HIDA
By Kelley Taft, Senior Vice President for Membership, Health Industry Distributors Association
Most manufacturers I talk to spend significant hours every month reformatting product data. It takes the form of one-off emails, custom submissions and workarounds built for each trading partner. For distributors, the product data burden looks different but costs just as much: requesting attributes, reconciling specs that arrive in different formats, and tracking down image files.
All that effort points to the same opportunity: a standardized, coordinated way for the industry to exchange product data. That’s why HIDA created the Product Data Exchange (PDX).
What strikes me in conversations across the industry is how aligned the two sides already are. Manufacturers want one place to publish their product information, and distributors want to receive it in one consistent format. Everyone has been asking for the same thing. What the industry needed was neutral ground, where manufacturers and distributors could build a share standard and exchange together.
Thirty-three member companies are now connected through one central exchange, publishing, verifying, and receiving product descriptions, images, and attributes through a single shared platform. Manufacturers publish once. Distributors receive verified, current information in a format ready to use. That means cleaner product listings on distributor e-commerce sites. The work becomes more streamlined and coordinated on both sides.
If you have questions about how the exchange works, who’s involved, or what participation looks like, reach out to me or the HIDA membership team. The exchange gets more useful with each company that participates. This is something the industry has needed for a long time.