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If you want to do the impossible–make more money in less time within the automotive aftermarket industry–we have good news. It’s all about ACES and PIES.
Spoiler alert: this has nothing to do with playing cards or desserts.
ACES and PIES are standards for the automotive industry that categorize vehicle and parts information based on a pre-existing database. The terms ACES and PIES are colloquially used to talk about the actual files being sent between business partners. The coded values within these files are coming out of the pre-existing databases; for example, the Product Classification Database (PCdb). These help configure fitment and product information.These help configure fitment and product information.
However, they are not their own catalogs where you can look up parts that you’re trying to sell. They need a database to partner with in order to work. ACES and PIES data efficiently categorizes aftermarket auto parts, making them that much easier to track, sort, and identify.
There’s no confusion, no creating your own categorization system, just an information map that anyone in the industry can access and trust.
ACES, or Aftermarket Catalog Exchange Standard, categorizes parts according to their application data. Application data includes a range of information, and always tells you what parts work in which specific vehicles.
Some specific information included is the year, make, model, and part type among other information about application fitment. Fitment is an automotive industry term that means, quite simply, if and how a part fits a specific vehicle model. Fitment data can include a vehicle’s make, model, year, engine, transmission, and a whole lot more.
PIES, or Product Information Exchange Standard, categorizes parts according to their product information. This information is all about identifying the product by its measurement, composition, and origin.
PIES data includes information like product number, price, dimensions, kits, UPC codes, hazardous materials information, weight, brand ID, and so on. It helps you identify parts by referencing the product itself, not so much its function.
In a nutshell, ACES is about fitment. What action does the part serve in the vehicle? How? In what specific vehicles? ACES clues you in on these details.
PIES is about products. What is the brand name? What about the price tag? PIES will help you describe product dimensions, popularity, country of origin, and other aspects of the product.
ACES and PIES identify different qualities of parts in the product search journey. Together, they create a whole data picture that enables users to find the parts they’re looking for in a database.
For example, a buyer can use ACES data to identify parts that will work for a specific vehicle, and then partner it with PIES data to compare pricing or manufacturer information.
In reverse, a seller can use PIES data to understand product pricing and trends, and then expand your product listing information to include compatible vehicle information.
Thanks to ACES and PIES, automotive aftermarket parts can be bought and sold with more confidence and efficiency for everyone involved.
There are standards for how parts are classified and organized, and these are set up by the Auto Care Association.
The Auto Care Association (ACA) publishes ACES and PIES standards. The information included in these standards is created by ACA members under the management of a branch of the ACA called the Technology Standards Committee (TSC).
The Technology Standards Committee’s volunteer leaders manage the changes made to industry standards over time. These standards are updated each month. Updates include new products and vehicles added to the market. This also includes data submitted by system users, data that is reviewed by the TSC for verification. This means that the data changes as the market changes, keeping ACES and PIES relevant.
Depending on what you sell, different parts of the ACES and PIES data may apply to your products. AutoCare does provide documentation on required, recommended, and optional data. Different resellers can also require different data points from suppliers. Here are a few that would apply to a typical automotive parts supplier:
If you’re a reseller, you probably view data as an important aspect of supplier relationships. The more data suppliers have available on your parts puts you in a better position so you can educate your customers.
Picture this: you use Excel to manage your data. One day, you accidentally send an outdated spreadsheet to a reseller. You don’t realize it until it’s too late. A few weeks go by, and you begin to get complaints from customers. Your parts don’t fit the vehicles they should, and now you’re in a pickle.
Next, your customers may want a replacement, maybe even a refund. You’re saddled with the cost of return shipping, shipping a replacement part, and extra time moving inventory around a warehouse. On top of that, there’s the potential for a bad review and a customer who’s burned their bridge and isn’t coming back.
That’s why ACES and PIES data matters. It keeps your sales accurate, efficient, and up to standard. It also protects your bottom line.
If you’re an aftermarket supplier, your data management systems may need to level up. And that’s ok! It’s not a pie in the sky if there’s a way to do it.
It’s simple. As seen in the example above, ACES and PIES data increases efficiency and saves you time and money. It reduces the supply chain costs, increases how quickly a product can get to market, and removes any duplicate information or errors that could result in the wrong products going to the wrong place.
This also means fewer product returns, and happier buyers overall. These small efficiencies add up to big savings and trust between buyers and suppliers.
To create your own ACES and PIES data requires a knowledge of ACES and PIES. It’s even better if you can use a tool that has ACES and PIES standards baked in so you’re not going it alone. PDM’s smart automation and simple interface help you create and validate your product data more efficiently. Here are a few ways PDM can help you create great data:
Tools like PDM allow you to share your most up-to-date data with all of your resellers, instantly. They just need to log into PDM, request your data, and immediately it will be available to them. Our Product data can also be exported in the standard ACES and PIES XML format and be transformed to a CSV/Excel file as needed.
You need to update your data management catalog consistently to ensure that it includes the latest information. If not, you may end up misleading customers with outdated fitment information. PDM helps you keep product data up to date and provide real-time data to resellers and marketplaces.
Don’t worry. It’s not about what you know, but who you know.
And the only friend you need is PDM Automotive. PDM has created our own software to help with ACES & PIES. We designed the platform for automotive suppliers and resellers to be useful, effective, and simple.
We can help you enjoy the benefits of ACES and PIES data without putting in all that work. Heck, we’ll even help you set it up!
Drop us a line any day of the week, and we’ll be glad to get you started.
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