View from the Driver’s Seat - a perspective from Joe Sepeda, Product eCatalog Manager
We are often asked about the best way to release new product announcements and how to manage that in the datasets sent out to resellers.
At our last SEMA Data Users Group meeting held virtually earlier this month, I shared how the Life Cycle Status Codes can help, not only with letting your customers know about new products, but also when a part number may have been discontinued or superseded.
We recommend using the Life Cycle Status Codes (click on image to see all available codes) to keep your customers current with your available products. One of the frequent complaints from resellers that we hear is their inability to know why there is a dropped part number from one dataset to the next. The other is not knowing which products are new in a large dataset of parts.
Using the codes to convey both types of information will reduce the confusion and help the resellers to process product information quickly which means getting your products to market faster.
It is common for products to be assigned the Life Cycle Status of "Available to Order" which means those parts are ready for market and have skipped over their new produce announcement step. By not utilizing the "New Number Announcement" status, you have drowned your new items in the midst of all your current items.
For resellers, it's important to take in and process the Life Cycle Status Codes when reviewing and uploading product data into your point-of-sale or eCommerce platforms.
Similarly, not utilizing and publishing the Discontinued, Superseded, or Obsolete status codes for parts that have reach their end-of-life frustrates the end user as they continue to seek something that doesn't exist, and worse, reflecting this frustration to your brand and how it's represented through your product data.
If you would like to learn more about the Lifecycle Status Codes within the PIES data standards, please feel free to reach out to me or any of the SEMA Data eCatalog Team.
As always, we're here to help if you have questions. Contact us at info@semadata.org.
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