April 5, 2013—The Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) has released a new version of the Product Information Exchange Standard (PIES) and updates to the Digital Asset Best Practices.
PIES version 6.5 features expanded support of market copy and coded product attributes. PIES allows users to manage and exchange elements of product information, such as pricing, packaging, item identification, warranty, interchange, kitting, and imaging.
Version 6.5 has been published for a 90-day pre-release to allow time for developers and trading partners to update their software and systems to support the latest version.
The Digital Asset Best Practices guideline includes new information about producing audio, video and PDF digital assets, as well as recommendations for product images based on improved camera technology.
“As the point-of-sale moves to a web browser or computer workstation, customers rely increasingly on robust content and graphical media to make a buying decision,” said Scott Luckett, chief information officer at AAIA. “Without the benefit of direct interaction with a store associate, online content must tell the full story of a product and anticipate the questions of the customer. Automotive marketers are awakening to this new reality and the AAIA standards continue to evolve and anticipate the growing requirement for rich product content throughout the industry.”
For more information about the upgrades, visit aftermarket.org/technology/pies.
