OptiCat, the supplier-run product data repository, has expanded its coverage in the aftermarket and has plans to further improve data communication between suppliers and receivers by creating a way to automatically bridge ACES and TecDoc information.
OptiCat went into full production in early 2012, and now has 45 major suppliers on board, along with more than 100 data receivers.
"We are experiencing good success with larger vendors that are sending data to 30 or 40 partners a month," says OptiCat vice president Bart Noyes. "Our software makes those complex relationships a lot easier to manage. The suppliers don't have to manage all the manual interactions that they did before."
OptiCat began as a joint venture between MindQuest Inc. and TecDoc Information Systems, Europe's largest electronic catalog data supplier. In 2010, the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) acquired a shareholder stake in OptiCat, and the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) was tapped to oversee MEMA's interests there.
OptiCat replaces the many-to-many flow of product between suppliers and receivers with a one-to-many model that provides accumulated supplier data to distributors, catalog providers and distribution groups. AASA brought a sizable number of aftermarket manufacturers into the fold.
OptiCat consolidates supplier data, making it easier for receivers to accumulate and validate that information, saving time and costs. Receivers request permission to access a supplier's data through OptiCat OnBoard, which ensures they receive updated information automatically.
"We consider ourselves the filter at the end of the faucet, making sure the data is as clean as possible when it goes to the receivers," Noyes says. "We're working closely with suppliers to ensure the data is as accurate as it can possibly be."
Since 2010, OptiCat has launched validation technology (OnTarget) that searches the data for duplicates and overlaps, as well as features within its OnBoard tool that help ensure accuracy and standards compliance. "We're catching more and more of those issues before the data is published," Noyes says. "Even suppliers that tell us they have checks in place, we'll run samples and show them what we're finding. You find some surprising things in very large data sets."
According to Noyes, widespread adoption of the ACES standard has greatly improved data communication in the aftermarket, which has helped fuel OptiCat's momentum. "Even smaller companies and WDs can communicate in and understand XML, and their overall level of technology understanding in the industry has grown as result of people using these standards," Noyes says. "They're pulling data from suppliers and generating their own catalogs in many cases, and that's something you didn’t' see a few years ago."
ACES, TecDoc Bridge in the Works
Of late, the focus on product data has expanded from descriptive and application data to include more support for standard product photos, 360-degree photography, videos, and other types of content. OptiCat is working with suppliers and other technology vendors to support those efforts.
"There's growing complexity and growing expectations from consumers about what they can see when they click on a part," Noyes says. "Providing that data and those multiple views of a product are elements that are here to stay."
In April, OptiCat and Visual SKUs (a 360-degree photo specialist) announced that Visual SKUs DAM software now integrates directly with OptiCat. The partnership will allow manufacturers to create a single digital asset profile for each trading partner, automating the delivery of images via OptiCat.
According to Noyes, OptiCat's top priority moving forward will be bridging the North American PIES and ACES data with TecDoc, which serves as the standard for most other international markets.
"That's one of our primary challenges now; suppliers are looking beyond the shores of the U.S., or we encounter European suppliers that are focused outside of the U.S., and they need to support ACES/PIES and TecDoc," Noyes says. "The suppliers want us to help them reach out to China or Australia, and they don't want to catalog their data twice."
OptiCat is building the technology to create the bridge, and also examining the data to ensure that it will map accurately between the two systems.
Noyes says the company's other top focus area will be on improving access to PIES files. "There's less compliance on the PIES side, along with a lot of special requests," Noyes says. "We want to let people take full advantage of PIES information and be able to ship that out in ways that the industry can easily consume."
With this increased focus on PIES data, as well as the wide adoption of ACES, Noyes says that OptiCat will continue to work closely with the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA). In the past, there has been some confusion about the relationship between the organizations, because of OptiCat's links to TecDoc. Noyes emphasizes that they are continuing to collaborate. (Noyes is himself a former past chair of the AAIA Technology and Standards Committee).
"We understand that North America has invested heavily in ACES and PIES, and that's not going to change," Noyes says. "We are working with the AAIA, not against them. What we do makes it easier for our common suppliers and data receivers to exchange information."
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