An update on the heavy duty parts standardization process

Product Information standards are not coming, they’re here – and the entire heavy duty aftermarket is working to get its customers the right parts, at the right place, at the right time using this upgraded measure for efficiency.

While HDDA: Heavy Duty is the steward of the standards creation project, it is the independent heavy duty aftermarket that truly owns the effort. All the research necessary for the success of this standards creation project is generated by the industry, reviewed by the industry and validated by the industry.

The latest on standards development

The expansion of the existing Product Information Exchange Standard (PIES) to accommodate heavy duty aftermarket products is well into the development phase. Initially, 20 product categories, covering more than 85 percent of all parts sold, were identified as the first segments to research and include in PIES. At present, 10 of those 20 have either completed the research phase or are in the process of completion. The remaining 10 product categories will be completed through the fall of 2019.

Categories currently in the research phase include:

• Brakes
• Front steer axle wheel components
• Axles – front steering
• Axles – non-driven, rear
• Axles – driven, rear
• Axles – driven, front steering charging system
• Ignition systems
• Exhaust systems
• Lighting systems

The research and development process

There are some basic steps followed in order to identify and establish standardization among parts categories. 

1. Manufacturers volunteer product attribute information. The research begins with each manufacturer that volunteers for a product category submitting the attributes of products it currently provides to the heavy duty supply chain, in order for their parts to be properly matched to a repair and sold. Attributes include details ranging from brand to measurement information, green materials labeling and other critical details a customer needs to identify the correct replacement part.
2. Determination is made of each category’s product attribute similarities across manufacturers. Once those attributes are collected, our partner, Pricedex Software, as well as volunteers and the Auto Care Association technology staff, look for similarities across manufacturers and consider those as industry standard attributes. This team then looks for “outliers,” or attributes that one or more manufacturers are providing on their products that others are not, to determine if those attributes should also be included as standards. The goal is to establish industry best practices for providing product information to customers that is also distributed in a standardized, streamlined format.
3. Subject matter experts review each product category. Each product category is then reviewed by separate groups of subject matter experts (SMEs) to confirm the findings for each category attribute research project. These SMEs come from other areas of the supply chain. They can include distributors, professional service providers and business system providers that aggregate manufacturer product information into back-end product and inventory software used by distributors and retailers.

Many fleets also incorporate these types of business systems into their maintenance management processes for parts ordering. It is this last point – the use of business system providers – that made it critical for HDDA to include part of the Vehicle Maintenance Reporting System (VMRS) list of codes into the standard information file format.

VMRS codes have long been a help to fleets in identifying the parts and services performed on each vehicle asset. One of the challenges with VMRS, however, has been increasing the number of manufacturers that provide a proper code at the point-of-sale. 

HDDA has worked to include a VMRS code into the standard, to help encourage more suppliers to participate in VMRS. HDDA’s partnership with the Technology & Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Associations has been invaluable in getting the awareness of the PIES system out to the commercial vehicle industry.

Why heavy duty standards are needed

The adoption of the heavy duty product information standards by parts manufacturers and sellers should produce efficiencies for fleets as well. Not only do product data standards facilitate the use of ecommerce – which more parts buyers use every day – but they also empower the existing counter salesperson to offer customers more options for parts to purchase while arming them with more knowledge on the products available.

Through the use of greater detail on product selection, a fleet can expand its access to replacement parts and also reduce repair time by minimizing delays for returned parts – maximizing vehicle uptime.

Industry input makes the difference

The success of the PIES expansion to include heavy duty products is still partially contingent upon fleets. While nearly 70 companies have committed to creating and adopting the standards when they are fully released, there are countless other manufacturers that need to hear from their fleet customers on why they should participate in the project.

There are critical items a fleet can communicate with a parts supplier on the importance of adopting standardized data standards. Those items include:

• The more information fleets have on a product, the more likely the fleet is to purchase.
• Data standards help get new products to market faster, giving fleets a chance to incorporate new options into vehicles.
• Data standards can increase vehicle uptime by getting the right part, at the right place, at the right time.

Conclusion

Why product information standards for the heavy vehicle aftermarket? Because they help fleets.

Visit the HDDA: Heavy Duty comprehensive standards resource center at standards.hdda.org to find more information about the development and adoption of PIES into the heavy duty aftermarket and sign up to volunteer. 

For more information on the process and current progress of heavy duty parts standardization, visit https://www.autocare.org/two_column.aspx?id=4098&gmssopc=1.

Sheila Andrews joined the Auto Care Association in July 2012 and serves as the Director, Heavy Duty Markets. Andrews manages program development for HDDA: Heavy Duty, a community of the Auto Care Association. Programs to serve the heady duty market include data standards creation, work force education, market intelligence generation and advocacy.