February 2018: Information for TecDoc Data Users and Data Suppliers

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Byron Barber
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1 : Für den eiligen Leser User of the old DMM The Countdown is up and running: Final delivery using old DMM on March, 31 st, 2018 If you have not already done so, please switch to the new DMM R2 now User of the new DMM Usage of Document Type URL Availibilty of the TAF 2.2a Interface New document types for product images, e.g animated GIFs Recipients of a TecDoc Data Package General information on current Data Releases New document types for product images, e.g animated GIFs All readers Preface and content of the entire mailing Information about data quality and validations Current News on Reference Data TecDoc-DU_DS-EN 1/13

2 Content 0. Preface 1. Information on current Data Release a. Final delivery using old DMM (DS) b. TAF 2.2a interface in DMM R2 (DS) c. DMM R2: Please use up to date version (DS) d. Data Packages in Delta Mode (DU) e. TAF 2.4 Format Documentation (DS/DU) 2. Information on data quality and validations a. Data delivery: Information on abnormalities in Data Supplier Packages (DS) b. Validation in DMM R2 Impact on data quality (DS/DU) c. Numeric criteria decimal separator and thousands separator (DS/DU) d. Usage of Document Type URL (DS/DU) (Update) 3. Current information on Reference Data (DS/DU) a. Preliminary info: New document types e.g. for animated graphics b. Country restrictions on CV c. Country restrictions on PC d. Adjustments in Change Report e. Others 4. Information Model 3.0 a. Alpha / Beta / Productive Data (DU) b. Documentation (DU) c. Data in DR0318 (DU) d. Database scripts (DU) e. Next steps(du) (*) DS: Information focussed on Data Supplier DU: Information focussed on Data User TecDoc-DU_DS-EN 2/13

3 Preface Dear suppliers and users of data in the TecDoc system, With this document, we present a summary of the most important current developments, activities and milestones to help you make the most of the TecDoc system. Whether you are a data supplier who switches to the new Data Management Module DMM (R2) or, as a data user, wants to keep the monthly update of reference data and the outlook on the further development of the exchange format in mind. We would like to provide you with necessary upto-date information. The main target groups (suppliers, users) are listed in the table of contents. This allows you to focus on the content that is especially important to you. However, since you are all working on the one TecDoc data distribution process, we encourage you to read the entire information package. Feedback on the document is of course welcome. These and your questions can be sent to the Mail address info.tecdocpro@tecalliance.net or, of course, to our Customer Service. A request: The mail will be sent to all persons who have been appointed as contact persons in the course of the respective contract. This information is also and above all addressed to colleagues who work more technically and operationally on the operation and further development of their TA-specific processes and systems. Please send this mail to interested colleagues and / or inform us about other recipients from your enterprise. Best regards Frank Leschonski Practice Leader Solution Management TecDoc-DU_DS-EN 3/13

4 Information on current Data Release Final delivery using old DMM on March, 31 st, 2018 Over the past few months, we have kept you informed about the changeover of data maintenance to the new DMM R2 via various channels. A large majority of suppliers have already switched. For all those companies who have not done so for various reasons or have not been able to do so, the countdown has started. The last delivery via the old DMM will be accepted on After that we will only process data generated with the new DMM R2. In the fourth quarter we have already - as announced - stopped updating the reference data for the old DMM. Please take advantage of the possibilities of the new DMM R2 and migrate your data collection now. Further information about the migration to the DMM R2 can be found here: Do you have further questions or do you need help with the migration? Please contact our Customer Service at support.cgn@tecalliance.net We're here to help. TAF 2.2a Interface in new DMM R2 The new DMM R2 also provides the option to import and export data via the standard interface TAF 2.4 To support the migration process, we have so far also offered data import in the DMM R2 via the - no longer supported - TAF 2.2a format. As you can see from the past mailings in 2017, we have not been delivering data in the TAF 2.2a format to the Data Users for some time. In accordance with the standardization mandate of the TecAlliance, we would like to offer only ONE standard and limit parallel operation to an appropriate transition phase. After completion of the conversion to the new DMM R2 as of March 31, 2018, the TAF 2.2a import and export interface in DMM R2 will remain available until the end of With the beginning of the year 2019 we will remove this interface from the software. If necessary, prepare adjustments to the internal processes in your company in good time. Please understand that we would like to concentrate the available development capacities on the optimization and extension of the product TecDoc-DU_DS-EN 4/13

5 DMM R2: Please use most up-to-date version The data maintenance software DMM R2 is constantly being developed. We add functions based on feedback from you as users and eliminate errors where necessary. To maintain the highest quality of your data, we strongly recommend that you use the latest version of the DMM R2 or PMD R2 software. This version is always available for download in the customer area at The currently valid version has the number please check the version you have installed and if necessary update to the current version. As part of the regular DMM R2 newsletter you will learn more about the releases scheduled for 2018, so that you can consider the update times in your planning in good time. Optimization of your data update: Data Packages in delta mode As recipients of a TecDoc Data Package, the data in the monthly(!) updates are also available as so-called delta packages. These packages contain only information that has changed since the last data collection. The procedure is described in detail in the documentation of the TecDoc data format 2.4 from page 9 onwards. The documentation can be found at in the TecAlliance customer area in the section "Data Downloads". Please contact us if you would like to use these delta packages for your system updates. Format Description TAF 2.4 The format description of the current data exchange format TAF 2.4 is currently available in version If required (for example for interface programming), please use only the latest version and pay attention to the change history at the beginning of the document. The latest version is available for download in the customer area at TecDoc-DU_DS-EN 5/13

6 Informationen on data quality and validations Data delivery: Information on abnormalities in Data Supplier Packages To ensure data quality, we have been checking, for some time, among other things, the quantity structures of the delivered data packages, compare them with the last previous delivery and inform you about the results of this in two stages: Level 1 is already part of the DMM during data delivery. In principle, you should take note of and confirm the deviations and other information listed there before submitting the data. For a given reason, we carry out a second stage of the quantity check. Stage 2 takes place after the data has been transferred to the central TecAlliance database. As soon as we detect a data reduction of at least 5%, we will inform you by The corresponding notification mail has a subject like this: Data comparison DR0318 to last publishing (DR0218) The mail contains a tabular listing based on TAF 2.4 record types, e.g. DLNr Rows in DR0318 Rows in DR0218 PERCENT TABLE % SA232 In this example, all assignments of documents (pictures) to articles are missing. What to do if you receive such an As soon as you receive such a report, we recommend that you immediately check the facts. If an error actually exists in the data and if the time until the delivery deadline is sufficient, you may send a new delivery in good time before the data delivery deadline. We always process the last data sent. Of course, if the data is intentionally reduced, you do not have to take any action. Should a data update be necessary but no longer possible, then please contact our Customer Service immediately. We then advise you individually on a meaningful further course of action TecDoc-DU_DS-EN 6/13

7 Validation in DMM R2 warning or error impact on data quality In the course of the migration to the new data maintenance tool DMM R2, we have decided against the tightening of certain rules or a (necessary) correction and improvement of existing validations in coordination with the data supplier. This allows you to successfully complete the migration process without potentially having to make large amounts of corrections in the data at the same time. This affects, among others, information related to the status of articles and in the context of deviations in country information for products and linking targets. After the completion of the migration to the DMM R2, we will begin to implement the necessary adjustments to validations step by step after the deadline of March 31, We will always announce these implementations with sufficient lead time (for example in the context of these mailings). We will coordinate the requirements in consultation with all user groups by involving the expert groups. All of these measures are designed to increase data quality. Please support us through your constructive feedback and later through the implementation of the necessary adjustments in the product data and links. Numeric criteria decimal seperator and thousands seperator In the course of continuous improvements of the data quality we extend the definition of the specifications of criteria with numerical values - for example with dimensions, weights or temperature data. For such criteria (type = 'N' in Table 050), the following rules will apply in the future: 1. Characters "0" to "9", comma "," as well as plus "" and minus "-" are permitted 2. A comma may not be used at the beginning or end of the value 3. A comma may only be used once within a value 4. Only the comma may be used as the decimal separator 5. Thousands seperators must not be used 6. Exactly one "+" or exactly one "-" may only be used at the beginning of a numeric value 7. Spaces must not be used 8. All(!) characters are part of the maximum length of an attribute. These rules depict the usual formats in most European countries, but they are not commonly used worldwide. The essential aspect here lies in the standardization, which also enables each user to reformat data in or from a customary notations. As long as this standardization - as today - is not given, the option of a uniform and country-specific representation is eliminated These rules therefore serve to further standardize important information. They should allow the data users a better processing - in catalogs but also in more outgoing applications such as logistics TecDoc-DU_DS-EN 7/13

8 Implementation: We will shortly be integrating a corresponding validation check into the DMM R2 data maintenance tool. This check will first give a hint in the "Warning" status, but will not lead to a rejection of these records. We will announce the change of status to Error with a corresponding lead. In order to further optimize the data exchange we ask you to become active as soon as possible. We thank you for your understanding. Usage of Document Type URL We kindly ask you to take note of the following excerpt from the TAF 2.4 format description (since version ) and to adjust or remove your data accordingly: Please support this easy way to provide documents and avoid the "creative" use of transferring information outside TecDoc use cases TecDoc-DU_DS-EN 8/13

9 Current information on Reference Data Preliminary info: New document types e.g. for animated graphics Upon request, we are expanding the ability to provide product images with two additional types of documents prior to the introduction of new data exchange structures based on Information Model 3.0 Document Type 06: PNG Product Images This document type enables the transfer of product images in PNG (Portable Network Grafic) file format Document Type 07: Animated GIF Files as Product Images This document type is intended for the transfer of animated GIF files, which can be used to display 360 views, for example. Individual documents may not exceed 3 MB in size. This new option will be deployed according to the following timetable: Provision of new document types for the DMM R2 with Reference Data 0618 At the same time, we provide a correspondingly adapted TAF 2.4 documentation First opportunity to deliver such documents to the TecAlliance distribution platform First delivery of such documents in the data packets to the data users First display of additional product information in the TecAlliance online catalog CV country restrictions Currently and in the coming months, the responsible teams are working on clarifying the country information available with the commercial vehicle data.the focus is on the region South America. If you as a Data Supplier link products to commercial vehicles, please check any adjustments made. This is especially important if you are represented in the regions mentioned. With the reference data in Data Release 0518, extensive changes take effect in this context. For the Data Users, we also recommend a review of the adjustments made - possibly already in the advance notice for reference data changes (Remain2Delete - list) We also announce that we will begin revising commercial vehicle data for the Oceania region over the coming months TecDoc-DU_DS-EN 9/13

10 PC country restrictions Currently and in the coming months, the responsible teams are working on clarifying the country information available with the PC car data. The focus here is on all Asian regions. If you as a data supplier link products to PC, please check any adjustments made. This is especially true if you are represented in the regions mentioned. For the Data Users, we also recommend a review of the adjustments made - possibly already in the advance notice for reference data changes (Remain2Delete - list) Change Reports: Current adjustments In the two previous s, we presented the structure of the change reports, which should facilitate a more automated evaluation. We have received feedback and will gradually eliminate existing deficiencies. Currently, we have added another column to the change reports to optimize the identification of the changed object in the case of vehicle objects. Name: OBJECT_CLASS Content: PC, CCV or Null These gaps are currently filled exclusively for modifications to vehicles - depending on whether the vehicle in the PC table (120) or commercial vehicle table (532) is performed. The other columns of the report remain unchanged TecDoc-DU_DS-EN 10/13

11 Information Model 3.0 Together with experts from our data suppliers and data users, we are working on the further development of the rules and structures for data exchange via the TecAlliance platform. Under the umbrella term "Information Model 3.0", existing deficiencies are to be eliminated and data exchange processes are to be made more flexible and more efficient. A first documentation of the essential information domains is available, and TecAlliance is used to migrate the first data to the test into new exchange structures. These test data serve to test new structures and continuous improvement. There is currently no specific timetable for the final conversion. However, we reserve the right to take the first step toward productive usability in 2018, in coordination with expert circles. We keep you up-to-date on these coordinated plans. Alpha/Beta/Productive - Data The Information Model 3.0 based data distributed by TecAlliance (formats TAF and CSV) may be provided in one of the following quality-levels: Alpha: First test version, which (largely) corresponds to the document design and contains, apart from known and documented errors, a traceable migration of the existing data from the format 2.4. A completeness of the data is not compulsory. Beta: These data are complete and error-free. They have a quality that should allow a future use in productive systems. They can and should be used to prepare productive processes. Productive: This data will be made available by us in regular operation and according to the contractual conditions (licenses) for use in production systems. For the time being we only deliver data in alpha-status. Documentation You will find the documentation in the subfolder "extras" of your data package in the file 3.0_Documents.7z TecDoc-Informationmodel_Version_3.0_EN_draft.pdf The basic design principles and structures of the new model are explained in this documentation. In addition, we have already informed about this at various international data user meetings and the last two data supply meetings in Berlin (2015 and 2016). Further information events will follow. Please take advantage of this opportunity. TecDoc-Version_3.0_Migration_EN.pdf This document describes in detail the migration of data from the format TAF 2.4 into the structures based on the information model TecDoc-DU_DS-EN 11/13

12 Please note that the documents are in English only. A translation into German will only take place after the completion and only for the documentation of the information model. Alpha Data in Data Release 0318 In the implementation of the structures of the new information model 3.0, we have carried out further steps that will be presented for you with the package for the DR1117 as follows: New sub folder: R_TAF30 We supply the following information objects in the format CSV and TAF as alpha version: LT001, LT110, LT120, LT100, LT130, LT950, LT002, LT210, LT220, LT200, LT230, RE030, RE010, RE020 The Information Model 3.0 includes significant changes in the data exchange formats. Therefore, we start with the provision of data and the information about the work on the implementation at an early stage. We provide the data in format 3.0 automatically to all users with a valid data user account in their regular data packages. The data are in alpha status and are therefore only suitable for the sighting of the new structures and for first internal approaches to the new structures. We do not guarantee the completeness of the content at this time. Note for data suppliers: An interface based on the information model 3.0 in the DMM R2 is not addressed before the beginning of Data suppliers without a data user account, which would like to use this interface in the future, are nevertheless recommended to discuss the upcoming changes at an early stage. New: Database scripts to setup 3.0 compliant databases To make it easier for you to process data based on information model 3.0, we provide scripts for the following data base systems with Data Release 0617:: - Oracle - SQL Server - MySQL The scripts contain SQL commands for creating tables and constraints for the following information objects: LT001, LT110, LT120, LT100, LT130, LT950, LT002, LT210, LT220, LT200, LT _tables_create.sql SQL-Create-Table commands for the dreation of tables according to documentation since version _constraint.sql SQL-commands to create foreign-key-constraints for use with Oracle and MySQL TecDoc-DU_DS-EN 12/13

13 3.0_constraint_sql_server.sql SQL-commands to create foreign-key-constraints for use with MS SQL Server. The database scripts are located within your data package in the subfolder "extras" as part of the archive 3.0_Documents.7z Next steps The further implementation of the new data model and the solutions and services based on it should be based on the following principles: 1) Step by step optimization of design and documentation You can also find the documentation (format description) in the customer area at We will carry out a continuous update, which is documented at the beginning of the document in a version history. Adaptations with an editorial character will be carried out largely without comment. Significant adaptations to the structures will be communicated to you within the framework of regular communication. 2) Distribution of selected product data and linkages 3) Step-by-step provision of data in ever better quality levels Data is provided in the three alpha / beta / productive (s.o.) quality levels TecDoc-DU_DS-EN 13/13

June 2017: Information for TecDoc Data User and Data Supplier

June 2017: Information for TecDoc Data User and Data Supplier : Overview - Keywords - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -User of old DMM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Last Reference Data Update will be provided in July 2017