Scott Luckett, Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association Skip Potter Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association

Al Jones, Motor & Equipment Manufactures Association Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association

Mary Wilson, Uniform Code Council Jim Petragnani Uniform Code Council

Roger Cadaret, Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association

Venlo Wolfsohn, International Truck Parts Association

Charlie Scott , Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association

Tara Tessier , Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association

Scott Luckett of AAIA Chaired the ACEC meeting at the AAIA office in Bethesda, Maryland. The minutes of the meeting hosted by MEMA in April were approved.

Scott introduced the Product Information Exchange Standard (PIES) version 1.7 to the ACEC for approval. The document had been distributed to participants for review and comment in advance of the meeting. PIES was approved without dissent.

There was some discussion about the meaning of "ACEC approved". It was confirmed that "ACEC approved" means a document or standard has been approved and recommended as the industry practice for the stated purpose of the document or standard. It was decided that the definition of "ACEC approved" should be published on the ACEC-online web site. In addition, the procedure for petitioning modifications to any of the documents should be specified on that site.

There was discussion about the current state of XML and the impact on X.12 EDI. The consensus was that X.12 was optimal for machine-to-machine processing data while XML made more sense when human interface was involved. Roger Cadaret reported that ANSI X.12 was developing a full suite of XML tools to enable EDI via the Web.

The group concluded that the role of ACEC was to build a list of XML projects in the Aftermarket and their association champions and to invite for Review and Comment DTD's, Style Sheets, and XML Tag definitions.

Roger Cadaret reported that RosettaNet has identified Automotive as a target industry for XML standards. Roger agreed to contact NADA on behalf of the ACEC and explore coordinating the automotive, heavy-duty and collision industries with respect to the RosettaNet project.

Jim Petragnani of the Uniform Code Council reported that UCC has partnered with EAN (European Article Numbering) to create a global identification system. The Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is an umbrella term for all 14-digit numbering structures. UCC/EAN has established that all retail POS systems will accept the 13 digit EAN as well as 12 digit UPC by January 1, 2005. Most existing scanner hardware should be able to read all existing numbering structures (UCC-12, EAN/UCC-8, EAN/UCC-13 and EAN/UCC-14) but the databases need to be updated. More information is available from the UCC Web site at www.uc-council.org.

In response to the bar code changes, Jim agreed to work with representatives from AWDA to update the Bar Code Guidelines for the aftermarket. AWDA will then present the updated guidelines to the ACEC for review and comment.

In addition, it was agreed that ACEC should facilitate the understanding of Bar Code implementation in the aftermarket and the changing technology through editorial and educational venues such as AAPEX and Automechanika. UCC/EAN will seek opportunities to meet with representatives from European associations to promote education and awareness of the GTIN. AWDA was invited to make presentations to the AAIA Electronic Commerce Committee and Automotive committees to increase awareness of the industry standard for bar codes.

Roger Cadaret reported on the current projects of the Collision Industry. CIECA facilitates communication between insurance companies and collision shops with a suite X.12 EDI documents. CIECA has developed intra-enterprise standards for Estimating and Management Systems (EMS). These standards are different from ioSHOP but Roger and Scott agreed to dialog and explore combining these standards. CIECA is evaluating the P.O. and Acknowledgement standards from MEMA.

Al Jones indicated that representatives of MISG were developing XML style sheets and Document Type Definitions (DTD) for the existing MEMA X.12 EDI transaction sets. Those specification were expected in time for review by the MIS Council at their meeting in October and would be presented at the next ACEC meeting for approval.

On behalf of AWDA, Al offered to work with the UCC to update the Bar Code Guidelines for the industry.

Scott Luckett reported on the status of the three major initiatives from the AAIA e-commerce committee. Electronic Catalog Standards are being enhanced to include a vehicle configuration database rather than the flat file format currently deployed. A final design will be considered by the ECC in September with full deployment scheduled for the second quarter of 2001.

The Product Information Exchange Standards (approved by ACEC at this meeting) will continue to evolve and reflect input from the industry. Committee members are currently focused on evaluating standards for the exchange of video and other extended product description information.

Late last year AAIA formed a Shop Integration Task Force comprised of representatives from Snap-on and other leading makers of PC-based shop equipment and systems. The objective was to create a single worldwide standard for the interconnectivity of PC-based equipment and systems in the repair shop. Scott reported that the standard, known as ioSHOP, is 95% complete and prototype development has begun. ioSHOP is scheduled for completion and publication by the summer of 2001.