AWDA Members Agree on a Single Requirement for Product Information
One Standards-Based Requirement Lowers the Cost of Compliance for Suppliers
BETHESDA, MD – September 9, 2010 – The Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association (AWDA) has announced a Minimum Common Requirement for product information that will satisfy the product data needs of most of their members. The AWDA Minimum Common Requirement is based upon the Product Information Exchange Standard (PIES), published by the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), and promises to simplify and lower the cost of complying with product data requirements in the automotive aftermarket.
The members of AWDA include all of the leading program distribution groups and traditional aftermarket wholesale operators, along with the majority of their key suppliers. The AWDA Minimum Common Requirement was designed to satisfy the common product data requirements of the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, the Automotive Distribution Network (ADN), Federated Auto Parts, National Pronto Association and numerous independent distributors and suppliers.
“Competing, disparate mandates for electronic files and updates are expensive and time-consuming for suppliers to satisfy,” said AWDA chairman Willi Alexander, Uni-Select USA. “AWDA chose to be part of the solution by agreeing on a Minimum Common Requirement for electronic product information to satisfy the requirements of the typical automotive warehouse distributor.”
“Accurate and complete product information is essential to increasing sales and reducing returns in an on-demand, digital aftermarket,” Alexander said. “The business systems of AWDA members run on data and our goal is to give our suppliers a single target to aim for that satisfies most AWDA member requirements.”
The AWDA Minimum Common Requirement is comprised of 60 fields from PIES that are typically required by most warehouse distributors. These include weights, dimensions, packaging, pricing, classifications, descriptions and other basic fields related to regulatory compliance, logistics and supply chain operations. A simple delimited format is specified, reducing the technology required to send and receive data files.
Suppliers can learn more about the AWDA Minimum Common Requirement from the link at www.awda.org or by visiting the Technology page of the AAIA Web site at www.aftermarket.org/technology.
About AWDA
The Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association (AWDA) was founded in 1947 and is the oldest organized group of warehouse distributors and their respective suppliers of parts, accessories tools and other supplies for the automotive aftermarket. AWDA membership consists of more than 200 warehouse distributors and approximately 300 manufacturers, as well as jobbers, affiliates, marketing associations, manufacturer representatives and other companies that support traditional distribution of vehicle parts. The 600-plus members collectively represent many hundreds of facilities and thousands of employees. On Jan. 1, 2004, AWDA joined forces with AAIA.