Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/414972
4 FEDA News & Views Brad Pierce President Restaurant Equipment World brad.pierce@rewonline.com The President's Message S ince embarking upon my role as FEDA president, my cornerstone goal has been to work toward cre- ating a data interchange mechanism to modernize communication between industry stakeholders. This initiative has been greeted with enthusiastic support by industry peers and partners as we move forward toward the creation of a proof-of-concept application. We've begun the journey of turning this idea into a reality by defining ini- tial goals, identifying challenges, and lay- ing the groundwork for participation from various segments of the indus- try to ensure a successful outcome. AutoQuotes has been instrumental in this process by providing insight into the handling of data operations between channel partners as well as providing a deep technical understanding of what's required to do so efficiently and securely. Data interchange operations between FEDA dealers and manufacturers will be handled via the FEDA Connector application, an application that already resides on many dealers' internal servers and currently handles pricing updates as well as spec sheet and product image downloads from AutoQuotes. This is a logical choice as the mechanism for data interchange as it won't require any addi- tional software to be installed, nor will it require any additional expense for the dealer. The initial phase of the FEDA Connector enhancements begins with providing dealers with manufacturer stock status levels for various products. These status indicators may include quantity on hand, a simple "yes" or "no," or may provide an estimated lead time for a particular item. The premise of this functionality is to eliminate phone calls to manufacturers or the tedious process of logging into a particular manufactur- er's web portal to view this information. It will result in immediate time savings (cost) for both dealers and manufactur- ers and allow us to provide better ser- vice to end-user customers. Additionally, the initial phase shall also include the ability for manufacturers to convey order status/electronic shipment notification directly to dealers' internal systems. This includes data such as PO number, project name, ship date, car- rier, tracking number(s) and expected delivery date. Many manufacturers are already providing this information in e-mail and/or fax confirmation formats, so the next logical step is to provide it electronically to the dealer in a standard- ized format. This first phase of development will provide a proof-of-concept illustrat- ing potential cost savings and efficien- cies gained by participating in the data interchange initiative. Next, we'll focus our attention on even more challeng- ing components, such as electronic pur- chase order submission, order acknowl- edgements and customized pricing mechanisms. As we look to the future in phase two and beyond, input from FEDA members of all shapes and sizes will be necessary in order to ensure that the final product serves the needs of the widest cross- section of dealers. A task force of deal- ers, along with trusted third-party par- ticipants, such as AutoQuotes, software providers and selected manufacturers, will be meeting regularly to see the proj- ect through to the finish line. I'm truly excited our industry is tak- ing the first step toward creating a uni- fied data interchange platform that will benefit everyone in the channel. This is a team effort that will require extensive collaboration and time commitments to become a reality, but the end result will change the industry for the better. FEDA's Electronic Data Interchange Initiative The Future is Now