ETIM North America (NA) announced Dec. 9 that WESCO, a global supply chain solutions and distribution company, joined the product classification standards organization.
WESCO is a Fortune 500 supply chain solutions company specializing in electrical and electronic, communications and security, and utility and broadband distribution solutions to keep our world running and advancing. WESCO supports customers in more than 50 countries to build, connect, power and protect the world.
WESCO was No. 7 on Industrial Distribution's 2021 Big 50 List.
“We are excited that WESCO is joining ETIM NA,” said Mary Shaw, ETIM NA’s Executive Director. “I have worked e-Commerce and data standards development with WESCO’s data teams in the past and know that their product expertise helps bring the voice of their customers and suppliers to conversations. This will help us make great progress in our classification initiative and will benefit the entire channel.”
WESCO is joining other industry leaders as collectively the industry builds out the ETIM classification model to meet the terminology and product-specific description needs of the North American electrical industry.
“We are pleased to be involved in setting the product descriptor standards for our organization and industry in partnership with ETIM NA,” said Akash Khurana, WESCO’s Executive Vice President and Chief Information and Digital Officer. “The ETIM Model supports us in our vision of becoming the best tech-enabled supply chain solutions provider in the world.”
As a direct distributor member, WESCO will be able to participate in all of ETIM NA’s Product Expert (PE) Groups. Currently there are three PE Groups, encompassing power distribution/automation and drives, wiring devices/lighting controls and wire/cable/conduit products, with expansion into wire management, fuses, transformers, and enclosures coming soon.
Matt Christensen, Chairman of ETIM NA and President of Distributor Data Solutions, commented that “WESCO joining ETIM NA is a testament to how much the association has achieved in less than two years and the importance of an enhanced product classification standard for the electrical industry. WESCO’s participation emphasizes the importance of ETIM to helping electrical distributors compete tomorrow.”
As the Electrical Sector Board chair and president of IDEA, David Oldfather remarked that “WESCO is a strong industry and data supporter. I encourage all IDEA members to contribute to supporting the ETIM Model and being active so that, collectively, we can improve product descriptions and product classifications for our industry.”
According to ETIM’s Shaw, it is important that manufacturers and distributors of all sizes, who value channel efficiency and recognize that the electrical ecosystem is undergoing a digital transformation, be part of the process. The more companies involved, the quicker the refinement of the model to North American products can be completed.
To learn more about ETIM North America, its Product Expert Groups, and how manufacturers, distributors and service companies can participate, visit www.etim-na.org or contact Mary Shaw at [email protected].
