JAN17,2011 www.illumaware.com 1
Where do you want your catalog to take you in 2012?
WiththestartofeachNewYear,millionsofpeoplearoundtheworldsetpersonalgoalstostriveforinthemonthsahead.IfyouhavealreadysetyourNewYear’sresoluCons,wewishyousuccessinachievingthem.Wealsoencourageyoutotakeamomenttosetsimilargoalsforyourcatalog.
OneofthekeysuccessfactorsinachievingaresoluConistohaveapartnerwhoisequallycommiGedtothosegoals.YoualreadyhavethatpartnerinIllumawareforyourdata.Whateveryourdatagoalsareforthecomingyear,weencourageyoutosharethosechallengeswithus,sotogetherwecantakeyourdataqualityandcompletenesstoanewlevel.
WhetheritinvolvesleveragingsomeofouraddiConalpublishingfeaturessuchgeneraCngpapercatalogs,orbrainstormingaboutacustomprojectyouhavebeenconsidering,2012isagreatyeartodiscoverhowfaryourcatalogcantakeyou.
Manycommongoalswesetinourpersonallivescaneasilybetranslatedintogoalsforyourcatalog.Forexample:
Personal:Learnanewlanguage.Catalog:LearnmoreaboutACESandPIESXML.
Personal:Gethealthier.Catalog:Improvevehiclecoverageandaccuracy.
Personal:Reconnectwitholdfriends.Catalog:AskyourtradingpartnersabouttheirnewiniCaCvesandhowyoucanbeapartofthosechanges.
Letusknowwhatwecanhelpyouachieveinthecomingyear.
ALSOINTHISEDITIONA.C.E.S.VS.P.I.E.S.XML
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ENHANCEDEPICORSUPPORTTARGETED
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THE ILLUMINATOR VOLUME VI
Long, Short, Marketing Descriptions... Oh my!
Everwonderjusthowmanywaystherecanbetodescribeasinglepart?LongdescripCon,shortdescripCon,extendeddescripCon,invoicedescripCon,etc.ThelistjustgoesonandonunClitfeelslikeonebigmess.Whoneedsit?Yourcustomersdo.
ItmayseemliketherearefarmoredescripConsavailableinEvokatthancouldpossiblybenecessary(thereareevenmoreallowedinPIES),butintruth,eachoneservesavalidpurpose.SincePIESdatacanbeusedtosupportavarietyofsystems,including:inventorymanagement,datawarehouses,pointofsalesystems,andperhapsmostimportantly,customer‐facingapplicaCons.ThePIESstructureallowsfordescripConsandaGributesofmulCplelengthsandtypes.ItmayfeelredundanttocompleteallthesedescripContypes,butthereisonlyonewaytomakesurethatthemostimportantoneisdefined.
(ConCnuedonpage4)
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A.C.E.S. vs. P.I.E.S. XML
Everysupplierhas,atsomepoint,experiencedconfusionandfrustraContryingtojugglethevariousdatarequirementsplacedonhimorherbytheirtradingpartners.AtonepointinCme,majorretailersrequiredcustomizedspreadsheetsinmulCpleformatstocommunicateproductandapplicaConinformaCon.KeepingmulCpleExcelandtextfilesinalignmentwasadaunCng,ifnotimpossibletask.TheindustryrecognizedthenegaCveimpactofhavingsomuchunsynchronizedproductdataandtookstepstoaddressitwiththeintroducConofthedataexchangestandardscommonlyreferredtoasACESandPIES.AsthesestandardsconCnuetoevolveandgainacceptance,thereissomeconfusionastowhatshouldbeincludedineachtypeoffileandwhichoneismoreimportant.
Inactuality,bothfilesworkintandemtoprovideacompletepictureofyourproductofferingandshouldalwaysbeusedinconjuncCon,wheneverpossible.HereisadigestofourmostcommonquesConsregardingthesecriCcalfiles.
Q:WhatisanXMLfile?A:XMLstandsforEXtensibleMarkupLanguageandisnotuniquetoourindustry.Ithasbeenwidelyacceptedfileformatsincethe1990’sandisnowthemostcommonformatfordatatransmissionsbetweenapplicaCons.
Q:WhatprogramdoIusetoopenanXMLfile?A:Mosttexteditors,suchasNotepadorTextMate,willopenanXMLfile,althoughthesizeofsomeXMLfilescanpresentachallengetomanycomputers.OtherprogramsmustbeusedtoconfirmthatitisavalidXMLsubmission.
Q:IopenedmyXMLfile,butitdoesn’tmakesensetome.Whycan’tIreadit?A:XMLfilesareintendedtocommunicateandstoredata,nottomakedataeasilyreadable.EachdataelementinthefileisidenCfiedbyexactlywhatitis,soalastnamemightappearas“<LAST_NAME>10</LAST_NAME>”.Repeatedlylabelingeachdataelementcreatesoverheadthatourmindshavetoprocess,butitdoesensurethatyouknowwhattypeofdatayouarelookingat.
Q:WhatdoesACESstandfor?A:A.C.E.S.standsforAiermarketCatalogExchangeStandard.
Q:WhatinformaConisincludedinanACESfile?A:ACESincludesyourapplicaConfitmentinformaCon.UsingidenCfierscommontotheindustryandyourownfitmentnotes,anACESfilecommunicatesthevehiclesyourpartsfit.OtherthanvehicleinformaCon,theACESrecordincludesaPartType,andmayalsoincludeanaddiConalManufacturerLabeloradiagram.AnexampleofanACESrecordwasreviewedinVolumeIVoftheIlluminatorintheAnatomyofanACESApplicaConseries.
Q:IsmyinterchangeinformaConincludedinanACESfile?A:InterchangeinformaConwouldonlybeincludedifyouincludeditasanapplicaConfitmentnote.TypicallyinterchangeinformaConisconsideredproductinformaCon,andisthereforeincludedinaPIESfile.
(ConCnuedonpage3)
THE ILLUMINATOR VOLUME VI
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THE ILLUMINATOR VOLUME VI
Q:WhatdoesPIESstandfor?A:P.I.E.S.standsforProductInformaConExchangeStandard.
Q:WhatinformaConisincludedinaPIESfile?A:ThePIESstructurerepresentsfora“super‐set”ofdataelements,orinotherwords,itallowsforjustaboutanytypeofproductinformaConthatcanbedefined.Whatyouchoosetoauthorisuptoyouandyourtradingpartners.ThePIESstructureallowsformulCpleproductdescripCons,prices,packagedimensions,digitalassets,andmore.Forvariousbusinessreasons,suppliersandretailershaveextendedthePIESXMLstandardtorequireandrepurposeelementstheyfindmostadvantageous.PleasereviewthedocumentaConavailableonlinefromtheAutomoCveAiermarketIndustryAssociaCon(hGp://www.aiermarket.orgwww.aiermarket.org/Technology/PIES.aspx)formoreinformaConontheofficialstandard,andworkwithyourtradingpartnerstounderstandtheirpreferencesandcapabiliCes.
Q:WhatversionofPIESshouldIuse?A:Thatwilldependontheabilityofyourtradingpartnerstoreceiveeachtypeoffile.Asthedataneedsofourindustryarerefined,theXMLfielddefiniConsandfilestructurewillconCnuetochange.Versions6.1.2and6.2.0arethemostwidelyacceptedformatscurrently,butversion6.3hasalreadybeenreleasedandfuturereleasesarealreadybeingplanned.Ifyourtradingpartnerscanaccepta6.2versionfile,thatisourcurrentrecommendaCon.
Q:IhaveprovidedaPIESXMLfile,butIambeingaskedformoreinformaCon.Why?A:WhilethePIESformatdoeshavetheabilitytoincludealmostanypossibleproductdata,therearesCllsomelegacysystemsandprocessesthatrequireanon‐XMLbasedsubmission.CurrentindustryiniCaCves,suchasdefiningProductSpecificAGributes,mayhelptoreducetheneedforsomeoftheseaddiConalsubmissions,buttheneedmayneverbetotallyeliminated.
Q:IsendmyACESdataoutregularly.DoIreallyneedtosendaPIESfiletoo?A:ACESandPIESfilesarebothnecessarytodeliveracompletee‐catalog.TheACESdatatellsyourcustomerwhatpartstheyneed,andthePIESdatatellsyourcustomerswhytheyshouldbuyyourpartoverthecompeCCon.YoumaynothavecontroloverhowinformaConispresentedatthepointofsale,butdeliveringonlyhalfofyourdataensuresthattheotherhalfisnotpresented.
Q:HowdoIknowwhattofilloutforaPIESfile?A:Thesimpleansweristofilloutwhateveryoucan,butinrealityyouwanttoprioriCzesomefieldsaboveothers.Thebestguidancecomesfromyourtradingpartners,butingeneralterms,effecCveproductdescripConsareagreatplacetostart.IfyouuseMyCarPartstopresentyoure‐catalog,productimagesandotherrelateddigitalassetsmakeaninstantimpactandaddpizzazztothepresentaConofyourproducts.
Q:WherecanIgetmoreinformaConaboutACES,PIESorotherdataformats?A:ThetechnologysecConoftheAAIAwebsite(hGp://aiermarket.org/Technology.aspx)providesdocumentaConaswellaslinkstoaddiConalaiermarketeducaConopportuniCes.Asyourpartner,wearealwayshappytoansweryourquesConsaswell.Sinceeverytradingpartnerhastheabilitytodefinetheirownstandard,therewillneverbeasinglereferencesource.IfaddiConalinformaConisnecessary,talktoyourtradingpartnersandthenletusknowhowwecanhelpmeetthoserequirements.Chancesareit’ssomethingwe’vedonebefore.
A.C.E.S. vs. P.I.E.S. XML(ConCnuedfrompage2)
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Long, Short, Marketing Descriptions... Oh my!(ConCnuedfrompage1)
ThesinglemostimportantdescripConfieldistheonethatgetsyourcustomertobuyyourproduct.ThechallengeistoknowwhichofthemanydescripConsavailableistheonethatwillclosethesale.
Forexample,aneloquent“MarkeCngDescripCon”maybejustwhatthecustomerneededforanonlineapplicaCon,butithasnoimpactonapoint‐of‐salesystemthatcanonlydisplay20characters.Anabbreviated“ShortDescripCon”maybeaperfectfitforonetradingpartner,buthavingaliGlemoreinformaConina“LongDescripCon”maymakeadifferenceinanotherenvironment.PopulaCngallofthedescripContypeswiththemostappropriatedescripConspossibleistheonlywaytoensurethatyourproductsare
presentedthewayyouwantthemtobe.ThisisalotofhardworkiniCally,butitcanreallypayoffinincreasedsales.
InaddiContothemanytypesofproductdescripConsthatarespecifiedinthePIESstructure,recentaddiConstothePIESXMLstandardallowfortheinclusionof“MarketCopyContent”aswell.AsyoudetermineyourcorporatestrategyregardingwhattoincludeinproductdescripCons,anynon‐productspecificinformaConisacandidateforyourbrand’s“MarketCopyContent”.UsingthisnewdataelementisagreatwaytoavoidduplicaCnginformaConandimproveconsistency.MarketCopyelementswillbeaddedtoEvokatlaterthisyear.
THE ILLUMINATOR VOLUME VI
Enhanced EPICOR Support TargetedIllumawarehasalonghistoryofextendingfuncConalitytobeGerservetheneedsofitsusers.WhetheritistheaddiConofcustomreportstomatchtherequirementsofakeytradingpartner,oraddingaddiConalelementswithinEvokattomakemanagingyoure‐catalogeasier,weconCnuetostrivetobethebestpartnerpossible.
ThattradiConwillconCnuewithasoon‐to‐bereleasedenhancementinsupportofEPICOR‐specificLabelDescripCons.TobeGerservetheircustomers,EPICORconvertsapplicaConstoasetofcustomparttypes.ThisconversiontypicallygoesunnoCced,asthetypesareeitheridenCcalorverysimilartoAAIAdescripCons.Onrareoccasionshowever,dataincludedintheLabelDescripCon,whichisalsoincludedinanACESrecord,complicatesthisprocess.
IllumawarewillempoweruserstobeGermeetEPICOR'sdatarequirementsbyprovidinganEPICOR‐specificLabelDescripConwithinEvokat.ThisnewdescripConfieldwillappearoneachpart’sDescripConstabinthenextfewweeks,
allowingyoutopopulatetheinformaConneededtobestrepresentyourdataintheEPICOREcatalog.ThisfieldwillonlybeusedinEPICORspecificACESandPIESXMLreports.
WeconCnuetolookfor,andwelcome,opportuniCestoextendEvokatfuncConalityinwaysthatcanprovideabeGermenttomulCpleusers.Donothesitatetoaskifyouarestrugglingwithanexternalprocessorhaveanewrequirementfromatradingpartnerthatcanbeaddressedinthisway.
Contact Information 800.880.4964 Bruce SpeicherManaging Partner
Brenda HeinitzDirector of Cataloging
Adrian KlingelFounder and CTO
Brian WilliamsDirector of Operations
Ralph BowenEvokat Subscription Sales
Richelle PowellDirector of Finance