SEMA’s Business Technology Committee - Boosting Profit Through Standardized Parts Data

Bob Moore is the co-founder and current chairman of SEMA’s Business Technology Committee and a tireless advocate for the use of standardized data and building a shared data system.

As the co-founder and current chairman of SEMA’s Business Technology Committee (BTC), Bob Moore is also a tireless advocate for the use of standardized data and building a shared data system. He has been working in the automotive aftermarket since 1976 and is a partner with Jerry McCabe in J&B Service, a consulting company that specializes in the automotive specialty-equipment market. Moore is a member of the SEMA Board of Directors, serves on its executive committee and serves as a volunteer for a variety of industry organizations. He spent some time with SEMA News recently to discuss progress the association is making with respect to business technology.
SEMA News: When we spoke last year (see “A Few Words With Bob Moore” in the December 2010 issue of SEMA News), you were adamant about the need for the industry to embrace data standards, particularly the Product Information Exchange Standard (PIES) and the Aftermarket Catalog Enhanced Standard (ACES). Could you refresh us about those systems?

Bob Moore: ACES and PIES are the formats that the replacement-parts industry has adopted for sharing data. Even the acronym PIES refers to sharing: Product Information Exchange Standard. It is a way to share information about the products themselves between trading partners. While the standardized formats make it very easy to translate information into an electronic document, ACES and PIES do not assure valid and accurate data. They are just standardized ways to publish and share information. Accuracy is absolutely up to the creator of the product, who is also the creator of the data.

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Staff PowerandPlay.com