IDEA Postpones E-Biz Forum to June 2016

The Industry Data Exchange Association (IDEA), Arlington, Va., announced it has decided to move the date of its annual E-Biz Forum from Sept. 2015 to June 2016, citing the focus of its crew, volunteers and supporters on pushing ahead its Data Certification Program.

The E-Biz Forum will be held June 1-3, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. The E-Biz Forum has long been a highlight of the year for the electrical industry data-heads pursuing the dream of free-flowing electrical product data passed directly from the manufacturer to reps and distributors.

"2014 was a transition year for IDEA, as we welcomed a new CEO and launched the Data Certification Program," said IDEA Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Mike Wentz. "We want to continue this momentum in 2015 by concentrating on the high-quality data this industry needs for day-to-day business."

The Data Certification Program is designed to measure the item-level completeness and quality of data available within IDEA's Industry Data Warehouse (IDW). The program focuses on 43 critical data fields in the IDW that contain the transactional and descriptive product information distributors need to conduct business and sell manufacturers’ products (e.g. brand, packaging, price effective date, etc.). An item is compliant if its critical fields are fully-populated. The content within the compliant items’ critical fields will then go through quarterly quality checks to ensure consistency and accuracy.