April 17, 2013—The Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) announced the general release_notes of the first open industry standard for product-specific attributes.
The product attribute database (PAdb) was contsructed, using the combined knowledge of industry subject matter experts in multiple product categories.
Each attribute definition was reached through the unanimous consensus of two or more suppliers of the product, and a minimum of on nationwide retail or wholesale chain dealing in the product. At the moment, the PAdb includes over 13,000 product attributes, encompassing over 1,650 product types.
AAIA officials hope that the standardization of performance and physical product attributes will result in greater consistency and quality in the marketing data used throughout the supply chain. Organization officials also claim that the database will lead to increased sales and lower returns by providing clear and objective product data to all customers.
“How fast does it spin? Is the pulley included? What is the finished material? These are the facts about a product that professionals and do-it-yourselfers rely upon to make an informed purchase decision,” Scott Luckett, chief information officer of AAIA, said in a statement. “AAIA undertook the task of standardizing these product attributes as a way to increase the quality and consistency, while lowering the cost of managing this data. As the industry moves inevitably toward more online commerce, standardized product marketing data becomes essential to customers in making informed product selections and differentiating between multiple product offerings.”
PAdb is a protected data product of AAIA and is available to license at an annual rate. For more information, visit www.aftermarket.org/Technology/attributes.
