The number of specialty equipment businesses discovering and leveraging quality product data as a tool for increasing sales is on the rise, with hundreds of companies connecting with the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) during the 2015 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The SDC kicked off the SEMA Show week with a dedicated “Education Day” on Monday, followed by four days of one-on-one meetings where companies discovered how to best manage product data in today’s technology-heavy marketplace.
“It’s always exciting for us to connect with the industry in person,” said Jim Graven, director of membership for the SDC. “We were happy to see so many showgoers take time out of their week to learn about data standardization and how it can help their businesses. We’ve found that over the past few years, more and more members are realizing that this is something that is really important, and it’s something that will help their businesses tremendously.”
In one of the most popular seminars, Curt McDowell from Channel Advisor gave insights into how online marketplaces utilize product data to increase sales in his “What Every CEO Needs to Know About Sales and Product Data” presentation. This was followed by an introduction to PIES and ACES standards presented, by Stephanie Jones of the SDC.
While the SEMA Show was, for many, the first real exposure to data standardization, it also was a chance for companies that were already familiar with the topic to connect with the SDC team and see first-hand demonstrations of how the program works. More than 40 new members joined the program during the week.
Since launching in 2013, the SDC has grown to include more than 425 industry brands and more than 725 data receivers.
The SEMA Data Co-op is an industry-owned and operated project designed to bring full product data management capabilities to participating suppliers at the lowest possible cost. Features include a secure, industry standards-based centralized data repository, extensive on-boarding tools, expert live training and technical assistance and unlimited standard or fully customized data exports.
