The Heavy Duty Distributor Association (HDDA) segment of the Auto Care Association announced the results of its 2016 Feasibility Study with Pricedex Software into the viability of developing product data standards for the heavy-duty aftermarket on Wednesday at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW) 2017 in Las Vegas.
Last year’s study was conducted from June to September last year, and was broken into three stages. Researchers defined the stages as follows:
Stage 1: Investigate the data exchange practices in the light-, heavy-duty, industrial and equipment sectors, considering published industry standards in the light vehicle and industrial segments and the current practices in the heavy-duty sector.
Stage 2: Investigate the various reference data tables used in each sector, identifying opportunities to leverage and enhance heavy-duty practices. Extrapolate useful data which could be used as the building blocks for richer product content.
Stage 3: Investigate current industry practices around product attributes and product category hierarchies. Determine their current and potential uses to support heavy-duty product information and a methodology to prioritize and advance the prospect of developing a standardized library of heavy-duty product attributes.
During their presentation Wednesday, Auto Care’s Bill Hanvey and Sheila Andrews said they were pleased by the results of the study, which they believe shows the aftermarket would support a standardization of product information reporting standards.
“A product standard would allow us to create more robust product data to help you and your counter people sell more product … and become more efficient,” says Hanvey, Auto Care president and CEO. “It would allow all of us to speak the same language.”
