Best Auto Parts Data Providers and ACES PIES Services
Where auto parts sellers get fitment and product data, what ACES and PIES mean for your store, and when a provider beats doing it yourself.
Fitment search is only as good as the data behind it. If a part has no vehicle applications, it never shows up when a shopper picks a 2019 Silverado 1500 with a 5.3L. This guide covers where auto parts sellers get that data, what ACES and PIES mean in buying terms, and when a data provider is worth paying for.
A plain disclosure: Web Shop Manager is our platform and PartsLogic Connect is our product. Our partners are listed first, then other options that are real choices for a parts seller. Facts about each provider come from its own website, checked in October 2026. Terms change, so confirm them with the provider before you sign.
ACES and PIES in plain terms
ACES and PIES are the two data standards the North American aftermarket runs on. The Auto Care Association maintains both.
- ACES is fitment. One ACES record says a part fits a vehicle: for example a front brake pad set for a 2015 to 2020 F-150 with a 3.5L engine. Qualifiers such as bed length, drive type or submodel narrow it further. ACES is what makes year/make/model search work.
- PIES is the product. Descriptions, dimensions, weight, packaging, images, UPC and attributes. PIES fills the product page, the filters and the shipping quote.
- Reference databases tie it together. ACES records point at shared vehicle and part type lists (VCdb, Qdb, PCdb), so two brands describe the same truck the same way.
For a store, that means one thing: if your platform loads ACES and PIES on a schedule, you never retype fitment. More detail is on ACES and PIES on Web Shop Manager.
How to choose an auto parts data provider
- Brand coverage. Start with the brands you sell. Ask each provider for its list and check your top 20 brands against it.
- Fitment depth. Ask whether qualifiers and footnotes come through, or only year, make and model. A tonneau cover without bed length is a return waiting to happen.
- Price and stock. Many content providers carry no price or inventory. Plan where those come from, usually a distributor feed.
- Format and frequency. ACES XML, PIES XML, flat files or an API, and how often each is published.
- Data quality. Ask how quality is measured per brand, and what happens when a brand’s data is thin.
- Who loads it. A provider hands you files. Something still has to load them, merge duplicates and keep the store current.
Data providers at a glance
| Provider | What it is | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| ASAP Network | Manufacturer data cleaned for dealers | Multi-brand dealers |
| Data Here-to-There | Distributor catalog apps | Shopify and BigCommerce dealers |
| DCi | Licensed brand data and flat files | Resellers wanting broad coverage |
| PDM | Brand-managed product data platform | Brands and authorized resellers |
| SEMA Data | Specialty brand data repository | Performance and accessory sellers |
| Auto Care Association | Standards body for ACES and PIES | Brands writing their own data |
| Epicor | Supplier data services for the counter channel | Manufacturers |
| PCFitment | Fitment data creation by the SKU | Small brands and marketplace sellers |
Auto parts data providers and ACES PIES services
Partners are listed first, alphabetically, then the standards body, then other options.
1. ASAP Network
ASAP Network describes its job in one line on its own site: no dealer left behind over poor manufacturer data. Brands send specifications, fitment, images and pricing, and ASAP cleans, structures and organizes that data so a dealer can put it on a website without retyping it, then sends updates as products change.
Who it fits: dealers and retailers who carry many brands and want manufacturer data cleaned up before it reaches the store.
Where it falls short: ASAP does not publish brand counts or pricing on its site, so ask for the list of brands it covers for your lines and what the subscription costs before you plan a catalog around it.
2. Data Here-to-There
Data Here-to-There (DH2T) builds Shopify and BigCommerce apps for automotive and powersports dealers. Its Slingshot Automotive app builds an online parts desk from your warehouse distributors, and its site lists 16 distributors, including Turn 14 Distribution and Keystone Automotive, plus catalog sources such as ASAP Network, SEMA Data and DCi CatalogRack. It also sells a Shop-in-a-Box store for $1,200, and its distributor apps start with a 14-day free trial.
Who it fits: dealers on Shopify or BigCommerce who want distributor catalogs, pricing and inventory in the store quickly.
Where it falls short: it moves data that distributors and data providers author; it is not where fitment gets written. Its apps are built for Shopify and BigCommerce, so check the fit if your store runs on something else.
3. DCi
DCi is an ARI company, and its site says it reaches more than 80,000 aftermarket businesses. It sells product data (eDataFlow), electronic cataloging, a manufacturer dashboard, marketplace listing and websites, so it serves both the brands that publish data and the resellers who sell it. DCi content reaches resellers in formats such as CatalogRack and Platinum flat files, which carry fitment with qualifiers and footnotes.
Who it fits: resellers who want broad, normalized brand coverage from one licensed source, and brands that want their data in front of DCi’s reseller network.
Where it falls short: flat files with qualifiers and footnotes need a loader that understands them, or the fitment arrives incomplete. DCi also sells websites, so ask whether the data license and the storefront are separate purchases.
4. PDM
PDM Automotive is a product data platform that connects suppliers, distributors and retailers. Its site says more than 2,000 automotive brands and retailers use it, with access to over 1,000 brands, and that it supports ACES and PIES including the PCdb, VCdb, Qdb and PAdb reference databases. PDM publishes a native BigCommerce connector, and offers CSV and Excel exports for other platforms.
Who it fits: brands that need a place to manage and publish their own ACES and PIES data, and resellers authorized to pull those brands.
Where it falls short: PDM is a content platform and carries no pricing, so price and stock still come from your distributors. You see only the brands that have authorized you.
5. SEMA Data
SEMA Data (formerly SEMA Data Co-op) calls itself the largest source of product data in the specialty automotive industry. Brands manage their data in its PIMS, and the SEMA Data Scorecard rates each brand’s data from Bronze up through Silver, Gold, Platinum and Excellence, which resellers can now view. SEMA Data has offered resellers a free tier called Launch.
Who it fits: performance and accessory retailers, and the brands that sell through them.
Where it falls short: the catalog leans to specialty equipment, so replacement and collision lines may need another source. Data quality varies by brand, which is why the Scorecard exists: check it for your top brands. Its site notes a change to the free Launch tier, so confirm current reseller terms before you budget.
6. Auto Care Association (the standards body)
The Auto Care Association develops and maintains ACES and PIES and the reference databases they point to: the Vehicle Configuration database (VCdb), the Qualifier database (Qdb), the Product Classification database (PCdb) and the Product Attribute database (PAdb), plus the Brand Table. Every provider above builds on its work.
Who it fits: brands writing their own ACES and PIES files, and anyone who needs to check data against the source.
Where it falls short: it is a standards body, not a data vendor. It will not send product data to your store; you still need a brand, a provider or your own team to write the files, and a platform that loads them.
7. Epicor
Epicor runs supplier services that collect, validate and publish supplier data in ACES and PIES for the Epicor parts catalog used by parts professionals and service providers. In 2024 it bought Solenium Group and Visual SKUs, adding product information and digital asset management for aftermarket suppliers.
Who it fits: manufacturers who need their parts in the catalogs used at parts counters and service shops.
Where it falls short: it is built around suppliers and the counter channel, and pricing is quoted, not published. A reseller building one online store will usually get more from the providers above.
8. PCFitment
PCFitment sells fitment data creation, ACES and PIES management, coverage reports and marketplace submission to Amazon, eBay and Walmart. Its published plans start at $15 a month for up to 150 SKUs, and $25 a month for 500 SKUs with $25 for each additional 500, with a 14-day free trial.
Who it fits: smaller brands and sellers that need fitment written for their own parts, especially for marketplaces.
Where it falls short: per-SKU pricing climbs with a large catalog, and its year/make/model plugin for Shopify, BigCommerce and WooCommerce carries a setup fee and $49 a month on plans below Pro. Check what it costs at your real SKU count.
When to use a provider and when to build in-house
Use a provider when you resell other brands. The brand already wrote its fitment; paying for access is far cheaper than rewriting thousands of applications, and you get updates when new model years land.
Build in-house when you are the brand, or when your parts are not in any provider. A shop that builds its own headache racks or custom exhaust has to write ACES and PIES itself, or pay a service to write it, and then publish it so resellers can carry it.
Most stores do both. Provider data for the brands you resell, your own files for house brands and the gaps, and distributor feeds for price and stock. The work that never goes away is merging those sources into one clean catalog. If you would rather hand that work off, see Web Shop Manager data services and standards.
Where PartsLogic Connect fits
Disclosure: PartsLogic Connect is our product. It is not a data provider. It loads the data the providers above publish.
Connect reads SEMA Data, DCi (CatalogRack and Platinum), PDM, ASAP Network and your own ACES and PIES files, along with distributors such as Turn 14 Distribution, and builds one catalog from all of them. Inventory updates every 15 minutes with a daily full read, part types are matched to the Auto Care PCdb, and pricing rules never set a price below MAP. Every change can be previewed before it reaches the store.
Eurotek Tuning runs 202,215 products from 91 brands through Connect, with no prices typed by hand. Connect feeds Web Shop Manager 5.0 and 6.0 stores today and starts at $500 a month.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between ACES and PIES?
ACES describes which vehicles a part fits: year, make, model, engine and qualifiers such as bed length or drive type. PIES describes the part itself: description, dimensions, weight, packaging, images and attributes. ACES drives year/make/model search; PIES fills the product page and the shipping math.
Do I need a data provider if my distributor already sends a feed?
Often, yes. Distributor feeds are built for price and stock, and many carry thin titles and little or no fitment. A data provider or the brand’s own ACES and PIES files fill in fitment, images and attributes, and the distributor feed keeps price and inventory current.
Who writes the ACES and PIES files for a brand?
The brand does, either in-house or through a service. Brands publish through platforms such as SEMA Data, PDM, DCi and ASAP Network, and services such as PCFitment write fitment for brands that have none.
How often should product data update in my store?
Price and inventory change daily, so they need the most frequent updates. Fitment and product content change less often, when brands release new parts or new model years. Ask each source how often it publishes and load on that schedule.
Can I use more than one data provider?
Yes, and most larger parts stores do. The hard part is merging them: the same part can arrive from two sources with different titles, images and fitment, and your store should show one product, not two.
Does Web Shop Manager load data from these providers?
Yes. PartsLogic Connect, our product, reads SEMA Data, DCi, PDM, ASAP Network and your own ACES and PIES files, and feeds Web Shop Manager stores. It is one way to load the data, not a data provider itself.
See your brands loaded into a real store
Tell us which brands and distributors you buy from, and we will show you what that catalog looks like on Web Shop Manager.