October 7, 2014 – The Industry Data Exchange Association (IDEA) has expanded the Industry Data Warehouse (IDW) standard to include the population of 43 critical data fields that distributors have identified as necessary to conduct business today.

Manufacturer compliance to this updated standard will be measured as part of IDEA’s new Data Certification Program, the first IDW metric for data quantity and quality. The 43 fields are sets of transactional and descriptive product information comprising the minimum data that distributors need to conduct business, which include factors such as brand, packaging, and price effective date, said IDEA.

“These critical data fields and the related Data Certification Program support IDEA’s continuous goal of increasing the depth, breadth, and quality of the IDW,” said Chris Curtis, CEO of IDEA. “Manufacturers and distributors alike will see an increase in the value they receive from complete, certified product data, improving the overall quality of any trading partner transaction moving forward.”

All active items in the IDW will be measured against a compliance metric and an excellence metric. First, an item will be identified as “compliant” if each critical field is fully populated. Once complete, the content within those fields will then be subject to a quarterly programmatic quality check, as well as a visual quality check, to evaluate for consistency and accuracy for each item.

“Complete, high-quality data helps all facets of eCommerce and drives more sales for our manufacturers,” said Mike Wentz, vice-president of operations at IDEA. “Through standards and certification, both distributors and manufacturers will have the ability to assess the completeness and excellence of the data being used to sell products within the electrical channel, facilitating everything from catalogues or web stores to EDI and counter sales.”

Effective February 1, 2015, all new items added to the IDW must have all 43 fields fully populated. All existing active IDW items must have the critical fields fully populated by October 1, 2015.