May 31, 2012 – IDEA (a B2B technology service provider owned by the electrical industry) says registration is now open for the 14th annual IDEA E-Biz Forum—an eBusiness event dedicated to business-to-business leaders in the electrical supply chain.

“The networking opportunities at the forum are second to none. It’s the only event where you can get a clear vision of where the industry is heading on multiple fronts—not just solely from a technological perspective,” said Kyle Johnson, marketing manager, Viking Electric Supply.

The agenda (including general and breakout sessions) is also now available on the forum website. The 2012 forum is themed “Reunite. Rethink. Recharge” and runs September 25-27, Dallas, Texas.

Among event highlights is a session on best practices and lessons learned from IDEA users such as Border States Electric, Cooper Industries, Mayer Electric Supply, McNaughton-McKay, Milbank Manufacturing and Osram Sylvania. There are also sessions on IDEA’s industry solutions, such as: web storefront software (iCIMM2); text-to-EDI conversion service (iConex); the Data Management Platform (DMP); the Industry Data Warehouse (IDW) 3.0; and the Electrical Attribute Schema 3.0 (including its alignment with Europe’s product classification model).

2012 event sponsors include Unilog Content Solutions, Epicor, Thomas & Betts, Eaton, Border States, Digital Business Architects (DBA), ILSCO, General Electric, Kirby Risk Electrical Supply and Leviton. Early-bird discounts end June 29. Visit www.idea-ebizforum.com for more event information and to register online.

IDEA is a technology service provider and eCommerce standards body for the electrical industry. It was founded in 1998 through a partnership between members of the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) and National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA).

The IDEA E-Biz Forum is co-hosted by IDEA, NAED, NEMA, Electro-Federation Canada (EFC), and the National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association (NEMRA).