This Week in IDEA | January 31, 2007

New IDEA Customer: B & S Electric Supply

B & S Electric Supply Co., an electrical distributor from Atlanta, GA, became an IDEA customer on January 30, 2007. B & S has been a wholesaler of electrical apparatus and associated electrical material since 1977 and currently operates two warehouses located in Atlanta, Georgia and Louisville, Kentucky. They will be using the Industry Data Warehouse (IDW2) to obtain their suppliers' product and pricing information. B & S is a member of both NAED and Equity/EDN. To learn more about B & S Electric Supply Co., please visit them here. Welcome aboard!

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New IDEA Customer: Kichler Lighting

Kichler Lighting, a manufacturer from Cleveland, OH, became an IDEA customer on January 31, 2007. Kichler Lighting was established in 1938 and is the world's leading decorative lighting fixture company. They will be taking advantage of the cost saving features and reliability of the Industry Data Exchange (IDX2). They also participate in the DAC program. To learn more about Kichler Lighting, please visit them here. Welcome aboard!

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New IDEA Customer: Service ES

Service Electric Supply, Co., a distributor from Romulus, MI, became an IDEA customer on January 19, 2007. Service ES Service Electric Supply, Inc. has been servicing southeastern Michigan since 1990 and carries a wide range of materials, from Cutler Hammer, Thomas and Betts, toLithonia Lighting. They will be taking advantage of the cost saving features and reliability of the Industry Data Exchange (IDX2). Service ES is a member of NAED. To learn more about Service Electric Supply Co., please visit them here. Welcome aboard!

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New IDEA Customer: J & R Wholesale Distributors

J & R Wholesale Distributors, an electrical distributor from Gardena, CA, became an IDEA customer on January 19, 2007. They are a member of both NAED and IMARK. To learn more about J & R Wholesale Distributors, please contact them here. Welcome aboard!

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New IRD/CERICOMX® Customer

IDEA, a 1SYNC Data Pool On-Board Solution (OBS) partner, implements suppliers that subscribe to the 1SYNC data pool using IDEA's IRD CERICOMX application. IDEA was recently assigned the following supplier:

- Cadet Manufacturing

This company will be trained to use IRD CERICOMX®, an IDEA branded product for supporting and uploading supplier product information into the GS1 Registry® and GDSN via the 1SYNC Data Pool.

If you would like to learn more about the CERICOMX® product, please contact John Etrie, IDEA IRD Product Manager, here or at (703) 562-4624; or Tony Gaffney, IDEA CERICOMX® Implementation Manager, here or at (508) 386-0261.

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February IDW2 Training Calendar

IDEA continues to offer distributor and manufacturer trainings, all-users’ Q&A sessions and Net Pricing sessions. The February calendar for these trainings are:

IDW2 Distributor Training Sessions:

Wednesday, February 7, 2007: 1:30 – 3:00PM
Wednesday, February 21, 2007: 1:30 – 3:00PM

General Net-Pricing Sessions (open to all):

Thursday, February 8, 2007: 1:30 – 2:00PM
Thursday, February 22, 2007: 1:30 – 2:00PM

All-user Ask the IDW2 Experts Q&A Sessions:

Wednesday, February 14, 2007: 1:30 – 3:00PM
Wednesday, February 28, 2007: 1:30 – 3:00PM

IDW2 Manufacturer Training Sessions:

Thursday, February 1, 2007: 1:30 – 3:30PM
Thursday, February 15, 2007: 1:30 – 3:30PM

If you plan on attending an Ask the IDW2 experts session, it is recommended, but not mandatory, to e-mail questions in advance, as those questions will be addressed first. These sessions will aim to help you:
o Resolve your IDW2 issues
o Learn from those in your industry
o Find out how your supplier or distributor is using the IDW2

Additional training sessions are announced each month in This Week in IDEA.

To sign up for a training session, please contact Robert Hollands, IDW2 Training and Technical Representative, at 703-562-4616.

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IDEA Provides New UNSPSC Resource to Manufacturers

IDEA announced the development of a new resource that relates UNSPSC (United Nations Standard Products and Services Code®) codes to commodity codes that have been commonly used by the electrical channel for years.

This new resource, in the form of a table, allows all products contained within a customer’s account in the IDW2 (Industry Data Warehouse) to be assigned appropriate UNSPSC codes. These codes are used throughout eCommerce for tracking expenditures and selecting products. A growing number of companies’ purchasing departments are requiring these codes on all products and services they purchase.

This table is now available to all IDEA IDW2 customers in the ‘Documents’ section of the Industry Data Warehouse (IDW2) Administrative website. This resource will assist in saving manufacturers and distributor trading partners the time and effort to code thousands of products by automatically linking to an existing required data field. Future expansion of this table has been planned to include other popular product coding systems. In addition, the UNSPSC codes were added to each manufacturer’s product data detail screen in the IDW2.

The UNSPSC was established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1998. This system assigns an eight digit numerical value code to all forms of commerce; some include farm products, mining, manufacturing, transportation and charitable organizations, with the end goal resulting in a specific code for all forms of commerce. The UNSPSC coding system has achieved global recognition and currently has over 19,000 commodity codes. The IDW2 uses UNSPSC as the primary product code.

IDEA has long been a supporter of the UNSPSC and works for its acceptance on a global basis. IDEA has partnered with the code manager, GS1 US, and has the responsibility for the development and maintenance of the electrical portion of the UNSPSC system through its activities as a standards organization.

Please visit the UNSPSC for additional information on the coding system.

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IDW2 Extraction Summary Count Feature Improved

The IDW2 team recently made enhancements to both the Extraction Summary screen and the Extraction Summary Report. These improvements will provide more useful and easier-to-understand information to our subscribers.

Prior to this development, extraction summaries would display the counts of the data that had changed between the manufacturer data uploads, instead of between end user (distributor) data requests. The old feature meant that even though no data had actually changed between the user extractions, the extraction summary would indicate that it had. Now, the counts will only indicate changes to manufacturer data that have occurred since the end user’s last request. Distributors receive personalized counts for changes in price, product category codes, descriptions and item status.

This enhancement will enable end users to anticipate product changes and to validate the extracted data before updating their business systems. IDW2 customers may direct questions about the Extraction Summary Count feature to Robert Hollands, IDW2 Tech and Training representative at 703-562-4616.

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Hardlines Technology Forum 2007

For the past 15 years, the American Hardware Manufacturers Association (AHMA) has sponsored and conducted the annual Hardlines Technology Form® (HTF®), bringing together hundreds of IT, logistics, merchandising, executive, and finance professionals to discuss leading technology issues affecting the industry, including Supply Chain Management, RFID, Data Sync, Bar Coding and EDI.

Conference Highlights

In addition to delivering cutting-edge education, HTF® provides a unique platform that is unparalleled in the hardlines industry, allowing buyers and sellers to openly and actively speak about technology and its impact on their businesses. This forum specifically addresses the IT-related audience.

Through the conference’s independent buyer and seller forums, the combined buyer/seller forum, networking events, and the retail panel, HTF® closes the communication gap between both sides of the supply chain. Numerous technology vendors are also in attendance to support the
messages that are being conveyed throughout the conference.

Learn more about the Hardlines Technology Forum 2007

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