IDEA is the official technology service provider and eBusiness standards body of the electrical industry. The company was founded in 1998 through a partnership rooted in the collective leadership of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) members. IDEA has since expanded to serve additional vertical markets such as industrial, HVAC, plumbing, retail, medical, and consumer-packaged goods. IDEA provides software and services that help connect the supply chain and make business processes efficient, easy and enjoyable for people every day.
As part of the industry's ongoing efforts to populate the Industry Data Warehouse (IDW) with robust product marketing content, IDEA introduced the IDW 'Bands of Excellence' rating system to promote the progress of manufacturers who are providing exceptional value and marketing support to their trading partners. The Bands of Excellence program measures each manufacturer's completion percentage for providing marketing content to their trading partners through IDW, including, but not limited to: Specification Documents, Attributes, Images, and Descriptions. See a complete listing of the Bands of Excellence Manufacturers.