Scott Luckett opened the telephone meeting by introducing the participants and thanking Jim Spoonhower and SEMA for hosting the conference facility.

New Business
Scott Luckett, on behalf of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, submitted the Product Information Exchange Standard (PIES), version 4.2, and the Internet Parts Ordering Standard (IPO), version 1.2.1 for review and approval as ACEC-recognized standards in the aftermarket.

The process was describe as beginning with the formal request, followed by a reasonable period for members of other associations to review and comment on the subject standards, concluding with a vote on the request once comments have been heard. Following discussion, it was agreed that the necessary information to review PIES and IPO would be posted to the ACEC Web site (www.aceconline.org) immediately, and the goal will be to vote on the requests at the summer meeting, July 19 in Chicago.

Chris Gardner, on behalf of the Motor Equipment Manufacturers Association, submitted the 850 (Purchase Order) XML EDI document for review and approval as an ACEC-recognized standard. The same process for review and comment and the same goal for approving the request by July 19 apply to the MEMA standard.

Industry Updates
     ADT - The Aftermarket Data Pool
The Aftermarket Data Trust is an industry-wide data synchronization and repository project led by AAIA, MEMA and SEMA. Chris Gardner reported that a vendor, Digiton, has been selected to perform an industry requirements study for the ADT Steering Committee. The cost of the study, approximately $100,000, has been agreed in principal to be shared equally among the three associations. The Boards of SEMA and AAIA have officially approved the funding requests and AASA, the Aftermarket Segment of MEMA, will take up funding the ADT Requirements Study at its board meeting on June 6. Pending completion of the funding phase, Digiton is prepared to conduct the study over 90 days and present findings and recommendations to the industry by the end of the third quarter of this year.

On a related topic, Scott reported on a meeting hosted by Pep Boys between representatives of the aftermarket and representatives of UCCnet. Pep Boys has selected UCCnet as its recipient data pool and wanted to ensure that it would have access to the PIES data available from its parts suppliers by way of the GS1 Global Data Synchronization Network. To accomplish this, the aftermarket must petition GS1 to accept the PIES data fields that we expect to make available through our industry data pool, the ADT. The GS1 approval process will require 6-12 months and will need to be completed before the ADT could interoperate on the GDSN.

     MEMA Update
Chris reported on MEMA efforts to enable suppliers to their manufacturer members to conduct e-commerce on basic documents, even if they are not EDI-capable. Findings are that most of the suppliers are not capable of electronic document exchange and account for a higher cost of doing business.

Further, Chris reported that MEMA was developing a new Direct-Connect application based on IPO standards. This would enable trading partners to perform special order inquiries electronically when one or the other is IPO-enabled. Direct-Connect launch is on target for the 4th quarter of 2005.

     CIECA Update
Fred Iantorno reported that CIECA has released version 3 of its XML standard. Membership is growing and IBM, Microsoft and AVIS are among its newest members. CIECA completed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with STAR (the NADA Technology group) and the Automobile Recyclers Association (ARA) to co-develop standards where their industries "touched." Fred indicated that efforts to strike an MOU with the aftermarket through AAIA had not been successful. Scott responded that the project inventory was very full at AAIA, and it had not wanted to enter into an agreement that would end up disappointing CIECA if a work product could not be produced. Scott and Fred agreed to collaborate with representatives of the respective associations to explore a solution to the impasse.

Industry Events Calendar
Chris and Scott reminded the Council of two valuable events for those interested in information technology and e-commerce in the aftermarket:

• Aftermarket eForum, July 19-21, Hyatt Regency - O'Hare, Chicago, Ill.
  
• MIS Council Fall Conference, October 16-19, Marriott Resort, Marco Island, Fla.

Next Meeting
The next meeting of the ACEC will be Tuesday, July 19, 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM at the Hyatt Regency - O'Hare, immediately prior to the Aftermarket eForum in Chicago. Scott Luckett will facilitate the notification and agenda for this meeting.

Other Business
Chris commended SEMA for articles in their member publications about supplier enablement and other technology initiatives.