ACES PIES data for automotive parts and best practices

Read these articles to learn about ACES and PIES data standards, and how these data standards are used in the automotive aftermarket.

ACES and PIES data and how it’s used to exchange data in the supply chain

ACES and PIES data is used to exchange automotive parts data through the entire supply chain, between manufacturers, suppliers and distributors.

ACES product data

ACES parts data (Automotive Catalog Exchange Standard) is used to describe fitment information. At the simplest level this includes the year, make or model information that a part fits. It can also include drivetrain, engine, bed and other fitment information.

ACES is used by aftermarket companies in the light, medium, and heavy duty segments of our industry. It is also used by companies selling products for powersports or off-highway/off-road, and automotive equipment.

ACES data ties into VCdb (Vehicle Configuration database), Qdb (Qualifier database) and PCdb (Product Classification database) and is available in English, Spanish, Canadian French and Portuguese.

PIES product data

PIES parts data (Product Information Exchange Standard) is used to describe product dimensions, popularity, country of origin, hazmat codes, and so on.

PIES data ties into VCdb (Vehicle Configuration database), Qdb (Qualifier database), PCdb (Product Classification database) and PAdb (Product Attribute database for product specifications). PIES data is available in English, Spanish, Canadian French and Portuguese.

PIES data also includes aftermarket brands and currently lists nearly 20,000 brands with a four-character BrandID.

The articles below explain how ACES PIES data is used to exchange all of this information.

As the Auto Care Association puts it, ACES data and PIES data aren’t an industry-wide lookup tool. It’s not a master database of parts or fitment data. It isn’t an official industry-wide database or data repository.

What is ACES and PIES data?

ACES and PIES data standards are automotive aftermarket industry standards, developed and maintained by the Auto Care Association trade association.

This data is used by aftermarket companies to exchange data that covers parts information, dimensions, weight, country of origin, etc. (PIES) as well as vehicle fitment and location on a vehicle (ACES).

To learn more about our automotive industry data standards read the stories below or visit the Auto Care Association’s page on data standards and best practices.

They maintain complete documentation on the data standards, documents on best practices on maintaining data or transferring data, and a timetable of updates. The Auto Care Association also has e-learning course where you can educate yourself on these data standards.