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Will customers receive less data now that the agreement is over?

IDEA: We have always received the vast majority of our data direct from manufacturers – and they are the largest manufacturers in the electrical supply chain. Our position has always been that manufacturers own their data. The limited amount of data we accepted from the Trade Service feed represented small manufacturers that rounded out our offering (18% of total SKUs). IDEA has already sourced nearly 50% of the SKUs previously provided by Trade Service as a part of our ongoing data enhancement program. As part of the agreement, IDEA provided Trade Service with a substantial amount of data which represented many of the largest electrical manufacturers in the country. This feed stops 120 days after the agreement ended (mid-November)

Will this affect customers’ ERP systems?

IDEA: Possibly. We will no longer be providing TSC commodity codes, generic pricing, and concatenated descriptions.

Why do customers need to use UNSPSC codes?

IDEA: Embedding UNSPSC classification standards into your management systems prepares you for the future 2009 industry mandate and places you steps ahead of competitors who have not yet migrated to the global standard. UNSPSC codes can be used for product categorization, spend analysis, marketing and sales analysis and reporting.

How will this affect the quality of data in IDW?

IDEA: As we’ve told our customers, prior data that did not come directly from manufacturers has been removed from IDW. Removing this indirect data, which was not part of the audited and approved data provided directly to IDW by manufacturers, ensures that trading partners will be using reliable product information. We know that creating an environment of data validity is important to you. The IDW team has strengthened its data sourcing efforts to ensure that direct product information is available and can be delivered with accuracy, completeness and timeliness.

As a part of IDEA’s push to provide trading partners with exceptional data we increased our efforts to work with manufacturers on enhancing product descriptions and providing a broader spectrum of enriched data for your marketing needs.

What will be done about the benchmark pricing?

IDEA: IDEA has teamed with industry economists to develop market-level benchmark pricing. This represents current pricing levels plus near-term market influences that affect a certain product’s pricing. This is another example of organizations within the channel teaming together to move everyone forward. This new benchmark pricing will be available through IDW.

Why did the agreement end?

IDEA: The 10 year data share agreement came to term on July 20, 2008. IDEA and Trade Service Corporation mutually agreed to not renew the data sharing agreement.

Should companies continue to be IDEA customers?

IDEA: We strongly believe that we offer you the most comprehensive array of reliable and timely manufacturer provided product data in the channel. This standardized data synchronization platform provides the catalyst necessary to drive costs out of trading partner transactions. We are committed to enhancing our offering of catalog data and are confident we will expand our reach in the marketplace as the primary provider of synchronized data.

Do distributors need to set their systems up differently?

IDEA: Depending on how you are extracting data from the IDW, you may need to change how your system updates with the IDW download. IDW no longer populates the Distributor Product Category Code field.

Do distributors have to change the way they receive their IDW files (EDI, FTP, IDW maps)?

IDEA: No, it’s maintained the same as before.

What does this mean for the future of IDEA?

IDEA: We are excited about the future. The IDEA Board of Directors has just finished a strategic review of the mission, vision and goals which you will hear more news about later. Fundamentally, IDEA’s mission is to drive costs out of the electrical supply chain as the electrical industry’s standard-setting, data synchronization and eCommerce service provider. Our focus is customer-centric. We were born from the channel and we are here to serve the channel. We welcome suggestions from owners, customers and non-customers alike on how to better serve your eCommerce needs.

You will be seeing different packages and bundled services in the future.

We are introducing bolder approaches to account management. We never assume that each manufacturer and distributor is the same; therefore we treat each uniquely.