Stop wrestling with spreadsheets and stale product data. Ximple ERP connects directly to IDW and Trade Service to keep your electrical catalog accurate, enriched, and synchronized—across counter, eCommerce, WMS, and every channel.
Electrical distributors manage thousands—sometimes hundreds of thousands—of SKUs. When catalog updates rely on spreadsheets and manual processes, errors multiply and ripple through every part of the business.
Multiple versions, broken formulas, conflicting files. No one knows which spreadsheet has the right data.
Counter shows one description, web shows another, EDI has a third. Customers notice the chaos.
eCommerce products without images don’t sell. Counter staff can’t show customers what they’re buying.
Wrong vendor part numbers and item codes cause claim rejections. Money left on the table.
Cost changes take 3-5 days to propagate. By then, you’ve already quoted wrong and lost margin.
Wrong unit of measure causes over-shipments, under-shipments, and credit headaches.
Sales quotes items that were discontinued months ago. Customers are promised products that don’t exist.
Product managers spend 60%+ of their time on data entry instead of strategic work.
Signs Your Catalog Process Needs Automation:
• New items take more than 24 hours to add to your system
• Cost updates require someone to manually edit spreadsheets
• Counter staff maintain their own “cheat sheets” with correct specs
• You’ve shipped wrong quantities due to UOM confusion
• eCommerce product pages are missing images or have wrong descriptions
• Vendor rebate claims get rejected due to incorrect item data
The Hidden Cost of Manual Catalog Management
• 1-2 FTEs spent on data entry that could be automated
• 2-5% revenue loss from incorrect pricing and missed cost updates
• Higher return rates from wrong items shipped due to bad data
• Lost rebates from claim rejections caused by data mismatches
• Lower eCommerce conversion from missing images and poor content
See how distributors transform their catalog management when they replace spreadsheets with automated integration.
| Process | Manual / Spreadsheet | Ximple + IDW/Trade Service |
|---|---|---|
| New Item Setup | 2-5 days of manual entry and verification | Hours—automated import with validation |
| Cost Updates | Weekly batches, often delayed or missed | Daily sync, changes reflected immediately |
| Product Images | Manual download and upload, often skipped | Automatic sync to all channels |
| Specs & Attributes | Incomplete, inconsistent across systems | Standardized from manufacturer source |
| UOM Accuracy | Frequent errors, credit/return headaches | Validated and consistent everywhere |
| Discontinuations | Discovered when customer orders it | Proactive alerts with suggested alternates |
| Channel Consistency | Counter, web, EDI often out of sync | One catalog published everywhere |
| Audit Trail | None—who changed what is unknown | Complete history of every change |
Coming from Eclipse, P21, or DDI? Legacy systems often require manual exports, custom scripts, or third-party middleware to sync IDW data. Ximple provides native integration—no workarounds needed.
When catalog updates move from spreadsheets to automation, the impact shows up across operations, sales, and finance.
90%
Reduction in data entry time
75%
Fewer item-related returns
24hrs
New item setup (vs 3-5 days)
100%
Channel data consistency
IDW (Industry Data Warehouse) and Trade Service are industry-standard product content services for electrical distribution. They provide manufacturer-verified data including descriptions, specifications, images, UOMs, pricing, and lifecycle status.
Ximple ERP connects directly to these services, automating the entire catalog update process. Instead of managing spreadsheets, your team reviews exceptions and focuses on value-added work while the system keeps data accurate across all channels.
Industry Data Warehouse provides standardized electrical product data from manufacturers including specs, attributes, and pricing.
Rich product content including images, spec sheets, installation guides, and cross-references for electrical products.
Native connection that imports, validates, and publishes content to all channels without manual intervention.
Normalize voltage, wattage, load, material, color, dimensions, and other attributes for consistent search, quoting, and reporting across branches and channels.
Align base and selling UOMs, inner/outer packs, and standard packaging so counter, WMS, and purchasing all use the same quantities.
Surface images, spec sheets, install manuals, cut sheets, and safety documents everywhere—from counter to eCommerce.
Use manufacturer-provided equivalents and distributor-defined alternates so counter staff and project teams suggest compliant substitutions quickly.
Keep vendor part numbers, costs, SPAs, and contracts synchronized so pricing, rebates, and purchasing stay aligned.
Track new, active, and discontinued items with clear lifecycle flags. Get alerts before quoting obsolete products.
The entire process is automated with human review only where needed—at exception points.
Daily/scheduled sync from IDW & Trade Service
Match to your items, vendors, and structure
Combine with your attributes and rules
Handle conflicts in exception queue
Update all channels automatically
Exception-Based Review: Most updates flow through automatically. Your team only reviews items that have conflicts, missing data, or need business decisions—saving hours of manual checking.
Clean catalog data powers every part of your operation. Once imported and validated, content publishes automatically to all connected systems.
Improve search, substitutions, and order accuracy with enriched descriptions, attributes, images, and alternates.
Publish rich content to digital channels for better search, conversion, and fewer returns.
Reduce claim errors by aligning identifiers with Pricing & Rebates.
Ensure WMS uses correct UOMs, package quantities, and dimensions.
Support smarter buying in Procurement with accurate vendor SKUs and lead times.
Build accurate BOMs and submittals for projects with validated specs.
Reduce returns and credits from incorrect items or UOMs
Shorten new-item setup from days to hours
Eliminate manual data entry and spreadsheet management
Free product managers for strategic work
Improve SPA and rebate recovery with cleaner data
Increase eCommerce conversion with rich content
Win more projects with accurate specs and alternates
Reduce lost sales from discontinued item quotes
Whether you’re moving from spreadsheets or replacing a legacy system’s catalog process, Ximple provides a structured approach to get you live quickly.
Current item master import and cleanup
IDW/Trade Service subscription setup
Mapping to your vendor and category structure
Exception rules configuration
Branch visibility and stocking rules
Channel publishing configuration
Week 1-2: Item master audit and cleanup
Week 3-4: IDW/Trade Service connection setup
Week 5-6: Mapping and validation testing
Week 7-8: Exception workflow training
Go-Live: Automated sync enabled
Already Have IDW/Trade Service Subscriptions? Ximple connects to your existing subscriptions. No need to change providers or renegotiate contracts—we integrate with what you have.
Ximple ERP treats product content as a governed asset. Automation doesn’t mean loss of control—it means consistent control with less manual effort.
IDW (Industry Data Warehouse) and Trade Service are industry-standard product content services. They provide manufacturer-verified data including descriptions, specifications, images, UOMs, pricing, and lifecycle status that distributors use to maintain accurate catalogs.
Yes. Ximple automates the entire catalog update process—importing IDW and Trade Service feeds, validating data, mapping to your item master, and publishing to all channels. This eliminates manual spreadsheet work and reduces errors by 75% or more.
Ximple supports daily, weekly, and custom sync schedules. Many distributors prefer daily updates for pricing and lifecycle changes, with event-based refreshes when vendors publish critical updates.
Yes. Ximple maintains distributor-specific attributes, notes, and classifications separately from IDW/Trade Service content. Both are presented as a unified catalog while remaining distinct for management.
Yes. Once validated, product content publishes to counter sales, eCommerce, PunchOut, EDI, WMS, and procurement. Every channel uses the same clean, enriched catalog.
Conflicts are routed to an exception queue for review. Your team can accept, modify, or reject changes before they’re applied. This preserves control while benefiting from automation.
Ximple ERP runs on a single real-time data model across pricing, inventory, WMS, CRM, eCommerce, and finance. Because every transaction flows through one system, AI insights are based on consistent, trustworthy data—not spreadsheet exports.
Yes. Clean identifiers, UOMs, and vendor part numbers from IDW significantly reduce claim discrepancies. Distributors typically see fewer disputes and faster recovery when combined with Ximple’s rebate tracking.
Ximple tracks lifecycle status including discontinuations, phase-outs, and replacements. Alerts notify purchasing and sales teams, and the system can suggest alternates automatically based on manufacturer recommendations.
No. Ximple connects to your existing subscriptions. If you don’t have them yet, we can help you get set up with the appropriate services.
Most distributors are live with automated catalog sync in 6-8 weeks. This includes item master cleanup, connection setup, mapping, and training.
Accurate pricing powered by clean catalog data
Rich product content for digital channels
Correct UOMs and dimensions for warehouse operations
See how Ximple compares for your specific situation. We’ll configure a demo around your product mix, pricing complexity, and operational requirements.
See automated catalog management in action.
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