In an effort to provide a better customer buying experience as well as increase efficiency in the item setup process, we have included additional image validations within the PI Builder. This enhancement now checks for image compliance against our Marketing Data & Image Standards. This allows any image errors that are detected to be corrected prior to submitting your file.

The image validation will check for:

• A minimum horizontal DPI of 150

• A minimum vertical DPI of 150

• A minimum horizontal pixel size of 900

• A minimum vertical pixel size of 900

• An image type of JPEG

The PI Builder’s Review Digital Assets function will now validate your images as the preview is being generated. A separate spreadsheet will appear containing the image filenames you have selected in addition to their image properties. If your images do not meet any of our image standards, you will receive a red validation error for each image that is not compliant.

Below is an example of the new image validation process in addition to the image properties you will now see when using the Review Digital Assets feature:

Product Information

Pit StopProviding Quick and Quality Information on Data Collection

Winter 2014

A Picture is Worth a Thousand WordsNew Enhancement Checks Image Standard ComplianceBy Loren Lafreniere

1

1. Press the “Utilities & Help Menu” button2. Press the “Review Digital Assets” button3. Select the folder containing your Digital Asset files4. Receive a verification message like this one:

7. You can hover over the thumbnails in order to review the properties of each image to verify that they meet the requirements of the “Marketing Data & Image Standards” document.

6. The new report file will show the following information:

5. If any of the JPG images do not meet the requirements in the “Marketing Data & Image Standards” document, then an additional report is created and a message like this will appear:

150 DPI

900

Pixels

JPGFormat

1

2

3

3

4

2

4

A Picture is worth a Thousand WordsNew enhancement checks image standard compliance

Vendor Forum to Be Held in MarchMarching Ahead with a New Format

GS1 Connect to be Held in the Golden StateGS1 to Host Summer Conference in San Diego

Get on Board With Product InformationRecap of Product Information’s First New Vendor Forum

Any Way You Measure It, It Has to Be CompliantNew Requirements for Representing Measurements

Logo CollectionCompiling and Maintaining a Logo Library

Vendor Resources & Contact Information

Features:

New Image Validation Process:

2

Vendor Forum to Be Held in March 2014Marching Ahead with a New FormatBy Elise Reynolds & Lauren Ayers

Product Information is proud to announce that the 2014 PI Vendor Forum will be taking place on March 18th, 2014 at the Lowes’s CSC in Mooresville! A communication was sent out to vendors in December announcing the Forum and soliciting interest. The department would like to thank vendors for the overwhelming interest we have received! Those parties who stated interest will receive more information as it is released in February.

The format for the 2014 PI Vendor Forum has been updated to create a more individualized, tailored approach to allow for more hands-on training to better meet vendor’s needs. This year’s format will consist of an all-day training session for up to 400 vendors. Those vendors will choose from one of three pre-designed tracks (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) based on their experience with the item setup process. As part of the 2014 Vendor Forum, an after-hours networking event will be held on March 18th to allow additional time for vendors to meet and

mingle with companies, Solution Providers, and Lowe’s employees.

Interested parties should also note that the reduced number of attendees will result in limited availability for the 2014 PI Vendor Forum, and not all vendors who are interested will be able to attend the event. If you are unable to attend we highly encourage you to register for the GS1 Connect Conference to be held June 8-12th in San Diego. Please see the below GS1 Connect article for additional information.

In addition to the GS1 Conference and Vendor Forum, Product Information webinars are held daily covering many of the topics featured during the 2014 PI Vendor Forum. Please make sure to check out our webinar calendar to take advantage of these additional training opportunities. Please note all 2014 Forum presentation materials will be available on LowesLink® after the event.

Lowe’s will be participating in the GS1 Connect 2014 Conference being held June 8-12th at the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina. This conference, hosted by GS1 US, delivers a program agenda that enables businesses like Lowe’s and our vendors to move forward using GS1 Standards.

GS1 Standards make it possible for your company and ours to speak the same language and leverage the power of information in very real ways. The results are greater visibility, efficiency, and security for business and greater convenience, value, safety, and satisfaction for consumers.

We invite you to join us at GS1 Connect 2014 to learn about:

• Product and Location Identification

• Data Quality and Data Management

• Inventory Efficiency

• Traceability and Safety

• B2C

• Trading Partner Collaboration

This year, Lowe’s will be participating at GS1 Connect in the following ways:

• How to Do Business with Lowe’s

• Lowe’s Trading Partner Roundtables

Register today!

As our special guest you’ll receive an additional 10% off the currently published price ONLY if you use the following discount code during registration: 14TPRT1009.

You can learn more about the GS1 Connect Conference by visiting their website: www.GS1Connect.org. We hope to see you there!

GS1 Connect to be Held in the Golden StateGS1 to host summer conference in San DiegoGS1 Connect

Quick FactsDate:

June 8-12

Location:San Diego

Marriott Marquis & Marina

Discount Code:14TPRT1009

Registration:www.GS1Connect.org

Recommended Webinars

Item Setup & Item Business Rules

Item Restrictions

PI Builder

New Vendor

Product Image & PDF

Click HERE for the Complete

webinar calendar!

3

In November, Product Information sent out a communication regarding new validations made within the PI Builder to ensure consistent and compliant units of measure. Per national regulations:

• Units of measure should typically be lowercase, abbreviated and without periods

• Hash marks (” or ’) cannot be used to represent inch/inches or foot/feet; “in” or “ft” must be used instead

• The pound sign (#) cannot be used to represent pound or pounds; “lb” or “lbs” must be used instead

To assist in our compliancy efforts, the Builder’s

Mandatory Validation Checkers will now detect any periods, hash marks or pound signs used around units of measure in the Marketing Data Spreadsheet, as well as in the Stock and SOS sheets. When the above-mentioned characters are found in supplier bullets or attribute cells, they will be marked with either red or yellow validation errors. All identified errors must be corrected appropriately in order to pass validations and submit the file to Lowe’s.

Also, as a Lowe’s best practice and a way to ensure customer understanding, units of measure should generally be hyphenated when following a number (e.g. 2-ft).

Any Way You Measure It, It Has to Be CompliantNew Requirements for Representing MeasurementsBy MDCM Standards Team

For more information regarding unit of measure requirements, please refer to pages 8 and 12-13 in the Lowe’s Marketing Data & Image Standards, found on LowesLink® under the Marketing Data Tool Application.

Get On-Board with Product InformationRecap of Product Information’s First New Vendor ForumBy Elise Reynolds

New Vendor On-boarding

Straight Ahead

New vendors were invited to take part in Product Information’s first New Vendor Forum on January 14, 2014 at the Lowe’s CSC in Mooresville. With just twenty-six attendees the small classroom atmosphere provided the vendors with the perfect environment to sharpen their item setup skills. The forum was designed to clearly define the tools and processes associated with data collection and item setup.

The event crammed a considerable amount of information into one day. Session topics included the item setup process, PI Builder, compliance, restrictions, taxonomy, product descriptions, barcode hierarchies, GTIN allocation rules, and data quality

standards. At the conclusion of the day, vendors were able to meet with their Product Information Specialists and work one-on-one. Specialists assisted vendors with their Builder File submission and resolved any questions regarding item setup. Overall, the vendors seemed quite enthusiastic about the amount knowledge they had gained during the New Vendor Forum. Product Information would like to thank all of those who attended the forum for making it such a big success!

Since the New Vendor Forum was such a hit, the Product Information department is planning to hold this event quarterly. The forum will offer vendors who are new to their company or new to Lowe’s additional training opportunities.

The next all day on-site event will be held during mid-summer 2014. Interested parties should keep an eye out for the open registration which will be posted in the Upcoming Training section of the Marketing Data Tool Application on LowesLink®. We highly recommend this forum to vendors who have less than one year item setup experience or are new to doing business with Lowe’s. We look forward to meeting the next round of new vendors this summer!

VS.

UnaccePtable

Includes 7-1/2” handle extension

72 in. L x 46 in. W x 29 in. H tub offers extra bathing space

42 in. x 8 ft.

6-ft. 4-in. L x 3-in. W

Includes 7-1/2-in handle extension

72-in L x 46-in W x 29-in H tub offers extra bathing space

42-in x 8-ft

6-ft 4-in L x 3-in W

accePtable

4

VendorResources

1WorldSyncTM

(formerly 1SYNC)Support - GDSN

www.1SYNC.orglowesinfo@1sync.org

866.280.4013

Lowe’s Barcode Mailboxbarcodeissues@lowes.com

Lowe’s Product Information

Support Portal (formerly FootPrints)

http://lowespcm.nfpondemand.com

LowesLink® Marketing Data Tool

Website http://www.loweslink.com/

Barcode Management

Brand Management

PI Builder

Lowe’s Marketing Data & Image Standards

Help & FAQs

New Vendor

Pit Stop

Webinar CalendarThe Product Information Pit Stop is maintained

by the Training & Communications team.

Lauren AyersElise Reynolds

Didn’t receive Pit Stop directly? Email PCMsupport@Lowes.com to be added to our

distribution list.

Lowe’s has created a new team in Enterprise Content Management (ECM) to manage digital assets. Among other things, this team is tasked with collecting updated logos and maintaining them in our logo library. Many areas in Lowe’s, like Advertising, Marketing, and Signage, will be able to gain access to your current logos from this library without reaching out to you. We are requesting that you send in current logos now using the following specifications:

Please note that these specifications are different than what is currently in our Marketing Data & Image Standards, which we will be updating in March to reflect these new specifications.

The ECM team will take any and all of the following types of logos:• Color Logo (Spot or Process) – with and

without tag line • Black and White Logo – with and without

tag line • Reversed Logo (White) – with and

without tag line

As a vendor, you will use the following process to submit your current or updated logos:1. Log on to the Product Information

Support Portal (formerly FootPrints).2. Create a ticket by clicking on “New

Request.”3. Fill out the required fields on the ticket.4. Attach your .EPS files to the ticket.

You may submit logos alone or when submitting a PI Builder file.

5. Check the “Logo File Attached” check box that is located in the Inquiry Information section. This ensures that when you send the ticket to your PI Specialist, the ECM team will be notified a logo is attached.

Whenever you update your logos, be sure to resubmit them to ECM so that we always have your most up-to-date logos in our library. If you are unsure whether you have submitted an updated logo, feel free to attach it to any ticket and check the “Logo File Attached” check box.

Contact ecm@nfpondemand.com if you have any questions.

Logo CollectionCompiling and Maintaining a Logo Library By Beth Fancsalszki

Color Logo (Spot or Process)

With and without tag line

Black & White Logo

(Spot or Process)

With and without

tag line

Reversed Logo

(White)With and without

tag line

We’re collecting...

Logos

• Adobe Illustrator 8.0 or later• .EPS file• Minimum of 300 DPI• All fonts converted to outlines• Submitted in RGB