SEMA News—July 2014

BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
By Jon Wyly

SEMA DATA CO-OP

Data Receivers: Now Is the Time to Speak Up!

July marks the end of the first full year of operation of the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) Product Information Management System (PIMS), and this fledgling new business is well on its way to becoming what we intended it to be—the definitive centralized product data repository for the SEMA marketplace. Now hosting more than 300 supplier brands of data, 2 million part numbers and more than 30 million vehicle application records, the SDC is a legitimate and valuable source for product data to power wholesale distributor (WD), retail and web businesses.

So what are our goals moving forward? To continue to build on our brand count so that centralized product data availability reaches levels of efficiency and cost effectiveness never before seen in our businesses. Imagine a scenario where suppliers can store and maintain their data in one place and serve the lion’s share of their customers. Or where new product information can be loaded into one system that can then distribute that important new information immediately, without delay. And picture the cost and time savings for resellers if they can go to one source for hundreds of brands of product data with automated deliveries that are custom designed to flow right into their systems…for free. That is the SDC’s goal, and all of that functionality is in place and operating now.

If you are a supplier of products, there has never been a better time to check out the SDC. We will help onboard your data for free, ensure that it is validated to the industry PIES and ACES data standards, and we will seamlessly distribute your data to hundreds and hundreds of customers ready to sell your products.

Now if these reasons alone are not enough to get you charged up about taking control of your data management and distribution—which, by the way, is accomplished at the lowest possible cost—then listen to your customers, because they will be knocking on your door asking you to help meet their data needs by joining the SDC.

Receivers—WDs, retailers, resellers and Internet operators—we need your voices to be heard! Contact the brands that are important to you and let them know that you rely on the SDC to deliver product data to you. Tell them that it is important for you to have a single, easily accessible source for product data that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to receive (remember, unlimited data exports are free to SEMA members!). Remind them that supporting the industry-owned and -operated SDC makes sense for everyone involved and ensures a lasting, affordable solution for your (and their) businesses.

Don’t know how to make contact? Send us the list of brands that are important to you, and we will consolidate and deliver the message on your behalf. Just send the information to the e-mail address listed below, and we’ll do the rest.

We need your help take the SDC to the next level. Give us your voice as the customer and help us help you grow your business. Now is the time to speak up!

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