SEMA Member News—July/August 2015

From SBN Chair to the Board of Directors: Luanne Brown Gets It!

By Marla Moore

	Over the years, Brown has been very involved in fundraising events for SEMA Cares. Here she is at the Child Help banquet, next to a car that was auctioned to benefit the charity.

There have been only a handful of women on the SEMA Board of Directors (BOD), and four of them chaired the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network (SBN) before rising to the Board. Luanne Brown is one of those women.

In June, Brown will have served her maximum terms and leave the BOD but not the many tasks and initiatives she helped. She served as chair of the SEMA Cares charitable committee, where she initiated the successful pinewood derby races to raise funds for Child Help and Victory Junction for disadvantaged youth. Brown is also a member of the SEMA Business Technology Committee and has become one of the industry’s leading experts, conducting numerous seminars on Internet marketing and advertising at the SEMA Show, the Aftermarket
eForum, the Off Road Impact Show, the Hot Rod and Restoration Trade Show, the Performance Racing Industry trade show and various AAIA (now the Auto Care Association) events. She is a true testament to how perseverance, getting involved and making connections will propel your career and take you places you never dreamed of.

Brown got her start in October of 2001 when a client of the multi-media firm she represented took her to the AAPEX show and introduced her to Martha Doyle, one of the founding members of the SBN. Doyle asked her: “Have you ever heard of SEMA and the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network?” Brown said: “No, what’s that?” Then Doyle introduced her to the women of the SBN. Brown became a member and shortly thereafter began writing “Quick Business Tips” for SEMA News.

Brown was greatly inspired by the women she met and started her own company, eTool Developers, in December 2001. Early on, Matt Agosta, Steve Cole, Dick Van Cleve and John Towle mentored her and introduced her to numerous other key figures in the industry. She began volunteering her time and networking through SEMA to become known in the industry.

Working in a male-dominated industry wasn’t always easy, but Brown found that most men were very approachable and willing to show her the ropes.

“The hardest thing for me was to be taken seriously as a woman and not just typecast as some ‘girly girl,’” Brown shared. “You need to become a respected leader in the industry by doing what you say you are going to do and by getting involved in the councils and committees of SEMA. The key for me was to become an expert in the field of Internet marketing to gain respect as a trustworthy individual. Once others in the industry start believing in you and trust you, they will listen to you.”

eTool Developers continues to thrive today. Brown is grateful to have a team of experts that developed software platforms to serve websites, dealer portals and provide do-it-yourself data management for her friends and clients in the automotive aftermarket.

“When you can help your friends increase their bottom line, it’s a win-win relationship,” she exclaimed.

The SBN is very proud of the success of our former chair and awarded her the SBN Athena Award in 2007. The Women’s Automotive Association International honored her recently with the Spirit of Leadership award.

One of her most memorable moments in the aftermarket was participating in a “Night with the Demon” party with Barry Grant and his team. They gave all guests rides in the “Richard Petty Experience.” She’ll never forget suiting up, then crawling through the window of a racecar and being driven around the racetrack at neck-breaking speed by a professional driver.

“I was thrilled to death and understood what the excitement of our industry was all about,” she said. “I crawled back out of that window saying, ‘I get it now! I get it now!’”

Luanne Brown definitely got it, and we’re glad that she took the opportunity to join the SBN and be a leader in our industry.

SEMA Member News—July/August 2015

From SBN Chair to the Board of Directors: Luanne Brown Gets It!

By Marla Moore

	Over the years, Brown has been very involved in fundraising events for SEMA Cares. Here she is at the Child Help banquet, next to a car that was auctioned to benefit the charity.

There have been only a handful of women on the SEMA Board of Directors (BOD), and four of them chaired the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network (SBN) before rising to the Board. Luanne Brown is one of those women.

In June, Brown will have served her maximum terms and leave the BOD but not the many tasks and initiatives she helped. She served as chair of the SEMA Cares charitable committee, where she initiated the successful pinewood derby races to raise funds for Child Help and Victory Junction for disadvantaged youth. Brown is also a member of the SEMA Business Technology Committee and has become one of the industry’s leading experts, conducting numerous seminars on Internet marketing and advertising at the SEMA Show, the Aftermarket
eForum, the Off Road Impact Show, the Hot Rod and Restoration Trade Show, the Performance Racing Industry trade show and various AAIA (now the Auto Care Association) events. She is a true testament to how perseverance, getting involved and making connections will propel your career and take you places you never dreamed of.

Brown got her start in October of 2001 when a client of the multi-media firm she represented took her to the AAPEX show and introduced her to Martha Doyle, one of the founding members of the SBN. Doyle asked her: “Have you ever heard of SEMA and the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network?” Brown said: “No, what’s that?” Then Doyle introduced her to the women of the SBN. Brown became a member and shortly thereafter began writing “Quick Business Tips” for SEMA News.

Brown was greatly inspired by the women she met and started her own company, eTool Developers, in December 2001. Early on, Matt Agosta, Steve Cole, Dick Van Cleve and John Towle mentored her and introduced her to numerous other key figures in the industry. She began volunteering her time and networking through SEMA to become known in the industry.

Working in a male-dominated industry wasn’t always easy, but Brown found that most men were very approachable and willing to show her the ropes.

“The hardest thing for me was to be taken seriously as a woman and not just typecast as some ‘girly girl,’” Brown shared. “You need to become a respected leader in the industry by doing what you say you are going to do and by getting involved in the councils and committees of SEMA. The key for me was to become an expert in the field of Internet marketing to gain respect as a trustworthy individual. Once others in the industry start believing in you and trust you, they will listen to you.”

eTool Developers continues to thrive today. Brown is grateful to have a team of experts that developed software platforms to serve websites, dealer portals and provide do-it-yourself data management for her friends and clients in the automotive aftermarket.

“When you can help your friends increase their bottom line, it’s a win-win relationship,” she exclaimed.

The SBN is very proud of the success of our former chair and awarded her the SBN Athena Award in 2007. The Women’s Automotive Association International honored her recently with the Spirit of Leadership award.

One of her most memorable moments in the aftermarket was participating in a “Night with the Demon” party with Barry Grant and his team. They gave all guests rides in the “Richard Petty Experience.” She’ll never forget suiting up, then crawling through the window of a racecar and being driven around the racetrack at neck-breaking speed by a professional driver.

“I was thrilled to death and understood what the excitement of our industry was all about,” she said. “I crawled back out of that window saying, ‘I get it now! I get it now!’”

Luanne Brown definitely got it, and we’re glad that she took the opportunity to join the SBN and be a leader in our industry.

SEMA Member News—July/August 2015

Data and the MRN

	MRN continues to look for partnership opportunities with the SEMA Data Co-op. Members may contact any of the MRN leadership for more information, including (from left) Former Chair Joel Rosenthal, Chair Les Rudd, Immediate Past Chair Tommy Jourdan, Chair-Elect Vic Bennett or SEMA Staff Liaison Bryan Harrison.

The Manufacturers’ Representative Network (MRN) has continued to collaborate with the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) to provide valuable and user-friendly benefits to reps. Over the past few months, several exciting projects have received attention. Here is an update for MRN members.

MRN-SDC Export Template

First, the MRN-SDC export template is ready to use. The SDC has built a comprehensive flat file format that can be run for manufacturers at any time—either on a regular schedule or only when updates are needed. The export-scheduling feature allows reps to choose the frequency and type of updates they receive. They can choose Net Changes (only new information since their last export) or Full File Refresh (a complete new file each export) and can schedule them to run daily, weekly, days of the week, monthly or dates of the month.

To date, there have been more than 230 exports using the MRN template, and it has received great feedback from users—but this is only one of the formats available for data exports. Once an agency is set up as a receiver, it can create its own custom template with more or less information, depending on individual needs.

MRN Certification Program

The MRN Certification Program will launch a fifth module this summer. The web-based educational series helps manufacturers’ representatives learn more about what the SDC offers through courses designed to build confidence in discussing the data-management system with customers. Participants have three weeks to complete four sessions and quizzes. Those who successfully complete the series receive a certificate of completion and are recognized as SDC ambassadors. The new module is designed to keep already certified MRN members abreast of updates and changes to the program.

The product data available to representatives through the SDC is valuable because it helps drive sales. Clean data gives exposure to new products and reduces the number of returns due to wrong products being sold. Through the certification program, reps can assist their suppliers with new product additions, content building and receiver-specific data requests. This load-sheet knowledge helps to ensure a good fit between suppliers and receivers. It also relieves the burden of customer-specific load sheets for every new part number and allows for better customer service. To date, more than 100 reps have completed the first four modules.

A commonly asked question is if the courses can be finished at any time or if reps must start from the beginning after a certain period of time. The flexibility of this program is one of the things that makes it so valuable. All courses are now available through SEMA Education, and the progress of each rep was transferred from the original Mindflash platform. Reps who need to pick up where they left off or would like to begin the certification process can register at any time by contacting Jim Graven at jimg@SEMAdatacoop.org.

Score Carding

The SDC is also focused on a data-quality and completeness initiative through a new score-card program designed to help suppliers better meet the data needs of their customers. Each supplier receives a score-card level that reflects his or her level of data quality and completeness based on an overall view of SDC data receivers’ needs.

Bronze is the minimum required data set when a supplier completes the initial onboarding process, designed to meet the primary needs of many WDs and resellers. The Silver level builds on that data set, adding dimensions, more complete descriptions, bullet points and additional images. Gold further improves the data set with the addition of descriptive product attributes and digital assets, including installation instructions and warranty information. The pinnacle of data is the Platinum level, which builds upon the previous three levels with the addition of even more assets, descriptions, videos, kit and interchange information and more.

The SDC team is working daily with suppliers to help them achieve these “steps” in data improvement as painlessly as possible, resulting in a more valuable, productive and sales-producing data set to serve their customer bases. Reps are encouraged to work with their participating suppliers to help achieve their next level of data validation.

For more information about any of these programs and initiatives, contact SDC Director of Membership Jim Graven at jimg@SEMAdatacoop.org or MRN Staff Liaison Bryan Harrison at bryanh@sema.org.

SEMA Member News—July/August 2015

Data and the MRN

	MRN continues to look for partnership opportunities with the SEMA Data Co-op. Members may contact any of the MRN leadership for more information, including (from left) Former Chair Joel Rosenthal, Chair Les Rudd, Immediate Past Chair Tommy Jourdan, Chair-Elect Vic Bennett or SEMA Staff Liaison Bryan Harrison.

The Manufacturers’ Representative Network (MRN) has continued to collaborate with the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) to provide valuable and user-friendly benefits to reps. Over the past few months, several exciting projects have received attention. Here is an update for MRN members.

MRN-SDC Export Template

First, the MRN-SDC export template is ready to use. The SDC has built a comprehensive flat file format that can be run for manufacturers at any time—either on a regular schedule or only when updates are needed. The export-scheduling feature allows reps to choose the frequency and type of updates they receive. They can choose Net Changes (only new information since their last export) or Full File Refresh (a complete new file each export) and can schedule them to run daily, weekly, days of the week, monthly or dates of the month.

To date, there have been more than 230 exports using the MRN template, and it has received great feedback from users—but this is only one of the formats available for data exports. Once an agency is set up as a receiver, it can create its own custom template with more or less information, depending on individual needs.

MRN Certification Program

The MRN Certification Program will launch a fifth module this summer. The web-based educational series helps manufacturers’ representatives learn more about what the SDC offers through courses designed to build confidence in discussing the data-management system with customers. Participants have three weeks to complete four sessions and quizzes. Those who successfully complete the series receive a certificate of completion and are recognized as SDC ambassadors. The new module is designed to keep already certified MRN members abreast of updates and changes to the program.

The product data available to representatives through the SDC is valuable because it helps drive sales. Clean data gives exposure to new products and reduces the number of returns due to wrong products being sold. Through the certification program, reps can assist their suppliers with new product additions, content building and receiver-specific data requests. This load-sheet knowledge helps to ensure a good fit between suppliers and receivers. It also relieves the burden of customer-specific load sheets for every new part number and allows for better customer service. To date, more than 100 reps have completed the first four modules.

A commonly asked question is if the courses can be finished at any time or if reps must start from the beginning after a certain period of time. The flexibility of this program is one of the things that makes it so valuable. All courses are now available through SEMA Education, and the progress of each rep was transferred from the original Mindflash platform. Reps who need to pick up where they left off or would like to begin the certification process can register at any time by contacting Jim Graven at jimg@SEMAdatacoop.org.

Score Carding

The SDC is also focused on a data-quality and completeness initiative through a new score-card program designed to help suppliers better meet the data needs of their customers. Each supplier receives a score-card level that reflects his or her level of data quality and completeness based on an overall view of SDC data receivers’ needs.

Bronze is the minimum required data set when a supplier completes the initial onboarding process, designed to meet the primary needs of many WDs and resellers. The Silver level builds on that data set, adding dimensions, more complete descriptions, bullet points and additional images. Gold further improves the data set with the addition of descriptive product attributes and digital assets, including installation instructions and warranty information. The pinnacle of data is the Platinum level, which builds upon the previous three levels with the addition of even more assets, descriptions, videos, kit and interchange information and more.

The SDC team is working daily with suppliers to help them achieve these “steps” in data improvement as painlessly as possible, resulting in a more valuable, productive and sales-producing data set to serve their customer bases. Reps are encouraged to work with their participating suppliers to help achieve their next level of data validation.

For more information about any of these programs and initiatives, contact SDC Director of Membership Jim Graven at jimg@SEMAdatacoop.org or MRN Staff Liaison Bryan Harrison at bryanh@sema.org.

SEMA Member News—July/August 2015

Data and the MRN

	MRN continues to look for partnership opportunities with the SEMA Data Co-op. Members may contact any of the MRN leadership for more information, including (from left) Former Chair Joel Rosenthal, Chair Les Rudd, Immediate Past Chair Tommy Jourdan, Chair-Elect Vic Bennett or SEMA Staff Liaison Bryan Harrison.

The Manufacturers’ Representative Network (MRN) has continued to collaborate with the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) to provide valuable and user-friendly benefits to reps. Over the past few months, several exciting projects have received attention. Here is an update for MRN members.

MRN-SDC Export Template

First, the MRN-SDC export template is ready to use. The SDC has built a comprehensive flat file format that can be run for manufacturers at any time—either on a regular schedule or only when updates are needed. The export-scheduling feature allows reps to choose the frequency and type of updates they receive. They can choose Net Changes (only new information since their last export) or Full File Refresh (a complete new file each export) and can schedule them to run daily, weekly, days of the week, monthly or dates of the month.

To date, there have been more than 230 exports using the MRN template, and it has received great feedback from users—but this is only one of the formats available for data exports. Once an agency is set up as a receiver, it can create its own custom template with more or less information, depending on individual needs.

MRN Certification Program

The MRN Certification Program will launch a fifth module this summer. The web-based educational series helps manufacturers’ representatives learn more about what the SDC offers through courses designed to build confidence in discussing the data-management system with customers. Participants have three weeks to complete four sessions and quizzes. Those who successfully complete the series receive a certificate of completion and are recognized as SDC ambassadors. The new module is designed to keep already certified MRN members abreast of updates and changes to the program.

The product data available to representatives through the SDC is valuable because it helps drive sales. Clean data gives exposure to new products and reduces the number of returns due to wrong products being sold. Through the certification program, reps can assist their suppliers with new product additions, content building and receiver-specific data requests. This load-sheet knowledge helps to ensure a good fit between suppliers and receivers. It also relieves the burden of customer-specific load sheets for every new part number and allows for better customer service. To date, more than 100 reps have completed the first four modules.

A commonly asked question is if the courses can be finished at any time or if reps must start from the beginning after a certain period of time. The flexibility of this program is one of the things that makes it so valuable. All courses are now available through SEMA Education, and the progress of each rep was transferred from the original Mindflash platform. Reps who need to pick up where they left off or would like to begin the certification process can register at any time by contacting Jim Graven at jimg@SEMAdatacoop.org.

Score Carding

The SDC is also focused on a data-quality and completeness initiative through a new score-card program designed to help suppliers better meet the data needs of their customers. Each supplier receives a score-card level that reflects his or her level of data quality and completeness based on an overall view of SDC data receivers’ needs.

Bronze is the minimum required data set when a supplier completes the initial onboarding process, designed to meet the primary needs of many WDs and resellers. The Silver level builds on that data set, adding dimensions, more complete descriptions, bullet points and additional images. Gold further improves the data set with the addition of descriptive product attributes and digital assets, including installation instructions and warranty information. The pinnacle of data is the Platinum level, which builds upon the previous three levels with the addition of even more assets, descriptions, videos, kit and interchange information and more.

The SDC team is working daily with suppliers to help them achieve these “steps” in data improvement as painlessly as possible, resulting in a more valuable, productive and sales-producing data set to serve their customer bases. Reps are encouraged to work with their participating suppliers to help achieve their next level of data validation.

For more information about any of these programs and initiatives, contact SDC Director of Membership Jim Graven at jimg@SEMAdatacoop.org or MRN Staff Liaison Bryan Harrison at bryanh@sema.org.

SEMA Member News—July/August 2015

Data and the MRN

	MRN continues to look for partnership opportunities with the SEMA Data Co-op. Members may contact any of the MRN leadership for more information, including (from left) Former Chair Joel Rosenthal, Chair Les Rudd, Immediate Past Chair Tommy Jourdan, Chair-Elect Vic Bennett or SEMA Staff Liaison Bryan Harrison.

The Manufacturers’ Representative Network (MRN) has continued to collaborate with the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) to provide valuable and user-friendly benefits to reps. Over the past few months, several exciting projects have received attention. Here is an update for MRN members.

MRN-SDC Export Template

First, the MRN-SDC export template is ready to use. The SDC has built a comprehensive flat file format that can be run for manufacturers at any time—either on a regular schedule or only when updates are needed. The export-scheduling feature allows reps to choose the frequency and type of updates they receive. They can choose Net Changes (only new information since their last export) or Full File Refresh (a complete new file each export) and can schedule them to run daily, weekly, days of the week, monthly or dates of the month.

To date, there have been more than 230 exports using the MRN template, and it has received great feedback from users—but this is only one of the formats available for data exports. Once an agency is set up as a receiver, it can create its own custom template with more or less information, depending on individual needs.

MRN Certification Program

The MRN Certification Program will launch a fifth module this summer. The web-based educational series helps manufacturers’ representatives learn more about what the SDC offers through courses designed to build confidence in discussing the data-management system with customers. Participants have three weeks to complete four sessions and quizzes. Those who successfully complete the series receive a certificate of completion and are recognized as SDC ambassadors. The new module is designed to keep already certified MRN members abreast of updates and changes to the program.

The product data available to representatives through the SDC is valuable because it helps drive sales. Clean data gives exposure to new products and reduces the number of returns due to wrong products being sold. Through the certification program, reps can assist their suppliers with new product additions, content building and receiver-specific data requests. This load-sheet knowledge helps to ensure a good fit between suppliers and receivers. It also relieves the burden of customer-specific load sheets for every new part number and allows for better customer service. To date, more than 100 reps have completed the first four modules.

A commonly asked question is if the courses can be finished at any time or if reps must start from the beginning after a certain period of time. The flexibility of this program is one of the things that makes it so valuable. All courses are now available through SEMA Education, and the progress of each rep was transferred from the original Mindflash platform. Reps who need to pick up where they left off or would like to begin the certification process can register at any time by contacting Jim Graven at jimg@SEMAdatacoop.org.

Score Carding

The SDC is also focused on a data-quality and completeness initiative through a new score-card program designed to help suppliers better meet the data needs of their customers. Each supplier receives a score-card level that reflects his or her level of data quality and completeness based on an overall view of SDC data receivers’ needs.

Bronze is the minimum required data set when a supplier completes the initial onboarding process, designed to meet the primary needs of many WDs and resellers. The Silver level builds on that data set, adding dimensions, more complete descriptions, bullet points and additional images. Gold further improves the data set with the addition of descriptive product attributes and digital assets, including installation instructions and warranty information. The pinnacle of data is the Platinum level, which builds upon the previous three levels with the addition of even more assets, descriptions, videos, kit and interchange information and more.

The SDC team is working daily with suppliers to help them achieve these “steps” in data improvement as painlessly as possible, resulting in a more valuable, productive and sales-producing data set to serve their customer bases. Reps are encouraged to work with their participating suppliers to help achieve their next level of data validation.

For more information about any of these programs and initiatives, contact SDC Director of Membership Jim Graven at jimg@SEMAdatacoop.org or MRN Staff Liaison Bryan Harrison at bryanh@sema.org.

SEMA Member News—July/August 2015

Data and the MRN

	MRN continues to look for partnership opportunities with the SEMA Data Co-op. Members may contact any of the MRN leadership for more information, including (from left) Former Chair Joel Rosenthal, Chair Les Rudd, Immediate Past Chair Tommy Jourdan, Chair-Elect Vic Bennett or SEMA Staff Liaison Bryan Harrison.

The Manufacturers’ Representative Network (MRN) has continued to collaborate with the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) to provide valuable and user-friendly benefits to reps. Over the past few months, several exciting projects have received attention. Here is an update for MRN members.

MRN-SDC Export Template

First, the MRN-SDC export template is ready to use. The SDC has built a comprehensive flat file format that can be run for manufacturers at any time—either on a regular schedule or only when updates are needed. The export-scheduling feature allows reps to choose the frequency and type of updates they receive. They can choose Net Changes (only new information since their last export) or Full File Refresh (a complete new file each export) and can schedule them to run daily, weekly, days of the week, monthly or dates of the month.

To date, there have been more than 230 exports using the MRN template, and it has received great feedback from users—but this is only one of the formats available for data exports. Once an agency is set up as a receiver, it can create its own custom template with more or less information, depending on individual needs.

MRN Certification Program

The MRN Certification Program will launch a fifth module this summer. The web-based educational series helps manufacturers’ representatives learn more about what the SDC offers through courses designed to build confidence in discussing the data-management system with customers. Participants have three weeks to complete four sessions and quizzes. Those who successfully complete the series receive a certificate of completion and are recognized as SDC ambassadors. The new module is designed to keep already certified MRN members abreast of updates and changes to the program.

The product data available to representatives through the SDC is valuable because it helps drive sales. Clean data gives exposure to new products and reduces the number of returns due to wrong products being sold. Through the certification program, reps can assist their suppliers with new product additions, content building and receiver-specific data requests. This load-sheet knowledge helps to ensure a good fit between suppliers and receivers. It also relieves the burden of customer-specific load sheets for every new part number and allows for better customer service. To date, more than 100 reps have completed the first four modules.

A commonly asked question is if the courses can be finished at any time or if reps must start from the beginning after a certain period of time. The flexibility of this program is one of the things that makes it so valuable. All courses are now available through SEMA Education, and the progress of each rep was transferred from the original Mindflash platform. Reps who need to pick up where they left off or would like to begin the certification process can register at any time by contacting Jim Graven at jimg@SEMAdatacoop.org.

Score Carding

The SDC is also focused on a data-quality and completeness initiative through a new score-card program designed to help suppliers better meet the data needs of their customers. Each supplier receives a score-card level that reflects his or her level of data quality and completeness based on an overall view of SDC data receivers’ needs.

Bronze is the minimum required data set when a supplier completes the initial onboarding process, designed to meet the primary needs of many WDs and resellers. The Silver level builds on that data set, adding dimensions, more complete descriptions, bullet points and additional images. Gold further improves the data set with the addition of descriptive product attributes and digital assets, including installation instructions and warranty information. The pinnacle of data is the Platinum level, which builds upon the previous three levels with the addition of even more assets, descriptions, videos, kit and interchange information and more.

The SDC team is working daily with suppliers to help them achieve these “steps” in data improvement as painlessly as possible, resulting in a more valuable, productive and sales-producing data set to serve their customer bases. Reps are encouraged to work with their participating suppliers to help achieve their next level of data validation.

For more information about any of these programs and initiatives, contact SDC Director of Membership Jim Graven at jimg@SEMAdatacoop.org or MRN Staff Liaison Bryan Harrison at bryanh@sema.org.

SEMA Member News—July/August 2015

Data and the MRN

	MRN continues to look for partnership opportunities with the SEMA Data Co-op. Members may contact any of the MRN leadership for more information, including (from left) Former Chair Joel Rosenthal, Chair Les Rudd, Immediate Past Chair Tommy Jourdan, Chair-Elect Vic Bennett or SEMA Staff Liaison Bryan Harrison.

The Manufacturers’ Representative Network (MRN) has continued to collaborate with the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) to provide valuable and user-friendly benefits to reps. Over the past few months, several exciting projects have received attention. Here is an update for MRN members.

MRN-SDC Export Template

First, the MRN-SDC export template is ready to use. The SDC has built a comprehensive flat file format that can be run for manufacturers at any time—either on a regular schedule or only when updates are needed. The export-scheduling feature allows reps to choose the frequency and type of updates they receive. They can choose Net Changes (only new information since their last export) or Full File Refresh (a complete new file each export) and can schedule them to run daily, weekly, days of the week, monthly or dates of the month.

To date, there have been more than 230 exports using the MRN template, and it has received great feedback from users—but this is only one of the formats available for data exports. Once an agency is set up as a receiver, it can create its own custom template with more or less information, depending on individual needs.

MRN Certification Program

The MRN Certification Program will launch a fifth module this summer. The web-based educational series helps manufacturers’ representatives learn more about what the SDC offers through courses designed to build confidence in discussing the data-management system with customers. Participants have three weeks to complete four sessions and quizzes. Those who successfully complete the series receive a certificate of completion and are recognized as SDC ambassadors. The new module is designed to keep already certified MRN members abreast of updates and changes to the program.

The product data available to representatives through the SDC is valuable because it helps drive sales. Clean data gives exposure to new products and reduces the number of returns due to wrong products being sold. Through the certification program, reps can assist their suppliers with new product additions, content building and receiver-specific data requests. This load-sheet knowledge helps to ensure a good fit between suppliers and receivers. It also relieves the burden of customer-specific load sheets for every new part number and allows for better customer service. To date, more than 100 reps have completed the first four modules.

A commonly asked question is if the courses can be finished at any time or if reps must start from the beginning after a certain period of time. The flexibility of this program is one of the things that makes it so valuable. All courses are now available through SEMA Education, and the progress of each rep was transferred from the original Mindflash platform. Reps who need to pick up where they left off or would like to begin the certification process can register at any time by contacting Jim Graven at jimg@SEMAdatacoop.org.

Score Carding

The SDC is also focused on a data-quality and completeness initiative through a new score-card program designed to help suppliers better meet the data needs of their customers. Each supplier receives a score-card level that reflects his or her level of data quality and completeness based on an overall view of SDC data receivers’ needs.

Bronze is the minimum required data set when a supplier completes the initial onboarding process, designed to meet the primary needs of many WDs and resellers. The Silver level builds on that data set, adding dimensions, more complete descriptions, bullet points and additional images. Gold further improves the data set with the addition of descriptive product attributes and digital assets, including installation instructions and warranty information. The pinnacle of data is the Platinum level, which builds upon the previous three levels with the addition of even more assets, descriptions, videos, kit and interchange information and more.

The SDC team is working daily with suppliers to help them achieve these “steps” in data improvement as painlessly as possible, resulting in a more valuable, productive and sales-producing data set to serve their customer bases. Reps are encouraged to work with their participating suppliers to help achieve their next level of data validation.

For more information about any of these programs and initiatives, contact SDC Director of Membership Jim Graven at jimg@SEMAdatacoop.org or MRN Staff Liaison Bryan Harrison at bryanh@sema.org.

SEMA Member News—July/August 2015

Member Reflection: ETTN Professional Development Program Success

	Ten ETTN members enjoyed the Social Media Strategies Summit in February.

Ten members of the Emerging Trends and Technology Network (ETTN) attended a Social Media Strategies Summit in February in Las Vegas. This event was the first in a series of Professional Development Programs that ETTN curated for its members in 2015.

“Professional development isn’t a one-time experience,” said SEMA Senior Manager of Networks Bryan Harrison. “By design, it is an effective tool throughout the career of an employee to continuously develop the knowledge and skills to advance a company. We were pleased to report that the participants had a great experience at the summit and have already begun to implement many of the lessons learned.”

Participants received a special rate and attended along with SEMA staff. Brant Combs, director of marketing at ATC Truck Covers, believes the community building with other ETTN members was an important aspect of the program.

“I enjoyed the summit,” he said. “Besides taking home useful information to help us with social media, we got to network with a great group of people in SEMA who are working on similar things.”

Kathryn Reinhardt, MagnaFlow marketing manager, appreciated the ability to customize her experience at the summit. The flexibility ensured that all participants would take ideas back to the office with them.

“With social media still being a new avenue for companies to use to communicate with customers, I wanted to see what tips and lessons I could learn to incorporate into the MagnaFlow strategy and also see if our current strategy was up to par,” she explained. “Once checked in, you could review the tracks available for specific seminars that spoke to case studies, tool integration and content creation. They also provided keys for business-to-consumer, business-to-business and small to medium business agendas.”

Other participants related to the strategic applications discussed. Tim Torrecarion, sales and marketing manager at Air Flow Research, noted that basic marketing and communications principles have remained consistent even though the channels have changed over time.

“To be successful in digital, you need to get back to the basics of marketing and communications,” he said. “Put customers first and understand their needs. Where are they and how do they like to communicate? Word of mouth is still the best advertising.”

Sean Crawford of JE Pistons said his high-level takeaway was that social media is still evolving.

“The platforms themselves are changing, but also the way brands utilize each platform to accomplish business objectives,” he said. “One speaker explained it best, stating that we have moved from chasing ‘likes’ to focusing on increasing engagement to accomplishing business objectives. Social media and the available tools have evolved to allow brands to listen to their consumers and react in a way that benefits the bottom line. Having spent much of my time in a data-driven environment, being able to show business results will make social media a growing part of our marketing strategy.”

A second event took place in June—the Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition (IRCE). Each year, more than 10,000 attendees travel to Chicago to hear from more than 200 expert speakers representing all areas of the e-commerce industry. This year, speakers included top executives from Target, 1-800-Flowers.com, QVC and more. In addition to the educational opportunities, the 250,000-sq.-ft. exhibit hall presented more than 600 companies in the e-commerce solutions industry.

Mike Alvarez, director of e-commerce and marketing for Roush Yates Performance Products, is an ETTN select committee member and attended along with the group. He shared a few of the things he appreciated about the exhibition.

“I really enjoy being a part of these events, because they give me an opportunity to network with my peers,” he said. “The IRCE was a great event for Roush Yates and myself. We were able to keep our thumb on the pulse of e-commerce and all the new products and services that are available. I feel confident that this will help us keep a leg up on the competition and help surge our company into the future.”

ETTN will also take members to the Disney Quality Service training on September 23 in Anaheim, California. Applications will be accepted until August 18 for this one-day course, which will take a close look at the small details that make a big difference in the environment for both customers and staff.

Learn more about ETTN’s Professional Development Program and apply now for the final event at www.sema.org/ettn. For more information, contact Bryan Harrison at bryanh@sema.org.

SEMA Member News—July/August 2015

Member Reflection: ETTN Professional Development Program Success

	Ten ETTN members enjoyed the Social Media Strategies Summit in February.

Ten members of the Emerging Trends and Technology Network (ETTN) attended a Social Media Strategies Summit in February in Las Vegas. This event was the first in a series of Professional Development Programs that ETTN curated for its members in 2015.

“Professional development isn’t a one-time experience,” said SEMA Senior Manager of Networks Bryan Harrison. “By design, it is an effective tool throughout the career of an employee to continuously develop the knowledge and skills to advance a company. We were pleased to report that the participants had a great experience at the summit and have already begun to implement many of the lessons learned.”

Participants received a special rate and attended along with SEMA staff. Brant Combs, director of marketing at ATC Truck Covers, believes the community building with other ETTN members was an important aspect of the program.

“I enjoyed the summit,” he said. “Besides taking home useful information to help us with social media, we got to network with a great group of people in SEMA who are working on similar things.”

Kathryn Reinhardt, MagnaFlow marketing manager, appreciated the ability to customize her experience at the summit. The flexibility ensured that all participants would take ideas back to the office with them.

“With social media still being a new avenue for companies to use to communicate with customers, I wanted to see what tips and lessons I could learn to incorporate into the MagnaFlow strategy and also see if our current strategy was up to par,” she explained. “Once checked in, you could review the tracks available for specific seminars that spoke to case studies, tool integration and content creation. They also provided keys for business-to-consumer, business-to-business and small to medium business agendas.”

Other participants related to the strategic applications discussed. Tim Torrecarion, sales and marketing manager at Air Flow Research, noted that basic marketing and communications principles have remained consistent even though the channels have changed over time.

“To be successful in digital, you need to get back to the basics of marketing and communications,” he said. “Put customers first and understand their needs. Where are they and how do they like to communicate? Word of mouth is still the best advertising.”

Sean Crawford of JE Pistons said his high-level takeaway was that social media is still evolving.

“The platforms themselves are changing, but also the way brands utilize each platform to accomplish business objectives,” he said. “One speaker explained it best, stating that we have moved from chasing ‘likes’ to focusing on increasing engagement to accomplishing business objectives. Social media and the available tools have evolved to allow brands to listen to their consumers and react in a way that benefits the bottom line. Having spent much of my time in a data-driven environment, being able to show business results will make social media a growing part of our marketing strategy.”

A second event took place in June—the Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition (IRCE). Each year, more than 10,000 attendees travel to Chicago to hear from more than 200 expert speakers representing all areas of the e-commerce industry. This year, speakers included top executives from Target, 1-800-Flowers.com, QVC and more. In addition to the educational opportunities, the 250,000-sq.-ft. exhibit hall presented more than 600 companies in the e-commerce solutions industry.

Mike Alvarez, director of e-commerce and marketing for Roush Yates Performance Products, is an ETTN select committee member and attended along with the group. He shared a few of the things he appreciated about the exhibition.

“I really enjoy being a part of these events, because they give me an opportunity to network with my peers,” he said. “The IRCE was a great event for Roush Yates and myself. We were able to keep our thumb on the pulse of e-commerce and all the new products and services that are available. I feel confident that this will help us keep a leg up on the competition and help surge our company into the future.”

ETTN will also take members to the Disney Quality Service training on September 23 in Anaheim, California. Applications will be accepted until August 18 for this one-day course, which will take a close look at the small details that make a big difference in the environment for both customers and staff.

Learn more about ETTN’s Professional Development Program and apply now for the final event at www.sema.org/ettn. For more information, contact Bryan Harrison at bryanh@sema.org.