Electrical Distribution Data Centers – Part II

by Greg Carter

Electrical and Industrial transactions routinely include the phrase: “Do you have a part number?” A customer’s response can help close a sale, delay the deal, or worse. Part numbers that are off by just one digit are often followed by the customer returning the product. This wastes time and resources for both parties.

Motor attributes complete and consistent from OEM for Distributor e-commerce platform.

Motor attributes complete and consistent from OEM for Distributor e-commerce platform.

Efforts to standardize data are streamlining the way OEMs, factory reps and wholesalers sell industrial products globally. E-business has given birth to electrical standards committees. Partnerships like the Industry Data Exchange Association (IDEA), National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED), are cooperating globally with the European Technical Information Model (ETIM). ETIM includes expanding participation among European countries.

These Big Data players focus on standardizing data across OEMs for use by electrical and industrial suppliers. Another big data player, GS1, uses a numbering system as the basis for bar coding and numbering industry packaging to support inventory management.

One common scenario is cross-referencing or substituting one part for another. A follow-up article on electrical Big Data will illustrate situations played out daily in the electrical workplace as IT, sales and marketing staffs must tame the data to deliver products that are what the customer ordered based strictly on part numbers and product attributes. Read more on this topic in Electrical Distribution Data Centers Part I

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