”
Where to start, how to start, who to help.
What we’ll cover in this presentation…

Why should you care?

SEMA Data Pilot Results
Phase 1 – 2007
vs.
Phase 2 – 2009
Read full report at…
http://www.sema.org/downloads/btc/btc-data-pilot-phase-2-white-paper

Phase 1 Overview
Participants
4 warehouse distributors
7 manufacturers
Objectives
To confirm that incomplete, non-standardized data results in losses to the SEMA market equivalent or higher than other market segments.
To confirm data standards were appropriate to SEMA market.
To encourage adoption of industry data standards.

Phase 2 Overview
Participants
5 warehouse distributors
19 manufacturers
Objectives
To continue to prove the inefficiencies of current data practices in the SEMA market and use information to encourage adoption of data standards.
To show participants that perfect, synchronized data lowers costs, shortens time to market and increases sales.
To encourage the adoption of industry data standards.

Price variances between Manufacturer and Distributors’ inventory systems
Phase 1 - 2007
Phase 2 - 2009

Part Numbers in Distributors’ system thatwere NOT in Manufacturers’ system
Phase 1 - 2007
Phase 2 - 2009

Part Numbers in Manufacturers’ systems thatwere NOT in Distributors’ systems
Phase 1 - 2007
Phase 2 - 2009

Money being thrown away…

What’s it all for?

GOAL: Distribute consistent data electronically to everywhere you do business
retail
distribution
online

Problem: Disparate and inconsistent data locations within a company

Problem: Channels have proprietary or require multiple formats
Manual Format Manipulations

Enter the Data…standards

ACES (AAIA Catalog Enhanced Standard): current electronic cataloging standard comprised of vehicle year, make, model, engine and vehicle attributes in a relational database, delivered in an XML format.
AAIA Legacy: original AAIA electronic catalog standard for year, make, model, and engine, represented in a 7-digit ID number and delivered in a flat file format.
PIES (Product Information Exchange Standards): standardized fields of product information, like part number, descriptions, price, etc., delivered in an XML format.
Data Receiver: distributors and retailers you send parts data to that utilize this data to sell parts, such as Digital Performance, Amazon, Summit Racing, O’Reilly’s, etc.
Delimited Text File: an array of data separated by any character; most common delimiters are tabs, commas, and vertical bars (aka, “pipe”). This is a flat file format.
XML (Extensible Mark-up Language): tags that define and validate data and facilitate transmission and interpretation of data between organizations.
See more definitions at http://www.sema.org/btc-geek-speak-eglossary
Let’s get the terms down

Product data standard is used for trading between you and your business partners (data receivers).

Sample product fields
Brand Identification
Part Number
Part Type
Part Description
Pricing
Universal Product Code (UPC)
Dimensions and Weight
Images
SEMA BTC PIES template contains 32 fields, 12 are required.

Click any Template Field below. An Instruction Box will then appear on the spreadsheet next to field selected.
SEMA BTC PIES Template

Part Numbers
No special characters (*, /, $, ”, etc.)
Descriptions
Make them descriptive of the part and not just what vehicle it fits.
UPC/GTIN
Without this, your products can sit up to 72 hours before going to the shelf
Images
Minimum 400x400 pixels at 72dpi
White background
Leave between 5-15 pixels around border
Keep shadows to a minimum
Pricing
Make sure your pricing is current
Key product fields

BAD descriptions from manufacturers
Ford Boss 351
DTC-60 12mm
00-02 Mustang V6 polished
rtrdrldsltdzpfrnt 1988-96 Corvette 13in. Lh
GOOD descriptions from manufacturers
[Mfr Brand] Polo shirt – XL – Navy
May be silly – but you know what the part is, don’t you?!
Air filter universal, rubber, 2-1/16in FLG, 3-1/2in Btm, 2in Top, 4in Ht
This description is only 72 characters. You have up to 80!
Description samples we’ve received

Application/vehicle fitment data is used to help determine what and how your part is installed.

Application/fitment fields
Brand Identification
Part Number
Part Type
Year or Year Range
Make
Model (sub-model if needed)
Engine (if needed)
Vehicle attributes/qualifiers (if needed)

Suggested application/fitment format
Above, the part number is “related” to each year that the Chevrolet Tahoe LS was available. The year, make, model, sub-model each occupy their own column of data in this spreadsheet.

Suggested application/fitment format
If your data receiver, the person/company/system that you’re sending your data to, can take this format, the years can be condensed to one line but indicate in separate columns the start and end years along with the rest of the vehicle information.

What do standardized data exports look like?

PIES XML Sample
<Item MaintenanceType="A”>
<HazardousMaterialCode>N</HazardousMaterialCode>
<PartNumber>ABC123</PartNumber>
<BrandAAIAID>BXYZ</BrandAAIAID>
<BrandLabel>Flowmaster</BrandLabel>
<PartTerminologyID>10727</PartTerminologyID>
<Descriptions>
<Description LanguageCode="EN" MaintenanceType="A" DescriptionCode="MKT">The marketing description is often the feature points of the product or part.</Description>
</Descriptions>
<Prices>
<Pricing MaintenanceType="A" PriceType="JBR”>
<PriceSheetNumber>DPI2009</PriceSheetNumber>
<CurrencyCode>USD</CurrencyCode>
<Price UOM="EA">340.00</Price>
</Pricing>
</Prices>
<Packages>
<Package MaintenanceType="A”>
<PackageLevelGTIN>700042055555</PackageLevelGTIN>
<Dimensions UOM="IN”>
<Height>12</Height>
<Width>17</Width>
<Length>66</Length>
</Dimensions>
<Weights UOM="PG”>
<Weight>49.4</Weight>
</Weights>
</Package>
</Packages>
. . .

ACES XML Sample
<App id=“1” action=“A”>
<BaseVehicle id=“3109” />
<SubModelID id=“450” />
<EngineBase id=“417” />
<Position id=“12” />
<Transmission id=“1197” />
<Note>65-9/68</Note>
<Qty>1</Qty>
<PartType id=“10727” />
<Part>GHI1001</Part>
</App>
<App id=“2” action="A”>
<BaseVehicle id="3464” />
<Position id=“12” />
<BedType id=”5” />
<Note>65-9/68</Note>
<Qty>1</Qty>
<PartType id="2864"/>
<Part>GHI1002</Part>
</App>

They’re ugly to human eyes, but beautiful to the computer systems that process them.

What NOT to send when someone is asking for your “electronic data”

Excel spreadsheets made for human eyes
You might say, “This looks great!”
Answer: Yes, *looks* great, but completely unreadable by a computer, and therefore, will not be loaded into your customer’s inventory system for a looong time...if ever.

Fields of mixed product information
You might ask, “What’s wrong with this?”
Answer: Sub-model, year range, and fitment notes are all crammed into one cell! Again, cannot be parsed automatically by a computer.

PDF Pages, Catalogs, Guides…PDFs.

“What can I do?”

12 Steps to Synchronicity
Step 1: Admit your data files suck
Step 2: Realize that the industry standards can help create order and PROFIT for your company
Step 3: Make a decision to do something about it
Step 4: Make a searching and fearless inventory of all your data silos
Step 5: Admit to your business partners, customers and company members the nature of your data’s wrongs
Step 6: Be company-wide ready to remove these defects of data
Step 7: Humbly ask your business partners and customers to remove your data’s shortcomings

12 Steps to Synchronicity
Step 8: Make a list of all persons in your company who will be responsible for data
Step 9: Make sure those persons know and understand the industry standards and requirements of your customers, and appoint them as Data Lords and Ladies
Step 10: Continue to take inventory of your data silos
Step 11: Seek through seminars, webinars, conferences and tradeshows the current and future trends of data requirements and key contacts
Step 12: Having had an awakening as the result of these steps, carry this message forward to others, and continue to practice these principles for even greater profit!

Those who would help you on your journey…
Any member of the SEMA BTC and its sub-committees
http://www.sema.org/btc
Committee Liaison: Alan Dicker - aland@sema.org
Any member of the AAIA Technology Standards & Solutions committee
http://www.aftermarket.org/Committees/TechCommittee.aspx
Committee Liaison: Scott Luckett - scott.luckett@aftermarket.org
License SPEEDcat Cataloging Software from Digital Performance
Seek out data service providers found at
http://www.aftermarket.org/Technology/ACES/Serviceproviders.aspx

Questions & Answer Session