ADVANCE AUTO PARTSADVANCE AUTO PARTS FACTORY DIRECT ORDERING

Advance Au o Par s F a c t o r y D r e c t O r d e r n g V e n d o r M a n u a Page 1

Copyr ght @ 2011

ADVANCE AUTO PARTS

FACTORY DIRECT ORDERING PROGRAM

VENDOR OPERATIONS MANUAL

June, 2011

t t i i l

i

Copyright @ 2011

FDO – Vendor Operations Manual

Copyright © 2011 Advance Stores Company, Incorporated

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, No part of this work may be reproduced, transcribed, or used in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including (but not limited to) photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution, or information storage and retrieval systems – without the prior written permission of the publisher.

For more information, contact:

Customer Contact Center 1-800-310-4243

For permission to use material from this document contact the FDO Support Dept at:

• Email: [email protected]

Trademarks

Some of the product names and company names used in this document have been used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective manufacturers and sellers.

Disclaimer

Advance Auto Parts reserves the right to revise this publication and make changes from time to time in its content without notice.

Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 2

mailto:[email protected]

Copyright @ 2011

Contents

Section 1: Introduction

Section 2: Factory Direct Ordering Process

Section 3: Getting Started

Section 4: Preparing and Testing EDI

Section 5: Uploading SKU Data

Section 6: Receiving and Filling a Customer Order

Section 7: Preparing a Packing Slip and Packaging an Order

Section 8: Shipping an Order

Section 9: Updating Inventory On-Hands

Section 10: Handling Customer Returns

Section 11: Responding to Customer Issues

Section 12: Handling Cancelled Orders

Section 13: Invoicing

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4 5 6 7 - 10 11 - 12 13 14 15 - 16 17 18 19 - 20 21 22


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Section 1:

Introduction

‘Service is our best part’ is our promise to our customers to offer them the broadest assortment of

automotive parts, accessories and products for their vehicles. To fulfill our promise, we are looking to our

vendors to help us expand our offerings through our website and our internal Electronic Parts Catalog

channels. Your commitment to ship your products directly to our customers and stores allows us to

continue to grow our sales channels and attract new customers which is great news for both of us.

As you are aware the benefits of becoming an Advance Auto Parts Factory Direct Ordering Program

vendor are numerous. As the dropship channel continues its explosive growth, it drives incremental

sales growth for both organizations. Today, Advance Auto Parts has one of the fastest growing websites

in the automotive aftermarket industry generating ever-increasing traffic as the site gains awareness and

traction. Both the website and the store Electronic Parts Catalog can help you test new items and

categories before having to invest in full production capacity. As sales continue to grow, the Factory

Direct Ordering Channel may provide a gateway to getting your product stocked in our stores.

To help guide you through the process to fulfill customer orders, we developed this manual so you can

have needed information at your fingertips. Please share this material with all of your team members

who will be involved in the Advance Auto Parts Factory Direct Ordering Program.

As both technology and process improvements are made, we will keep you up-to-date with changes. The

FDO Support Team is available as a source of operational assistance to you at any time. The best way to

reach them is through email at [email protected].

We appreciate your continuing support as a Factory Direct Ordering vendor and invite you to share your

thoughts and insights about the program with us anytime.



Copyright @ 2011

Section 2:

Factory Direct Ordering Process

This flowchart is a high-level representation of Advance Auto Parts Factory Direct Ordering process.


Return a 997; we also

requested the new 855

document to be sent as

official acknowledgement

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Section 3:

Getting Started

The Factory Direct Ordering process requires the vendor and AAP to communicate efficiently and effectively

through electronic means to fulfill our delivery promise to our customer. This manual will provide answers to

many questions your operations team may have prior to shipping the first order. To ensure a seamless flow of

information, we need to make sure that both companies have tested our individual internal systems and that

we are linked electronically and capable of sending, receiving and fulfilling all of the order requirements.

In addition to this manual, you should have received the FDO Business Guidelines and New Vendor Checklist

from your Category Manager. Next, you will receive the following documents to help your team get started:

• PIES Reference Manual – Sent by Category Manager

• Vendor Questionnaire

• Inventory Upload Document –Hosted Vendor Quick Start Guide

• EDI Sample File Layout

• FTP Address for Document Exchange

• Third-Party UPS Account Number

• pdf of return instructions

• Roll of AAP labels for the outside of each package

For some vendors this is the first experience fulfilling orders directly to customers. A white paper entitled

“Understanding Drop-Ship Program Requirements for High Volume Suppliers” can be found on the

vSync website: www.vsync.com. Registration on the site is required. This step-by-step guide to becoming a

successful and profitable drop-shipper may provide you some additional insights into the process.

The timeframe to on-board each vendor varies by vendor organization. The tasks required are laid out on the

timeline below in sequence of occurrence. Once the preparation steps are complete, testing actual orders can

begin. Each preparation step has to be complete and validated to be able to move to the order testing side of

the timeline. At completion of order testing, your products will be turned on for customer ordering.


http://www.vsync.com/

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Section 4:

Preparing and Testing EDI

EDI, Electronic Data Interchange, is the standard communication method to exchange data between

organizations by electronic means. EDI transfers documents electronically from your computer system to

AAP’s computer system and back again without human intervention. Each numbered document is

formatted to a specific file layout that is standard across the industry. For more information, please click

on this link for VICS, Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions Association

Documents Required

AAP and each vendor will exchange data using four EDI documents.

• 850 – Purchase Order – customer order sent by AAP to vendor

• 997 – Functional Receipt Acknowledgement – sent by the vendor to confirm receipt of the

purchase order and sent by AAP to confirm receipt of ASN and Invoice

• 856 –Advance Ship Notice (ASN) – sent by the vendor to alert AAP that package has been

shipped and delivery should be expected

• 810 – Invoice – sent by vendor to request payment for shipped order • 855

Transmission Process

All EDI documents are to be transmitted electronically directly or through a third party provider contracted

by the vendor. All costs for EDI transmission through a third party provider are borne by the vendor.

Upon receipt of any EDI transmission, a functional receipt acknowledgement is promptly transmitted.

This confirms that a transmission was received, not that the data content is complete.

AAP transmits Purchase Order documents as received from customers 24 hours daily, 7 days a week.

Please implement a process to check your electronic receipt box on a regularly scheduled basis. Vendor

functional acknowledgement 997 shall be sent within 24 hours of the receipt of the purchase order. The

855 Acceptance/Rejection of the Purchase Order is the official confirmation that the order will be

fulfilled or cancelled.

File Formats

All file formats are available in detail at http://aapcom/corpdomain/english/EDI/AAPEdiSpecList.asp for

mapping. AAP does not use partner specific mapping. During testing you will receive the 850 Purchase

Order and may use this document to map to your order management system.

http://aapcom/corpdomain/english/EDI/AAPEdiSpecList.asp

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Section 4:

Preparing and Testing EDI


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Section 4:

Preparing and Testing EDI (cont.)

EDI Requirements

• Current requirements: Version (Ansi-x-12) 4010

• EDI ID – 007941529 Qualifier –01

• EDI Translator – GIS

• Communication Connections

o Sterling Commerce (877-432-4300)

o GCommerce (515-288-5850 x217)

Direct connects

• AS2

• FTP

Preferred EDI Communications

Internet:

GCommerce

• Web Site: www.gcommerceinc.com

• Contacts: Cathy Blood 515-288-5850 x 217

• e-mail: [email protected]

VAN:

Sterling Commerce: 877-432-4300

• Website: www.sterlingcommerce.com


http://www.gcommerceinc.com/


http://www.sterlingcommerce.com/

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Section 4:


Before shipping the first customer order, Advance Auto Parts will conduct a series of test orders to ensure

that our systems are communicating effectively and that data sent to you and data returned to us is valid

and executable.

You will receive 7 test orders. These orders represent the available customer ordering options and

customer situations that typically occur in the course of doing business. Upon receipt of the order, load

the 850 EDI Purchase Order into your order management system and execute the order through your

normal processes. You will return a systematic 997 EDI Acknowledgement to AAP.

For the test orders, there is no need to pick and ship the actual test SKU. Rather, any empty box

including the packing slip, return instructions, UPS label and Advance Auto sticker should be prepared

and given to the carrier for delivery. Upon pickup by the carrier, an 856 EDI Advance Ship Notice,

including the tracking number, should be transmitted, followed by an 810 EDI invoice for $00.01.

Upon receipt of these packages AAP will validate that the right data was transmitted; the packing slip was

accurately detailed; the UPS label is correctly set up and the fields are printing exactly; and the lead time

and delivery calculation is precise.

For this test, the final 2 orders will be canceled, requiring you to send an 856 EDI ASN with a zero ‘0” ship

quantity. T he zero quantity ASN we should be able to discontinue this process once all suppliers are

accurately transmitting the new 855 document. A rejection on the 855 would then cancel the order.

Order types:

• Placed at store, customer order delivered to store

• Placed at store, customer order delivered to customer’s address

• Placed at store, customer order delivered to customer’s address which includes a second

address line

• Placed at store, customer order delivered to customer’s address which is a PO Box

• Placed online through store 1020, shipped to customer’s address

• Placed online, shipped to customer’s address – order to be cancelled prior to shipping

• Placed online, shipped to customer’s address – order to be cancelled after shipping


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Section 4:


Important EDI Tips

A purchase order must always contain the following information:

• The message/comments field will contain these three messages

1. Message 1: Shipping Method

• UPS Second Day Air

• UPS Ground

• UPS Next Day Air Saver

• UPS Next Day Air

• USPS

• LTL (via Estes)

• Vendor Carrier

2. Message 2: Customer Phone Number

3. Message 3: Store Number

• The Order Type in the BEG02 will be either “DS” or “DR”.

• A separate Purchase Order will be generated for each part number and must be shipped separately

creating a unique tracking number on each ASN. The tracking number is located in segment REF02.

ASN must be generated the same day the shipment is picked up by the carrier.

• T he zero quantity ASN we should be able to discontinue this process once all suppliers are accurately transmitting the new 855 document. A rejection on the 855 would then cancel the order.


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Section 5:

Uploading SKU Data

PIES, Product Information Exchange Standard is the best practice for the management and exchange of product attribute information in the vehicle aftermarket industry. Standardizing product content lowers supply chain costs and contributes to increased sales and operational efficiencies. The PIES definition is a data format. It defines how the data you send is formatted. In order for our supplier partners to share product information via PIES they must have certain skill sets and capabilities.

Third Party Assistance

If suppliers do not currently possess these skill sets and capabilities, there are numerous third party

vendors who can assist with products and services to help them gain these core competencies. One place

to start your search for help is the Service Providers section on the AAIA web site:

http://www.aftermarket.org/Technology/PIES/Serviceproviders.aspx

After suppliers have built their PIES file with the AAP required fields, they may submit the file to AAP for

processing. If the file fails the validation checks AAP has put in place, AAP will reject the file and provide a

rejection report to the supplier so corrections can be made. The supplier may then submit their PIES file

again. If this second PIES file also fails to pass the AAP validation checks, the supplier must seek the

assistance of a third party data service company.

Web Links, Quick Reference & Email Addresses The following is a list of popular links that will help you with PIES. The Product Information Management (PIM) Team can provide you with a copy of the PIES reference manual and other electronic documents, including a sample file.

AAP PIM Team Email Address: [email protected] When to use:

Submitting a BISS File Submitting a FTP Access Authorization Form Asking questions about AAP’s PIES requirements

AAP PIES & PILS File Email Address: [email protected] When to use:

Submitting PIES files (under 15 MB) Submitting PILS files (under 15 MB) Submitting Digital Asset files (under 15 MB)

AAIA Parent Brand Code Table: http://brandtable.pricedex.com/Default.aspx

AAIA Parts Classification Database (PCdb):

http://aftermarket.org/Resources/Tech/pcdb.aspx


http://www.aftermarket.org/Technology/PIES/Serviceproviders.aspx





http://brandtable.pricedex.com/Default.aspx

http://aftermarket.org/Resources/Tech/pcdb.aspx

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Section 5:

Uploading SKU Data (cont.)

AAIA Imaging Best Practices: http://www.aftermarket.org/Technology/PIES/zip/Imaging.aspx

AAIA Website: http://www.aftermarket.org/Technology.aspx

University of the Aftermarket: http://www.northwood.edu/aftermarket/ondemand/

DATAgility http://www.datagility.com/

ANSI Codes:

http://www.x12.org/x12org/index.cfm


http://www.aftermarket.org/Technology/PIES/zip/Imaging.aspx

http://www.aftermarket.org/Technology.aspx

http://www.northwood.edu/aftermarket/ondemand/

http://www.datagility.com/

http://www.x12.org/x12org/index.cfm

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Section 6:

Receiving and Filling a Customer Order

Our customers can order FDO products at any Advance Auto Parts store or electronically through our

website. No matter where the order originates, the order is placed into the AAP order management

system. The order management system splits an order with multiple SKUs into single SKU orders. Orders

for multiple quantities of a single SKU remain as requested.

Customer orders are transmitted to each vendor as they are received from the customer in the form of an

850 EDI Purchase Order document. Upon your receipt of the purchase order, a functional

acknowledgement EDI 997 should be systematically generated to notify us that you have received the

Purchase Order. Once received, the vendor should prepare that order for shipment according to the

agreed upon lead time schedule. If the vendor has agreed to fill next day, the lead time within the AAP

system will be set to one day and the customer will expect that order to arrive within the lead time plus

delivery time window. If the vendor is required to custom-manufacture the part, the customer will know

what the lead time plus delivery time is as stated on the website or on the store Point-of-Sale system. The

lead-times will be determined during the vendor on-boarding phase of this process.

It is expected that the vendor will have the inventory on-hand to fulfill the order. If the vendor submits

inventory on-hand data to the Hosted Vendor Solution site as required (Section 9) the vendor must

maintain a 98.5% fill rate within 60 days of the start of filling FDO orders. If the fill rate falls below 98.5%,

the product will no longer be offered for sale to our customers as this will jeopardize our promise to our

customer ‘Service is our best part’.

Zero ASN will change once all suppliers are on-boarded to the new specification and using an

855 document.


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Section 7:

Advance Au o Par s F a c t o r y D r e c t O r d e r n g V e n d o r M a n

Preparing a Packing Slip and Packaging an Order

An Advance Auto Parts branded packing slip must be included with each order. The packing slip must

include the following information:

• Sold to info (name, street address, city, state, zip code, phone #)

• Ship to info (name, street address, city, state, zip code, phone #)

• Manufacturer, Part #, Description/Warranty information, Quantity

• Unit price, Total price

• Order number

• Ship method

• Advance Auto Parts logo and 1-877-ADVANCE (238-2623)

Sample of a branded packing slip:

During the Vendor On-Boarding phase, a copy of the packing slip will be sent to the FDO Operations team

for review and validation.

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Section 8:

Shipping an Order

To simplify shipping, orders are sent collect via UPS. Advance Auto Parts has negotiated the use of a 3rd

party account number with UPS, allowing all freight to be charged directly to AAP. Prior to shipping the

first customer purchase order, a UPS representative will contact you to schedule a visit with your logistics

department to set up the 3rd party account. At this visit, please provide your shipping facility origin

address and shipping facility contact information: Name, Telephone Number and E-mail Address. On

site, the UPS representative will ensure your Worldship unit is correctly set so all reference fields can

accept proper Purchase Order information. Additionally, the representative will review the 3rd party

program and requirements with logistics team members.

There will be orders that cannot be shipped via standard UPS. Orders addressed to a Post Office Box (PO

Box) or Military Address (APO) must be delivered using one of these options:

• United States Postal Service (USPS)

• FedEx Smart Post

• UPS Mail Innovations

Costs for these shipments are to be billed back to AAP as an additional line item on EDI 810 invoice.

Packages exceeding the UPS small package requirements should be sent via the UPS Supply Chain

Solutions Economy Domestic Freight Service or Estes Express Lines.

• Maximum Size = 165 inches in length and girth

• Maximum Length = 108 inches

• Maximum Package Weight = 150 pounds

When completing the Bill of Lading (BOL) for any Less than Truckload (LTL) shipment, 3rd party billing

information must be included for AAP to pay the freight. Please use the following address information for

3rd party billing

• Advance Auto Parts

c/o Williams and Associates

405 East 78th Street

Bloomington, MN 55420

Customers may choose their shipment service level. The following services are offered. These must be

coded as options in your order management system and will be indicated on the 850 EDI Purchase Order.

• UPS Ground

• UPS Second Day Air

• UPS Next Day Air Saver

• UPS Next Day Air

Notes: Orders specified for ‘Next Day’ delivery will be shipped UPS Next Day Air Saver

Shipments for Puerto Rico use UPS Ground or UPS Next Day Air and must include your Support

Center phone number on the shipping label.


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Section 8:

Shipping an Order (cont.)

UPS Shipping Label should be formatted to include the Advance Auto Parts store number, if available,

and the customer’s name.

Shipment to Store: Advance Auto Store # Attn: Customer Name Store Street Address Store Street Address 2 (if applicable) City, State Zip Store Phone Number

Shipment to Customer: Customer Ship-to Name Street Address Store Street Address 2 (if applicable) City, State Zip Customer Phone Number

Purchase Order Number must be included in the ‘Reference’ field on all shipping labels beginning in

position 1. The prefix PO should be followed by the number without spaces – PO12345678. The PO

number must be entered into any of the 5 reference fields on the UPS shipping label. Your UPS

representative will set your Worldship unit to print the PO number when he visits your logistics team prior

to shipping your first order.

Tracking numbers are to be included on the 856 Advance Ship Notice for all UPS shipments. Shipment

tracking detail should be sent to AAP according to this schedule:

• 856 ASN for UPS ground delivery – within 24 hours of package pick-up by UPS

• 856 ASN for UPS overnight delivery – within 2 hours of receipt of the purchase order

• Purchase Order and Pro# for LTL shipments are sent via email to [email protected]

a minimum of twice daily – by 2:00 p.m. EST and at end of business day.




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Section 9:

Updating Inventory On-Hands

Inventory on-hand data must be updated daily to ensure the customer will receive the product ordered.

To do this, each vendor may choose one of 4 methods to communicate their updated on-hands. To assist

this process, Advance Auto Parts has developed a website for easy updating. This site titled, Hosted

Vendor Solution, allows manual, automated or traditional FTP uploads.

• Upload manually through the Advance Hosted website: Allows you to update your inventory files

in Excel, save them as .csv files and click the upload button.

• Transmit directly to the Advance Hosted website FTP site: Transmits updated inventory files

systematically to the website’s FTP site.

• Transmit using AAIA IPO standard: Allows you to use the industry standard Internet Parts

Ordering data file format to exchange information. IPO vendors must maintain a 99% system up-

time. Any planned disruption to service must be communicated 2 weeks prior to outage to the

FDO Support Team.

Inventory levels for all part numbers assigned an AAP SKU must be included each time the inventory is

updated. Please deduct allocated inventory from your on-hand data. Submit a record for each part

number AAP offers, even if the on-hand=0.

Inventory data that is not updated for 72 hours will be purged from the system and reset to 0. This will

bar a customer from having visibility to your product. You will be notified of the purge and will be

requested to update immediately.

A Factory Direct Ordering Hosted Vendor Solution Quick Start Guide is available. A copy will be sent to you

or please email [email protected].



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Section 10:

Handling Customer Returns

Customers are directed to return products either to their local store or directly to the AAP distribution

center #23 in Delaware, Ohio. As returns are made to stores, team members will aggregate products and

transfer them to their servicing distribution center. At the distribution center, returns will be processed by

type, i.e., defects, saleable, etc. While different types of returns may be aggregated into a single shipment,

they will be segregated and listed on separate Return To Vendor (RTV) documents.

Product that is saleable will be marked with a tag indicating ‘FDO’, while defective product will be tagged

with the word ‘Defect’ on its tag. Product originally delivered to a store that has not been picked up by

the customer for 30 days will be returned.

All products will be returned to your distribution center via an AAP distribution center. A request for a

Return Authorization from each distribution center holding return product will be made prior to any

returns being shipped to your facilities.


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Section 11:

Responding to Customer Issues

Our promise to our customers that ‘Service is our best part’ extends beyond providing our customers a

superior assortment of products; it also manifests itself in the expedient and efficient delivery of that

product. Occasionally, there are service issues that arise and all parties must work together to resolve

these problems quickly and as seamlessly as possible. The FDO Support Team attempts to identify and

correct problem orders so the customer will not experience any delay with their delivery. When our

Customer Contact Center receives a call or email from a customer that requires information or

intervention by the vendor team, reply to the communication must be responded to within 2 hours. These

emails will come from [email protected].

Types of issues that our customers experience and expected action from the vendor are:

Problem

Cause

Vendor Action

AAP Action

Customer did not receive ordered product

Vendor is unable to fulfill order because inventory is unavailable

Transmit a 0 quantity ASN and update the HVS system with 0 on- hand quantity

Notifies customer order cannot be fulfilled


Returned package to Notify Notifies customer that the vendor – attempted fdosupport@advance- address was delivery to address auto.com and issue undeliverable and issue listed on package credit for canceled order a credit


850 Purchase Order not received nor acknowledged

Receives PO and fulfills order

Resend purchase order


No UPS tracking number Discern reason why Work with vendor to available tracking number is not remedy situation

available

Damaged shipment or missing item from box

Package damaged during shipment

UPS will contact the vendor to file claim. Reship product if requested by customer.

Alert vendor about claim and contact customer to ask about reshipping product.



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Section 11:

Responding to Customer Issues (cont.)

Filing a Claim

If a package is lost or damaged during shipment, a freight claim is filed with the carrier. As the originator

of the shipment, the carrier will work with your logistics group to collect the necessary data for them to

investigate the problem.

UPS Claims

While the AAP third party account number is used to ship packages collect via UPS, the vendor, as the

shipper, must file the claim. Once it is established that a package has been lost or damaged, a UPS

representative will contact you to gather the necessary information.


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Section 12:

Handling Canceled Orders

An order is canceled when there is no inventory available to fulfill the order or the order is too late to be

fulfilled or the customer wishes to cancel the order. To communicate the cancellation of an order, an 856

ASN with a ship quantity of zero (0) is transmitted to AAP. This ASN will trigger our system to

communicate directly with the store or customer who purchased the product. Following the transmission

of the ASN, the inventory status must be updated to reflect the current on-hand quantity.

Three scenarios for canceled orders:

• If you cannot fulfill the order, your system should cancel the purchase order and trigger the

generation of the 0 quantity ASN followed by an inventory update of 0 on-hand. Inventory is

updated to reflect out-of-stock position.

• If the customer cancels the order, you will receive a notice from the fdosupport@advance-

auto.com mailbox. At that time, if the order has not been shipped, you are to cancel the purchase

order in your system and trigger the 0 quantity ASN.

• If the package is undeliverable, your system should cancel the purchase order and trigger the

generation of a 0 quantity ASN. Simultaneously, a credit must be issued for this product to AAP.


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Section 13:

Invoicing

Following the delivery of the 856 ASN, an 810 Invoice will be submitted to AAP for payment.
