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.

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THE ILLUMINATOR VOLUME VI

JAN17,2011 www.illumaware.com 3

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