The RV, marine, and powersports industries waste billions annually because nobody speaks the same data language—a problem automotive solved forty years ago.
Estimated revenue lost to bad data quality in the RV industry alone
Aftermarket parts returns caused by fitment errors in outdoor recreation manufacturing
avg. integration cost per system per location for dealers and OEs to move their own data around
Employee time spent searching for information due to data disorganization
Picture a $300,000 motorhome rolling through its lifecycle. The chassis manufacturer records build specs in one system. The RV manufacturer uses another. The dealer manually enters data into three different platforms. The service department can't access configuration details without phone calls and PDFs. When that unit sells used, all that information vanishes, forcing the next owner to start from zero.
Every step of the way, data is rekeyed, reformatted, or lost entirely because there's no common standard for how to describe vehicles and their components. Service techs waste hours tracking down build specs. Dealers lose sales because they can't verify features. Manufacturers field endless calls just to explain what was built. Parts suppliers see massive return rates from fitment errors. And the customers at the heart of the whole system get a worse ownership experience because of it.
This isn't a technology problem. We have plenty of software. The problem is every company invented their own way to describe the same information. The same floor plan might be "36B5" at the factory, "Appalachia 36ft 5 Series" at the dealer, and "App36B5F" in service records. Same unit, three different descriptions, no way to connect them programmatically.We're burning billions and thousands of hours just trying to understand vehicles we already built.
The automotive aftermarket generates $855 billion annually using ACES and PIES standards. One brake pad manufacturer publishes one file with precise fitment data. Every retailer from Amazon to AutoZone displays identical, accurate information.
How? Forty years ago, automotive manufacturers, dealers, and parts suppliers collaborated through a neutral 501(c)(3) consortium to create open data standards. ACES (Aftermarket Catalog Exchange Standard) defines how vehicles and their components are described. PIES (Product Information Exchange Standard) defines how parts data is structured. Anyone can implement these specifications in their systems. Now, accurate, consistent information flows seamlessly between manufacturers, dealers, and suppliers.
The infrastructure already includes our industries. The Auto Care Association's database has 32,353 RVs, complete marine coverage, and powersports vehicles back to 1920. The standards work. We're just not using them. Instead, dealers manually type the same VIN into eight different systems. Service bays spend an hour identifying components that should be instant lookups. Parts suppliers process returns that accurate fitment data would eliminate.
Not new software. Not another database. An open protocol defining how unit information gets structured and exchanged.
Standardized schemas for complete configurations: base vehicles, factory options, installed components, upfits, modifications, service history.
API specifications letting any system query build data without custom integrations for every connection.
Consistent vocabulary so everyone describes components the same way across all platforms.
When OEMs publish data once in standard format, it flows automatically to dealer inventory systems, service departments, parts catalogs, and marketplaces without manual re-entry. Dealers stop typing the same specs eight times. Service techs get instant configuration lookups. Parts suppliers eliminate 35% return rates from fitment errors. Customers see accurate, comparable data everywhere.
Early adopters shape the standards. Founding members join technical working groups designing schemas and API specifications. Pilot implementations prove ROI with real units and real data flows.
Network effects drive adoption. The first ten companies create early value. A hundred reach critical mass where software vendors prioritize standards support. A thousand make this the default where not participating means isolation.
Competitive pressure finishes the job. Dealers exchanging data efficiently outcompete those who can't. Software working across systems wins against proprietary platforms.
The automotive industry chose coordination. They wrote standards together, implemented together, and benefited together for forty years. We can follow that playbook or watch the problem persist while complaining nothing changes.
We're forming in 2025. Twenty companies who recognize the current state costs more than solving it.
If you're an OEM: Shape standards that work for your manufacturing and data systems before specifications lock.
If you're a dealer: Test reference implementations. Document operational improvements that convince the next hundred dealers.
If you're a software vendor: Build standards compliance into your roadmap. Eliminate custom integrations by supporting common protocols.
Founding membership is open. Let's make this better for everyone, together.
- John