A white paper describing the findings of Phase I of the SEMA Data Pool Pilot Program, facilitating the synchronization of standardized product information in industry-standard formats between a group of SEMA manufacturers and their warehouse distributor trading partners, has been published at www.sema.org/btc.
Phase I of the program acquired product-data requirements from a small number of warehouse distributors (aka receivers) via a survey and assisted a group of parts suppliers (aka manufacturers) to gather, cleanse and format their product information in a standardized format. Upon completion of that step, product data between the two was compared and synchronized utilizing the services of a broad group of aftermarket data-service companies.
Among the findings of the study:
- Data requirements were acquired and compared from four of the top warehouse distributors in the industry and a set of required product data fields was developed.
- The product information of six of the manufacturers was validated to the accepted industry standard.
- Three of the six manufacturers validated their application data.
- Five instances of complete product information synchronization between suppliers and distributors were accomplished.
- A number of necessary changes to the standards have been identified and suggested to the standard's body.
For more information on the SEMA Data Pool Pilot Program, contact Alan Dicker at aland@sema.org.