The independent heavy duty aftermarket has united to support the Product Information Exchange Standard (PIES) for product data and urges all suppliers to embrace these standards. PIES is an industry standard format for the communication of product data. As the automotive industry has seen, the use of a uniform standard simplifies and enhances communication throughout the entire supply chain. FleetPride, HDA Truck Pride and VIPAR Heavy Duty have united in this cause and are calling for all suppliers servicing the heavy duty industry to adopt the PIES standard due to its critical importance to the industry.
Led by HDDA, the heavy duty community of the Auto Care Association, more and more distributors and manufacturers from the independent heavy duty aftermarket are moving to better product data communication through PIES. The move to PIES is expected to enhance the marketplace experience, increase speed, enhance efficiency and improve net revenues for heavy duty businesses.
Announced in January 2020 at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW), the heavy duty PIES standard streamlines the development and dissemination of product data throughout the entire supply chain. The result for manufacturers is simplified product information creation that gets their products to market faster and into the inventory of distributors and, ultimately, end users sooner – with fewer returns.
“Adoption of PIES data standards brings efficiencies to suppliers and distributors while ultimately creating a better experience for the customer,” said Mike Harris, SVP, sales and branch operations, FleetPride. “As digital platforms like eCommerce expand, the parts with the most complete data set will be the product customers more likely choose. FleetPride is pleased to join in this collaborative effort for the entire heavy duty industry.”
“HDA Truck Pride is extremely proud of this collaborative effort to enhance our industry,” said Tina Hubbard, president and CEO of HDA Truck Pride. “Data standards have proven to be the critical foundation for electronic transactions as we move forward. PIES will assist the entire supply chain in cost reduction, increased productivity and overall competitiveness.”
“The need for rich product content has never been greater with new digital environments, expanding sales channels and changing customer and staff demographics magnifying the need; and a methodology to obtain, manage and distribute content effectively and efficiently,” said Jeff Paul, VP of marketing, VIPAR Heavy Duty. “The expansion of PIES and the adoption of data standards in the heavy duty market are mission critical to ensuring we can best serve our collective end-user customers. VIPAR Heavy Duty is proud to be part of the industry collaboration that has brought our segment to this point and strongly encourages adoption of the PIES standard.”
Suppliers and their channel partners in the heavy duty aftermarket can find more information about PIES at https://www.autocare.org/technology/pies.
For technical questions related to the implementation of heavy duty standards, email Jim Smith, senior director of standards at j[email protected]. For subscriptions, contact Scott Howat, business development executive at [email protected].
