Aftermarket Insider Issue 80 - (Page 3)

HAppy BirtHdAy, NCmA A SS o C i AT i o n n E W S content Management is a Whole New Ballgame When the National Catalog Managers Association (NCMA) was born in 1973, the Vietnam conflict was winding down and Nixon’s Watergate troubles were spinning up. But a group of automotive professionals who shared a job description saw an opportunity to learn from one another and benefit from associating together. That was 40 years ago. And, today NCMA membership has never been higher and the importance of professional development never greater. NCMA is now a professional society and part of AAIA. Membership in NCMA is a benefit reserved exclusively for the catalog and product information managers employed by AAIA members. The annual Knowledge Exchange conference is a unique opportunity for automotive content professionals to gather for education, networking and keeping up with all of the technology required to manage and publish massive amounts of information. The 40th annual Knowledge Exchange will be held April 20-23 at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark. In addition to two full days of training, education and thoughtful keynote presentations, attendees will have the opportunity to see the latest technology and solutions at the vendor trade show. Recognition is also an important tradition at NCMA and awards will be presented for the best examples of paper, web and mobile catalogs as well as excellence in electronic catalog data. In recent years, major resellers have taken advantage of the opportunity to meet with their channel partners as part of the NCMA conference schedule. In April, O’Reilly Auto Parts will host a meeting with their vendors on Saturday, April 20 and Advance Auto Parts will conduct a vendor summit on Tuesday, April 23. These meetings, before and after the conference, ensure that all attendees get the maximum value from their NCMA experience. In 2010, in partnership with the University of the Aftermarket, NCMA introduced the Automotive Catalog Professional (ACP) designation. The ACP is earned by those individuals who demonstrate a commitment to continuing education and professional development in the content management field. The first class of ACP graduates was presented at the annual conference in May 2012. And, an even larger class is working toward their ACP designation in 2013. publish huge amounts of data are quite different than those for typesetting print. And, the need for speed and increased productivity has grown dramatically. Standardization and high-tech solutions have enabled NCMA members to keep up with the growing demands of the business. NCMA membership is available to the employees of AAIA member companies. Applications and complete information about the association are found at www.ncmacat.org. For four decades, NCMA has been where catalog professionals have gathered to discover new solutions to their common challenges and learn from one another. When NCMA was born, there was no electronic cataloging – zero. Now electronic and web catalogs dominate commerce and paper is an after-thought. The skills required to manage and AFTERMARKET INSIDER | VOLUME 80 | 3 http://www.ncmacat.org http://www.ncmacat.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Aftermarket Insider Issue 80

Aftermarket Insider Issue 80
Contents
President’s Message
Association News
Government Affairs
Government Affairs
Head of the Class
Head of the Class
Member Profile
Toolbox
Impact Award
Market Intelligence
Market Intelligence
Executive Perspective

Aftermarket Insider Issue 80