Automotive Data News

1. THE ILLUMINATOR
VOLUME VI
Where do you want
your catalog to take you in 2012?
With the start of each New Year, millions of
ALSO IN THIS EDITION
people around the world set personal goals
A.C.E.S. VS. to strive for in the months ahead. If you
P.I.E.S. XML have already set your New Year’s
PAGE 2 resoluCons, we wish you success in
achieving them. We also encourage you to
take a moment to set similar goals for your Many common goals we set in our personal
ENHANCED EPICOR catalog. lives can easily be translated into goals for
SUPPORT TARGETED your catalog. For example:
PAGE 4 One of the key success factors in achieving a
resoluCon is to have a partner who is Personal: Learn a new language.
equally commiGed to those goals. You Catalog: Learn more about ACES and PIES
already have that partner in Illumaware for XML.
your data. Whatever your data goals are for
the coming year, we encourage you to share Personal: Get healthier.
those challenges with us, so together we Catalog: Improve vehicle coverage and
can take your data quality and completeness accuracy.
to a new level.
Personal: Reconnect with old friends.
Whether it involves leveraging some of our Catalog: Ask your trading partners about
addiConal publishing features such their new iniCaCves and how you can be a
generaCng paper catalogs, or brainstorming part of those changes.
about a custom project you have been
considering, 2012 is a great year to discover Let us know what we can help you achieve
how far your catalog can take you. in the coming year.
Long, Short, Marketing Descriptions... Oh my!
Ever wonder just how many ways there can be to describe a single part? Long descripCon, short descripCon, extended descripCon,
invoice descripCon, etc. The list just goes on and on unCl it feels like one big mess. Who needs it? Your customers do.
It may seem like there are far more descripCons available in Evokat than could possibly be necessary (there are even more allowed
in PIES), but in truth, each one serves a valid purpose. Since PIES data can be used to support a variety of systems, including:
inventory management, data warehouses, point of sale systems, and perhaps most importantly, customer‐facing applicaCons. The
PIES structure allows for descripCons and aGributes of mulCple lengths and types. It may feel redundant to complete all these
descripCon types, but there is only one way to make sure that the most important one is defined.
(ConCnued on page 4)
JAN 17, 2011
www.illumaware.com
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2. THE ILLUMINATOR
VOLUME VI
A.C.E.S. vs. P.I.E.S. XML
Every supplier has, at some point, experienced confusion and frustraCon trying to juggle the various data requirements placed on
him or her by their trading partners. At one point in Cme, major retailers required customized spreadsheets in mulCple formats to
communicate product and applicaCon informaCon. Keeping mulCple Excel and text files in alignment was a daunCng, if not
impossible task. The industry recognized the negaCve impact of having so much unsynchronized product data and took steps to
address it with the introducCon of the data exchange standards commonly referred to as ACES and PIES. As these standards
conCnue to evolve and gain acceptance, there is some confusion as to what should be
included in each type of file and which one is more important.
In actuality, both files work in tandem to provide a complete picture of your product
offering and should always be used in conjuncCon, whenever possible. Here is a digest
of our most common quesCons regarding these criCcal files.
Q: What is an XML file?
A: XML stands for EXtensible Markup Language and is not unique to our industry. It has
been widely accepted file format since the 1990’s and is now the most common format
for data transmissions between applicaCons.
Q: What program do I use to open an XML file?
A: Most text editors, such as Notepad or TextMate, will open an XML file, although the size of some XML files can present a
challenge to many computers. Other programs must be used to confirm that it is a valid XML submission.
Q: I opened my XML file, but it doesn’t make sense to me. Why can’t I read it?
A: XML files are intended to communicate and store data, not to make data easily readable. Each data element in the file is
idenCfied by exactly what it is, so a last name might appear as “<LAST_NAME>10</LAST_NAME>”. Repeatedly labeling each data
element creates overhead that our minds have to process, but it does ensure that you know what type of data you are looking at.
Q: What does ACES stand for?
A: A.C.E.S. stands for Aiermarket Catalog Exchange Standard.
Q: What informaCon is included in an ACES file?
A: ACES includes your applicaCon fitment informaCon. Using idenCfiers common to the industry and your own fitment notes, an
ACES file communicates the vehicles your parts fit. Other than vehicle informaCon, the ACES record includes a Part Type, and may
also include an addiConal Manufacturer Label or a diagram. An example of an ACES record was reviewed in Volume IV of the
Illuminator in the Anatomy of an ACES ApplicaCon series.
Q: Is my interchange informaCon included in an ACES file?
A: Interchange informaCon would only be included if you included it as an applicaCon fitment note. Typically interchange
informaCon is considered product informaCon, and is therefore included in a PIES file.
(ConCnued on page 3)
JAN 17, 2011
www.illumaware.com
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3. THE ILLUMINATOR
VOLUME VI
A.C.E.S. vs. P.I.E.S. XML
(ConCnued from page 2)
Q: What does PIES stand for?
A: P.I.E.S. stands for Product InformaCon Exchange Standard.
Q: What informaCon is included in a PIES file?
A: The PIES structure represents for a “super‐set” of data elements, or in other words, it allows for just about any type of product
informaCon that can be defined. What you choose to author is up to you and your trading partners. The PIES structure allows for
mulCple product descripCons, prices, package dimensions, digital assets, and more. For various business reasons, suppliers and
retailers have extended the PIES XML standard to require and repurpose elements they find most advantageous. Please review the
documentaCon available online from the AutomoCve Aiermarket Industry AssociaCon (hGp://
www.aiermarket.orgwww.aiermarket.org/Technology/PIES.aspx) for more informaCon on the official standard, and work with
your trading partners to understand their preferences and capabiliCes.
Q: What version of PIES should I use?
A: That will depend on the ability of your trading partners to receive each type of file. As the data needs of our industry are
refined, the XML field definiCons and file structure will conCnue to change. Versions 6.1.2 and 6.2.0 are the most widely accepted
formats currently, but version 6.3 has already been released and future releases are already being planned. If your trading
partners can accept a 6.2 version file, that is our current recommendaCon.
Q: I have provided a PIES XML file, but I am being asked for more informaCon. Why?
A: While the PIES format does have the ability to include almost any possible product data, there are sCll some legacy systems
and processes that require a non‐XML based submission. Current industry iniCaCves, such as defining Product Specific AGributes,
may help to reduce the need for some of these addiConal submissions, but the need may never be totally eliminated.
Q: I send my ACES data out regularly. Do I really need to send a PIES file too?
A: ACES and PIES files are both necessary to deliver a complete e‐catalog. The ACES data tells your customer what parts they
need, and the PIES data tells your customers why they should buy your part over the compeCCon. You may not have control over
how informaCon is presented at the point of sale, but delivering only half of your data ensures that the other half is not
presented.
Q: How do I know what to fill out for a PIES file?
A: The simple answer is to fill out whatever you can, but in reality you want to prioriCze some fields above others. The best
guidance comes from your trading partners, but in general terms, effecCve product descripCons are a great place to start. If you
use MyCarParts to present your e‐catalog, product images and other related digital assets make an instant impact and add pizzazz
to the presentaCon of your products.
Q: Where can I get more informaCon about ACES, PIES or other data formats?
A: The technology secCon of the AAIA website (hGp://aiermarket.org/Technology.aspx) provides documentaCon as well as links
to addiConal aiermarket educaCon opportuniCes. As your partner, we are always happy to answer your quesCons as well. Since
every trading partner has the ability to define their own standard, there will never be a single reference source. If addiConal
informaCon is necessary, talk to your trading partners and then let us know how we can help meet those requirements. Chances
are it’s something we’ve done before.
JAN 17, 2011
www.illumaware.com
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4. THE ILLUMINATOR
VOLUME VI
Long, Short, Marketing Descriptions... Oh my!
(ConCnued from page 1)
The single most important descripCon field is the one that presented the way you want them to be. This is a lot of hard
gets your customer to buy your product. The challenge is to work iniCally, but it can really pay off in increased sales.
know which of the many descripCons available is the one that
will close the sale. In addiCon to the many types of product descripCons that are
specified in the PIES structure, recent addiCons to the PIES
For example, an eloquent “MarkeCng DescripCon” may be XML standard allow for the inclusion of “Market Copy
just what the customer needed for an online applicaCon, but Content” as well. As you determine your corporate strategy
it has no impact on a point‐of‐sale system that can only regarding what to include in product descripCons, any non‐
display 20 characters. An abbreviated “Short DescripCon” product specific informaCon is a candidate for your brand’s
may be a perfect fit for one trading partner, but having a liGle “Market Copy Content”. Using this new data element is a
more informaCon in a “Long DescripCon” may make a great way to avoid duplicaCng informaCon and improve
difference in another environment. PopulaCng all of the consistency. Market Copy elements will be added to Evokat
descripCon types with the most appropriate descripCons later this year.
possible is the only way to ensure that your products are
Enhanced EPICOR Support Targeted
Illumaware has a long history of extending funcConality to Illumaware will empower users to beGer meet EPICOR's data
beGer serve the needs of its users. Whether it is the addiCon requirements by providing an EPICOR‐specific Label
of custom reports to match the requirements of a key trading DescripCon within Evokat. This new descripCon field will
partner, or adding addiConal elements within Evokat to make appear on each part’s DescripCons tab in the next few weeks,
managing your e‐catalog easier, we conCnue to allowing you to populate the informaCon
strive to be the best partner possible. needed to best represent your data in the
EPICORE catalog. This field will only be used in
That tradiCon will conCnue with a soon‐to‐be EPICOR specific ACES and PIES XML reports.
released enhancement in support of EPICOR‐specific Label
DescripCons. To beGer serve their customers, EPICOR We conCnue to look for, and welcome, opportuniCes to
converts applicaCons to a set of custom part types. This extend Evokat funcConality in ways that can provide a
conversion typically goes unnoCced, as the types are either beGerment to mulCple users. Do not hesitate to ask if you are
idenCcal or very similar to AAIA descripCons. On rare struggling with an external process or have a new
occasions however, data included in the Label DescripCon, requirement from a trading partner that can be addressed in
which is also included in an ACES record, complicates this this way.
process.
Contact Information 800.880.4964
Bruce Speicher Adrian Klingel Ralph Bowen
Managing Partner Founder and CTO Evokat Subscription Sales
Brenda Heinitz Brian Williams Richelle Powell
Director of Cataloging Director of Operations Director of Finance
JAN 17, 2011
www.illumaware.com
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