SEMA News—March 2013

BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
By Jon Wyly

It’s Alive!

Check Out the SEMA Data Co-op for the First Time…Again!

Imagine a world where you could manage all of your product data in one place, at one time, with the latest state-of-the-art tools. Imagine never again having to use valuable internal resources to create multiple product data files for your customers. Imagine providing better product data delivery than you ever have before, with less effort, lower cost and in the exact format each of your customers require. Imagine the data for your new-product launches being available in near real time, with virtually no delays in delivery to the marketplace. That, my friends, is what the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) is all about.

As you read this, the SDC has officially launched its state-of-the-art Product Information Management System (PIMS) and is actively transmitting data files from hundreds of participating suppliers to hundreds of anxious receivers—seamlessly, quickly and precisely. As an association-owned and -operated project, the SDC is your solution to successfully managing product data and owning the results 100%. Member driven, member centric and member serving, the SDC will soon be the largest product data repository in the specialty-equipment parts market, providing a singular, centralized source for makers and sellers of parts and accessories to come together and exchange those all-important digital assets.

Yes, the hard work is done, and now the fun starts. Spread the word! Call in your markers! What we need now is to make sure that every product brand in the SEMA marketplace is stored and maintained in the SDC system.

Suppliers: Tell your customers they can now go to one place to get your latest, most up-to-date product data.

Receivers: Join us today in a receiver study that will allow us to configure data exports to your exact requirements. No more manhandling whatever data you can get your hands on! And if you don’t see all the brands you need, tell your suppliers that you need their data brought into the SEMA Data Co-op. We guarantee that you will be thrilled with the experience and pleasantly surprised at the money you will save and the control you will gain in your product-data management efforts!

		To learn more about how you can take control of your product data and manage it at the lowest possible cost, contact Jim Graven, director of membership at the SEMA Data Co-op, via e-mail or phone at 888-958-6698 x4.

And, if that’s not enough to motivate you to join us right now, let me tell you about the expertise we bring to bear with this project. At our core, we are all about educating, training and guiding SDC participants to use our extensive tools and experience to take control and ownership of their data management. Backing up this commitment is our highly qualified live Help Desk and unparalleled industry expertise in data management and industry data standards provided by DATAgility, the leading experts in the field.

Ed Heon, the founder of DATAgility, is affectionately known throughout the industry as the “Father of PIES” (Product Information Exchange Standard) for his original concept and early implementation of this very important standard, and he is hands-on in guiding the education and onboarding of SDC participants. In addition, our own vice president of eCommerce and IT, Bob Castle, has years of hands-on experience in managing large, complex data repositories. He is a past chairman of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) Standards and Solutions Committee and remains a very active industry volunteer today. His continuing work with AAIA on product attributes standards will add yet another important refinement to the data management process in the coming months.

So there you have it. The best tools, bar none. Total data ownership by the supplier. Unlimited exports to receivers in a format designed to fit their systems. And unparalleled expertise at your disposal. The SEMA Data Co-op is in business, and we are here to help you succeed!