This Week in IDEA | August 22, 2007

New IDEA Affiliate Customer: Affiliated Distributors

Affiliated Distributors, a buying and marketing group from King of Prussa, PA, became an IDEA affiliate customer on August 17, 2007. A-D is the largest wholesale buying and marketing group in North America. They are comprised of over 370 independent distributor companies with over 3,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada. Their membership commands over $24 Billion in sales across five industries: electrical supplies, industrial supplies, plumbing supplies, HVAC equipment and supplies, and pipe, valves and fittings. A-D will be taking advantage of the cost saving features and reliability of Industry Data Exchange (IDX). Vist the A-D Website for more information. Welcome Aboard!

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New IDEA Customer: Bayou Electric and Specialty

Bayou Electric and Specialty, a distributor from New Iberia, LA, became an IDEA customer on August 16, 2007. Bayou Electric specializes in lighting equipment and supplies. They will be taking advantage of the cost saving features and reliability of Industry Data Exchange (IDX). Bayou Electric is a proud member of IMARK.Contact Bayou Electric and Specialty for more information. Welcome Aboard!

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New IRD CERICOMX® Customers

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 four suppliers:

- MSM Industries
- Liberty Orchards
- Pro-Mart Industries, Inc.
- Unica, Inc.

These companies 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, IRD Product & Customer Support Manager, at (703) 562-4624.

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IDEA Sheds Its Skin 9.19.07: Enhancing the User Experience

IDEA is redesigning and relaunching its website and brand to more accurately portray where we are leading the supply network. The new IDEA site will incorporate a number of significant improvements:

• Clearer Navigation
• Better online tools and improved functionality
• More descriptive information
• New sections and features
• Fewer document downloads
• Secure Customer Portal
• Live Chat
• On-demand demos and videos
• Direct Comparison Tools
• More news resources
• Stand alone IDEA E-Biz Forum website

Experience the simplicity and ease-of-use of the new site at www.idea-eSolutions.com on 9.19.07.

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Got Reservations? The Electro E-Biz Hotel Cut-Off Date is August 27!

Make your hotel reservations for the Electro E-Biz Forum 2007 by August 27; rooms are almost sold out! Don’t pass up this opportunity to stay in the heart of Vancouver as you network and exchange ideas with industry peers.

Make your hotel reservations today!

Other Important Links:
Register for the Electro E-Biz Forum 2007
2007 Registration List
The Electro E-Biz Forum Page

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Accelerate the Sales Process with IDW

What is IDW?

IDW is a second-generation central repository of supplier product, pricing, packaging, and enriched information. Currently proven as the leading database in the electrical industry with 85% market penetration, IDW is well suited for other vertical markets such as PVF, Industrial, Data Comm., Plumbing, HVAC/R, and others. Members of the retail industry use our Industry Retail Database (IRD powered by CERICOMX®). All our databases are specifically designed to promote data synchronization and lower supply network costs.

Which manufacturers' product information is contained in IDW?

Our electrical industry database contains 85% of electrical product SKUs. For a list of our customers from all industries, please visit our Customers section.

How do you obtain IDW information?

IDW information is available to customers on a 24/7 basis. The information is continually updated and uploaded by suppliers. Authorized trading partners are given a logon ID and password and can make download requests right off the IDW administrative web site (AWS). You can even schedule to have your data automatically delivered on a regular basis—daily, weekly, or however often you choose.

What is the format for IDW data?

IDW accepts manufacturer business information in any electronic format. The electrical industry standard is the EDI/832 format or the EZView/PIPE Flat File format. These standards were developed to enable the exchange of common data fields and terms between all industry-trading partners. Data output is in EDI/832 format, EZView/PIPE, or custom formats using the IDW map function. The custom map function allows distributors to create formats that are compatible with their software ERP programs.

For more information on data formats, please contact the IDW Data Manager at 703-562-4602 or via email.

What are the features of IDW data?

» Standardized business information, customized for the industry
» Uses standard 12-digit UPC, 13-digit EAN or 14-digit GTIN as item control key in IDW
» Feature-rich data includes: publication, effective and expiration dates, life-cycle status codes including "C" for UPC or EAN changes, historical tracking fields of replaced and replacement fields for both UPC/EAN and catalog numbers, product brand field, lead times, packaging includes dimensions (L, W, H) and weights, UNSPSC, complete manufacturer price data, currency codes, international harmonization codes, image links, plus much more
» Legacy columns include: 5 legacy price columns, product (commodity) codes, legacy descriptions and legacy cash discount
» Price group Codes (1-3) for discounts to be applied against another column
» Velocity Code for price matrix codes
» Net price/cost into stock
» 80 character-description field
» User-definable downloadable file size
» Download data by product brand name
» Distributors can turn-off their eligibility to receive a certain manufacturer's data
» Distributor may limit downloads to only items with pricing. User-definable view-dependencies.
» Manufacturers do not need to store commodity codes; these can be mapped to their seller class codes right on the IDW administrative web site
» Manufacturers do not need to store legacy price columns; these can be mapped to their own pricing columns right on the IDW administrative web site

What are the benefits of IDW data?

» Data synchronization between trading partners
» Data accuracy
» Data timeliness, as manufacturers are frequently uploading new data
» Data availability (24/7/365)
» Reduced transaction costs
» Manufacturers send product and pricing updates once for all of their trading partners
» Distributors receive product and pricing updates from one source for all of their suppliers
» Built-in security that is easy to use
» Manufacturers control which customers have access to all or portions of their data
» Better data integrity through "scrubbing" techniques
» Custom map function sends and receives files in proper file formats
» eCommerce becomes more effective (e.g., packaging data can be funneled directly into a distributor's internal warehouse system to allocate storage space for the product more accurately)

What training is available for IDW customers?

IDW customers have numerous opportunities each month to attend live training sessions or webinars focused on helping you get the most from your solution. We offer role-based training for both manufacturers and distributors a few times each month, as well as a monthly “open forum” session where we address the topic of greatest interest to our users, based upon their input.

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Did You Know? IDW Hot Facts

IDW has the ability to deliver Net Price/Cost into Stock data to a specific distributor location so that location alone receives the data and no one else. Some manufacturers are using this function today. IDW completed a top down security audit by Digital Defense, Inc. that included both External-Penetration testing as well as a Social Engineering test. IDW passed with the highest rating possible given by Digital Defense, leaving no doubt that IDW is the most secure way to deliver private pricing data.

If you are interested in more details regarding IDW, contact Marcy Rogers, IDW Product Manager, at (703) 562-4618.

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