Posted: Sept. 7, 2006, 9 a.m., EST
BROCKVILE, ONT and WAKE FOREST, NC – Following the recent announcement of their strategic alliance, Pricedex and Illumaware are teaming up to produce a webinar to help aftermarket manufacturers gain a better understanding of the business and financial benefits of utilizing both a robust product information management solution and incorporating industry standards in their product data.
The free 45-minute webinar, scheduled to take place from 11-11:45 am (EST) on Wednesday, Sept 13, is being sponsored and hosted by MEMA’s MIS Council.
Presented by Adrian Klingel of Illumaware and Jeffrey Marshall of Pricedex, the webinar will attempt to debunk the myth that tackling internal and external data management and industry standards has to be a major resource issue. They also will discuss the reasons why internal data management strategies should be looked at as revenue generating and cost reduction opportunities, rather than a costly chore. Klingel and Marshall will offer a no-nonsense, 10-step approach to ‘eating the elephant’ otherwise known as Internal Data Management.
Included will be a discussion of these key points:
• Internal Data Management – What is it? Some definitions and explanations.
• Turning the Train Around – Looking at the drivers for standards in a different way.
• i before e – Always – Why building the foundation infrastructure for a complete, end-to-end solution – rather than settling simply for a quick-fix, but ultimately inadequate ‘point’ solution — is a sound investment.
• Selling the Concept Internally – Building the business case for PIM beyond just satisfying your trading partners
• A 10-point plan to internal (and external) data management – A no-nonsense, concurrent approach to solving the problem “now” while implementing an internal data management plan
“Today’s manufacturers are under increasing pressure to provide quality and timely product information to their customers to support sales revenue, while at the same time seeking operational efficiencies in order to gain competitive advantage and reduce supply chain costs,” said Terry O’Reilly, Pricedex president and CEO. “Global sourcing, while helping to meet one objective, has compounded the product information issue by extending the supply chain to many foreign countries. Item Master Data from ERP systems holds part of the solution, but what about all the additional commerce-level data needed to support the sale?”
Industry standards for the exchange of product information hold promise to simplify the communication between trading partners. However, the perception that the task of managing internal data and delivering it to the market falls into the high-capital, “mega-project” realm has slowed adoption within the manufacturing community. The webinar will attempt to correct these misconceptions.
To join in the free webinar, simply do the following:
• Log in at the Web site http://www.readyshow.com and use the participant code 67753062.
• Enter your full name, company name and e-mail address.
• The audio portion is accessed by calling 800-377-8846 and, at the prompt, entering the code 67753062 and the pound sign (#).
