Hager announces commitment to ETIM
Posted by: electime 5th February 2019
Following the Electrical Distributors’ Association’s initiative calling for ETIM to be adopted as the industry standard for product data in the UK, Hager has announced that from 1st February 2019, it will be fully deploying ETIM and BMEcat as its data structure and exchange platform respectively.
This latest announcement will see Hager become one of the first manufacturers to commit to adopting ETIM for its wholesaler partners. As a result, wholesale distributors will be able to expand their catalogue and online presence in an easier and more efficient way.
Margaret Fitzsimons, EDA CEO and UK strategic lead on the ETIM International General Assembly, said: “By adopting one standard across the sector, product information can be shared along the supply chain with ease and served up in print and online formats with minimal work-arounds. This standardisation will mean businesses can save on the technical resources and labour needed to maintain the current mix of data sets and structures. Ultimately, this will mean the end customer has access to clear unambiguous technical information.”
As one of the first manufacturers to adopt ETIM fully, Hager’s decision aligns with its commitment to prioritise the needs of its wholesale partners and, in doing so, fully supports the EDA in its efforts.
Ian Smith, Marketing & Support Services Manager at Hager, said: “Our commitment to ETIM will see us able to provide extensive data to our wholesale partners. Gone are the days of numerous Excel spreadsheets; ETIM represents a big step forward for the industry. At Hager, we are very excited to be at the forefront of the UK development working in conjunction with our colleagues at the EDA.”
A standard for the classification of technical product data, ETIM has grown globally over the past 25 years, eliminating the hassle of wholesalers having to manually convert new product data, resulting in businesses saving time and money.
In March 2017, the EDA launched its long-term project to help digitise the UK’s electro-technical supply chain by championing ETIM. Those adopting the classification are guaranteed to use the same terms to describe attributes and features of each product, regardless of a difference in manufacturer, language and medium.
“Hager’s commitment is precisely the news we need and we hope that other manufacturers follow its lead.” says David Lorrison, Head of ETIM-UK at the EDA and technical representative for the UK.
In addition to adopting the ETIM classification for technical product information, Hager has also implemented the BMEcat format for data exchange, providing ETIM and other product master data such as descriptions, EAN codes and photographs. The BMEcat is in an XML format which can be easily opened and formatted in MS Excel to provide access to the full product catalogue.
