Guidelines
EDIPro standards, which help reduce the time and effort it takes to implement electronic data interchange (EDI) with trading partners, are our most popular published guidelines.
White Papers
IDEA publishes white papers on topics such as how to send net prices securely and product lifecycle management to help you adopt industry best practices.
Templates
The industry’s Electrical Attribute Schema helps you categorize products, standardize their characteristics, and emphasize what makes them different.
IDEA Industry Standards
IDEA brings manufacturers, distributors and service providers together to develop mutually-beneficial solutions through the IDEA Industry Standards Committee (ISC).
IDW
Provide or gain access to up-to-date pricing, packaging, and marketing data about the products you sell. All data in the IDW is approved by the manufacturer, supporting an error-free process.
IDW
Provide or gain access to up-to-date pricing, packaging, and marketing data about the products you sell. All data in the IDW is approved by the manufacturer, supporting an error-free process.
Catalog Services
Manufacturers that provide product data through the IDW will gain access to IDEA's Catalog Management Services. These services help to ensure the product data they share with thousands of distributor locations is as accurate and complete as possible.
AFS
Through the Attribute Fulfillment Service (AFS), manufacturers can populate product marketing content into the IDW quickly and cost-efficiently.
DMS
Manufacturers that sell through mass merchandisers such as Lowe’s and Walmart have many mandates and deadlines to manage. IDEA can take care of this for you through the Data Management Service (DMS).
IDW
Provide or gain access to up-to-date pricing, packaging, and marketing data about the products you sell. All data in the IDW is approved by the manufacturer, supporting an error-free process.
IRD
IRD CERICOMX® is a software application that provides suppliers the tools they need to register and publish their product catalogs to GDSN recipients such as Lowe’s and Walmart via the 1SYNC data pool.
Catalog Services
Manufacturers that provide product data through the IDW will gain access to IDEA's Catalog Management Services. These services help to ensure the product data they share with thousands of distributor locations is as accurate and complete as possible.
AFS
Through the Attribute Fulfillment Service (AFS), manufacturers can populate product marketing content into the IDW quickly and cost-efficiently.
DMS
Manufacturers that sell through mass merchandisers such as Lowe’s and Walmart have many mandates and deadlines to manage. IDEA can take care of this for you through the Data Management Service (DMS).
IDW
Provide or gain access to up-to-date pricing, packaging, and marketing data about the products you sell. All data in the IDW is approved by the manufacturer, supporting an error-free process.
2-Way Dialogue
The DMP enables real-time, two-way dialogue at the field level which gives trading partners the ability to get more specific with their product data requests and responses.
AFS
Through the Attribute Fulfillment Service (AFS), manufacturers can populate product marketing content into the IDW quickly and cost-efficiently.
DMS
Manufacturers that sell through mass merchandisers such as Lowe’s and Walmart have many mandates and deadlines to manage. IDEA can take care of this for you through the Data Management Service (DMS).
DMP Supply
Aggregate internal silos of product data (e.g. enterprise, marketing, customer-specific) in one place and send it out to all of your trading partners using the Data Management Platform (DMP) software.
DMP Demand
Manage and validate the product information you receive from various sources in one location before syndicating the content out to your customers.
IDW
Provide or gain access to up-to-date pricing, packaging, and marketing data about the products you sell. All data in the IDW is approved by the manufacturer, supporting an error-free process.
2-Way Dialogue
The DMP enables real-time, two-way dialogue at the field level which gives trading partners the ability to get more specific with their product data requests and responses.
AFS
Through the Attribute Fulfillment Service (AFS), manufacturers can populate product marketing content into the IDW quickly and cost-efficiently.
DMS
Manufacturers that sell through mass merchandisers such as Lowe’s and Walmart have many mandates and deadlines to manage. IDEA can take care of this for you through the Data Management Service (DMS).
DMP Supply
Aggregate internal silos of product data (e.g. enterprise, marketing, customer-specific) in one place and send it out to all of your trading partners using the Data Management Platform (DMP) software.
DMP Demand
Manage and validate the product information you receive from various sources in one location before syndicating the content out to your customers.
iCIMM2 Web Storefront Software
Achieve an Amazon-like experience at a fraction of the cost with IDEA’s web storefront software, iCIMM2. We help distributors quickly build the foundation of their online catalogs, and create a consistent user experience for mobile users as well.
IDX
The Industry Data Exchange (IDX) is a value-added network that enables trading partners to send and receive EDI, EDIFACT, XML and other electronic documents securely while tracking their status online.
iConex
iConex is a text-to-EDI conversion service, integrated with the IDX to help you automate order management with trading partners that are not EDI-capable while leveraging your existing systems.
Outsource your EDI operations to IDEA
IDEA’ s EDI Managed Services enable you to conduct EDI without the need to hire additional staff or purchase new software, with varying levels of support, from writing and testing new maps to managing trading partner relationships.
IDW
Provide or gain access to up-to-date pricing, packaging, and marketing data about the products you sell. All data in the IDW is approved by the manufacturer, supporting an error-free process.
2-Way Dialogue
The DMP enables real-time, two-way dialogue at the field level which gives trading partners the ability to get more specific with their product data requests and responses.
AFS
Through the Attribute Fulfillment Service (AFS), manufacturers can populate product marketing content into the IDW quickly and cost-efficiently.
DMS
Manufacturers that sell through mass merchandisers such as Lowe’s and Walmart have many mandates and deadlines to manage. IDEA can take care of this for you through the Data Management Service (DMS).
DMP Supply
Aggregate internal silos of product data (e.g. enterprise, marketing, customer-specific) in one place and send it out to all of your trading partners using the Data Management Platform (DMP) software.
DMP Demand
Manage and validate the product information you receive from various sources in one location before syndicating the content out to your customers.
iCIMM2 Web Storefront Software
Achieve an Amazon-like experience at a fraction of the cost with IDEA’s web storefront software, iCIMM2. We help distributors quickly build the foundation of their online catalogs, and create a consistent user experience for mobile users as well.
B2B Communications
Improve business relationships and automate order management through streamlined transactions and communications using IDEA’s EDI software and services.
B2B Communications
Improve business relationships and automate order management through streamlined transactions and communications using IDEA’s EDI software and services.
IDEA's Foundation
IDEA brings manufacturers, distributors and service providers together to develop mutually-beneficial solutions through the IDEA Industry Standards Committee (ISC).
Industry Standards
IDEA is the official eBusiness standards creating and setting body for the electrical industry. The reliable standards developed by the IDEA Industry Standards Committee (ISC) can help you streamline business transactions, differentiate your products, automate labor-intensive manual tasks, and speed up your quote-to-cash cycle. IDEA partners with national and global standards bodies, such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and GS1 to ensure our solutions are built on a strong standards-based foundation to help trading partners speak one common language.
Roll over the Industry Standards to find out more!
Electrical Industry Roots
IDEA was founded by members of the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) in 1998 to establish a mutually-beneficial data synchronization platform where manufacturers could provide their product information to all of their authorized distributors electronically in one location and one common format. This platform is known as the Industry Data Warehouse (IDW) and continues to evolve with new technology and customer demands. IDEA’s mission is to enable trading partner profitability and supply chain efficiency, and all of our solutions support this core mission.
Roll over the IDW to find out more!
eBusiness Consulting
Providing product information to trading partners through IDEA’s data sync platforms has significant ROI, but it takes a lot of effort upfront because a manufacturer’s product information is often in various formats and scattered across different systems and locations. IDEA offers various professional services to help manufacturers prioritize and implement eBusiness initiatives while complying with industry and global eBusiness standards. Our services range from basic technical support to close, consultative partnering and outsourcing.
Roll over our Services to find out more!
Global Data Sync
IDEA helps manufacturers comply with Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) standards so that their products can be sold through mass merchandisers such as Lowe’s, Walmart and Target, healthcare providers such as Premier Health, and grocery/food service companies such as McLane and Dot Foods. IDEA has excellent relationships with these companies and continually monitors their data sync requirements so that you don’t miss any important deadlines or mandates. As a GS1 US Certified Solution Partner, our software, IRD CERICOMX®, is certified to be compliant to the GS1 System standards. IDEA utilizes the 1SYNC® data pool for the GDSN synchronization.
Roll over the IRD to find out more!
Multi-Channel Communications
IDEA created the Data Management Platform (DMP) to simplify the process of providing and publishing product data to various types of trading partners and media. The DMP seamlessly connects manufacturers to distributors, retailers and other trading partners through one cloud-based platform, while complying with industry, global and customer-specific mandates. This platform enables real-time, two-way dialogue at the field level which gives distributors the opportunity to get more specific with their product data requests, and helps manufacturers prioritize their product data population efforts.
Roll over the DMP to find out more!
End-User Connections
IDEA partners with leading technology service providers to integrate robust manufacturer-approved product data into technologies that are accessed by the ultimate end-user of the product (e.g. contractors, specifiers) such as: web storefronts, mobile apps, eCatalogs and estimating systems. This helps to close the loop in the supply chain and reduce order errors since everyone is using the same product data throughout the sales process.
Roll over the iCIMM2 to find out more!
Order Management
Once an order is placed by a customer, manufacturers and distributors need a secure way to quickly fulfill the order without using a lot of man power and resources. IDEA provides electronic data interchange (EDI) solutions that enable you to automate all the processes involved in fulfilling a customer’s orders including: order fulfillment, accounts receivable/payable, logistics, and shipping and receiving, so that they can get their order in time and you can get paid faster.
Roll over the IDX, iConex and EDI Outsourcing option to find out more!
Prepare for Future Growth
All of IDEA’s products and services work together to connect and cut costs from the supply chain. We foster a community of manufacturers, distributors and end-users that collaborate and leverage our solutions to get products to market faster, adapt and respond to changing customer expectations, differentiate products in the marketplace, and position their company for future growth. IDEA continually evaluates new technologies so that you can focus on what you do best.