ADVANCE AUTO PARTS FACTORY DIRECT ORDERING PROGRAM VENDOR OPERATIONS MANUAL. June, 2011

ADVANCE AUTO PARTS FACTORY DIRECT ORDERING PROGRAM VENDOR OPERATIONS MANUAL June, 2011 Advance Au t o Par t s F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 1 Copyr i ght @ 2011

FDO Vendor Operations Manual Copyright 2011 Advance Stores Company, Incorporated ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, No part of this work may be reproduced, transcribed, or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including (but not limited to) photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution, or information storage and retrieval systems without the prior written permission of the publisher. For more information, contact: Customer Contact Center 1-800-310-4243 For permission to use material from this document contact the FDO Support Dept at: Email: fdosupport@advance-auto.com Trademarks Some of the product names and company names used in this document have been used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective manufacturers and sellers. Disclaimer Advance Auto Parts reserves the right to revise this publication and make changes from time to time in its content without notice. Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 2

Contents Section 1: Introduction Section 2: Factory Direct Ordering Process Section 3: Getting Started Section 4: Preparing and Testing EDI Section 5: Uploading SKU Data Section 6: Receiving and Filling a Customer Order Section 7: Preparing a Packing Slip and Packaging an Order Section 8: Shipping an Order Section 9: Updating Inventory On-Hands Section 10: Handling Customer Returns Section 11: Responding to Customer Issues Section 12: Handling Cancelled Orders Section 13: Invoicing Page Page Page Pages Pages Page Page Pages Page Page Pages Page Page 4 5 6 7-10 11-12 13 14 15-16 17 18 19-20 21 22 Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 3

Section 1: Introduction Service is our best part is our promise to our customers to offer them the broadest assortment of automotive parts, accessories and products for their vehicles. To fulfill our promise, we are looking to our vendors to help us expand our offerings through our website and our internal Electronic Parts Catalog channels. Your commitment to ship your products directly to our customers and stores allows us to continue to grow our sales channels and attract new customers which is great news for both of us. As you are aware the benefits of becoming an Advance Auto Parts Factory Direct Ordering Program vendor are numerous. As the dropship channel continues its explosive growth, it drives incremental sales growth for both organizations. Today, Advance Auto Parts has one of the fastest growing websites in the automotive aftermarket industry generating ever-increasing traffic as the site gains awareness and traction. Both the website and the store Electronic Parts Catalog can help you test new items and categories before having to invest in full production capacity. As sales continue to grow, the Factory Direct Ordering Channel may provide a gateway to getting your product stocked in our stores. To help guide you through the process to fulfill customer orders, we developed this manual so you can have needed information at your fingertips. Please share this material with all of your team members who will be involved in the Advance Auto Parts Factory Direct Ordering Program. As both technology and process improvements are made, we will keep you up-to-date with changes. The FDO Support Team is available as a source of operational assistance to you at any time. The best way to reach them is through email at fdosupport@advance-auto.com. We appreciate your continuing support as a Factory Direct Ordering vendor and invite you to share your thoughts and insights about the program with us anytime. Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 4

Section 2: Factory Direct Ordering Process This flowchart is a high-level representation of Advance Auto Parts Factory Direct Ordering process. Return a 997; we also requested the new 855 document to be sent as official acknowledgement Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 5

Section 3: Getting Started The Factory Direct Ordering process requires the vendor and AAP to communicate efficiently and effectively through electronic means to fulfill our delivery promise to our customer. This manual will provide answers to many questions your operations team may have prior to shipping the first order. To ensure a seamless flow of information, we need to make sure that both companies have tested our individual internal systems and that we are linked electronically and capable of sending, receiving and fulfilling all of the order requirements. In addition to this manual, you should have received the FDO Business Guidelines and New Vendor Checklist from your Category Manager. Next, you will receive the following documents to help your team get started: PIES Reference Manual Sent by Category Manager Vendor Questionnaire Inventory Upload Document Hosted Vendor Quick Start Guide EDI Sample File Layout FTP Address for Document Exchange Third-Party UPS Account Number pdf of return instructions Roll of AAP labels for the outside of each package For some vendors this is the first experience fulfilling orders directly to customers. A white paper entitled Understanding Drop-Ship Program Requirements for High Volume Suppliers can be found on the vsync website: www.vsync.com. Registration on the site is required. This step-by-step guide to becoming a successful and profitable drop-shipper may provide you some additional insights into the process. The timeframe to on-board each vendor varies by vendor organization. The tasks required are laid out on the timeline below in sequence of occurrence. Once the preparation steps are complete, testing actual orders can begin. Each preparation step has to be complete and validated to be able to move to the order testing side of the timeline. At completion of order testing, your products will be turned on for customer ordering. Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 6

Section 4: Preparing and Testing EDI EDI, Electronic Data Interchange, is the standard communication method to exchange data between organizations by electronic means. EDI transfers documents electronically from your computer system to AAP s computer system and back again without human intervention. Each numbered document is formatted to a specific file layout that is standard across the industry. For more information, please click on this link for VICS, Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions Association Documents Required AAP and each vendor will exchange data using four EDI documents. 850 Purchase Order customer order sent by AAP to vendor 997 Functional Receipt Acknowledgement sent by the vendor to confirm receipt of the purchase order and sent by AAP to confirm receipt of ASN and Invoice 856 Advance Ship Notice (ASN) sent by the vendor to alert AAP that package has been shipped and delivery should be expected 810 Invoice sent by vendor to request payment for shipped order 855 Transmission Process All EDI documents are to be transmitted electronically directly or through a third party provider contracted by the vendor. All costs for EDI transmission through a third party provider are borne by the vendor. Upon receipt of any EDI transmission, a functional receipt acknowledgement is promptly transmitted. This confirms that a transmission was received, not that the data content is complete. AAP transmits Purchase Order documents as received from customers 24 hours daily, 7 days a week. Please implement a process to check your electronic receipt box on a regularly scheduled basis. Vendor functional acknowledgement 997 shall be sent within 24 hours of the receipt of the purchase order. The 855 Acceptance/Rejection of the Purchase Order is the official confirmation that the order will be fulfilled or cancelled. File Formats All file formats are available in detail at http://aapcom/corpdomain/english/edi/aapedispeclist.asp for mapping. AAP does not use partner specific mapping. During testing you will receive the 850 Purchase Order and may use this document to map to your order management system.

Section 4: Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 7 Preparing and Testing EDI

Section 4: Preparing and Testing EDI (cont.) EDI Requirements Current requirements: Version (Ansi-x-12) 4010 EDI ID 007941529 Qualifier 01 EDI Translator GIS Communication Connections o Sterling Commerce (877-432-4300) o GCommerce (515-288-5850 x217) Direct connects AS2 FTP Preferred EDI Communications Internet: VAN: GCommerce Web Site: www.gcommerceinc.com Contacts: Cathy Blood 515-288-5850 x 217 e-mail: cblood@gcommerceinc.com Sterling Commerce: 877-432-4300 Website: www.sterlingcommerce.com Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 8

Section 4: Preparing and Testing EDI (cont.) Before shipping the first customer order, Advance Auto Parts will conduct a series of test orders to ensure that our systems are communicating effectively and that data sent to you and data returned to us is valid and executable. You will receive 7 test orders. These orders represent the available customer ordering options and customer situations that typically occur in the course of doing business. Upon receipt of the order, load the 850 EDI Purchase Order into your order management system and execute the order through your normal processes. You will return a systematic 997 EDI Acknowledgement to AAP. For the test orders, there is no need to pick and ship the actual test SKU. Rather, any empty box including the packing slip, return instructions, UPS label and Advance Auto sticker should be prepared and given to the carrier for delivery. Upon pickup by the carrier, an 856 EDI Advance Ship Notice, including the tracking number, should be transmitted, followed by an 810 EDI invoice for $00.01. Upon receipt of these packages AAP will validate that the right data was transmitted; the packing slip was accurately detailed; the UPS label is correctly set up and the fields are printing exactly; and the lead time and delivery calculation is precise. For this test, the final 2 orders will be canceled, requiring you to send an 856 EDI ASN with a zero 0 ship quantity. T he zero quantity ASN we should be able to discontinue this process once all suppliers are accurately transmitting the new 855 document. A rejection on the 855 would then cancel the order. Order types: Placed at store, customer order delivered to store Placed at store, customer order delivered to customer s address Placed at store, customer order delivered to customer s address which includes a second address line Placed at store, customer order delivered to customer s address which is a PO Box Placed online through store 1020, shipped to customer s address Placed online, shipped to customer s address order to be cancelled prior to shipping Placed online, shipped to customer s address order to be cancelled after shipping Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 9

Section 4: Preparing and Testing EDI (cont.) Important EDI Tips A purchase order must always contain the following information: The message/comments field will contain these three messages 1. Message 1: Shipping Method UPS Second Day Air UPS Ground UPS Next Day Air Saver UPS Next Day Air USPS LTL (via Estes) Vendor Carrier 2. Message 2: Customer Phone Number 3. Message 3: Store Number The Order Type in the BEG02 will be either DS or DR. A separate Purchase Order will be generated for each part number and must be shipped separately creating a unique tracking number on each ASN. The tracking number is located in segment REF02. ASN must be generated the same day the shipment is picked up by the carrier. T he zero quantity ASN we should be able to discontinue this process once all suppliers are accurately transmitting the new 855 document. A rejection on the 855 would then cancel the order. Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 10

Section 5: Uploading SKU Data PIES, Product Information Exchange Standard is the best practice for the management and exchange of product attribute information in the vehicle aftermarket industry. Standardizing product content lowers supply chain costs and contributes to increased sales and operational efficiencies. The PIES definition is a data format. It defines how the data you send is formatted. In order for our supplier partners to share product information via PIES they must have certain skill sets and capabilities. Third Party Assistance If suppliers do not currently possess these skill sets and capabilities, there are numerous third party vendors who can assist with products and services to help them gain these core competencies. One place to start your search for help is the Service Providers section on the AAIA web site: http://www.aftermarket.org/technology/pies/serviceproviders.aspx After suppliers have built their PIES file with the AAP required fields, they may submit the file to AAP for processing. If the file fails the validation checks AAP has put in place, AAP will reject the file and provide a rejection report to the supplier so corrections can be made. The supplier may then submit their PIES file again. If this second PIES file also fails to pass the AAP validation checks, the supplier must seek the assistance of a third party data service company. Web Links, Quick Reference & Email Addresses The following is a list of popular links that will help you with PIES. The Product Information Management (PIM) Team can provide you with a copy of the PIES reference manual and other electronic documents, including a sample file. AAP PIM Team Email Address: aappimteam@advance-auto.com When to use: Submitting a BISS File Submitting a FTP Access Authorization Form Asking questions about AAP s PIES requirements AAP PIES & PILS File Email Address: aapproductdata@advance-auto.com When to use: Submitting PIES files (under 15 MB) Submitting PILS files (under 15 MB) Submitting Digital Asset files (under 15 MB) AAIA Parent Brand Code Table: http://brandtable.pricedex.com/default.aspx AAIA Parts Classification Database (PCdb): http://aftermarket.org/resources/tech/pcdb.aspx Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 11

Section 5: Uploading SKU Data (cont.) AAIA Imaging Best Practices: http://www.aftermarket.org/technology/pies/zip/imaging.aspx AAIA Website: http://www.aftermarket.org/technology.aspx University of the Aftermarket: http://www.northwood.edu/aftermarket/ondemand/ DATAgility http://www.datagility.com/ ANSI Codes: http://www.x12.org/x12org/index.cfm Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 12

Section 6: Receiving and Filling a Customer Order Our customers can order FDO products at any Advance Auto Parts store or electronically through our website. No matter where the order originates, the order is placed into the AAP order management system. The order management system splits an order with multiple SKUs into single SKU orders. Orders for multiple quantities of a single SKU remain as requested. Customer orders are transmitted to each vendor as they are received from the customer in the form of an 850 EDI Purchase Order document. Upon your receipt of the purchase order, a functional acknowledgement EDI 997 should be systematically generated to notify us that you have received the Purchase Order. Once received, the vendor should prepare that order for shipment according to the agreed upon lead time schedule. If the vendor has agreed to fill next day, the lead time within the AAP system will be set to one day and the customer will expect that order to arrive within the lead time plus delivery time window. If the vendor is required to custom-manufacture the part, the customer will know what the lead time plus delivery time is as stated on the website or on the store Point-of-Sale system. The lead-times will be determined during the vendor on-boarding phase of this process. It is expected that the vendor will have the inventory on-hand to fulfill the order. If the vendor submits inventory on-hand data to the Hosted Vendor Solution site as required (Section 9) the vendor must maintain a 98.5% fill rate within 60 days of the start of filling FDO orders. If the fill rate falls below 98.5%, the product will no longer be offered for sale to our customers as this will jeopardize our promise to our customer Service is our best part. Zero ASN will change once all suppliers are on-boarded to the new specification and using an 855 document. Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 13

Section 7: Preparing a Packing Slip and Packaging an Order An Advance Auto Parts branded packing slip must be included with each order. The packing slip must include the following information: Sold to info (name, street address, city, state, zip code, phone #) Ship to info (name, street address, city, state, zip code, phone #) Manufacturer, Part #, Description/Warranty information, Quantity Unit price, Total price Order number Ship method Advance Auto Parts logo and 1-877-ADVANCE (238-2623) Sample of a branded packing slip: During the Vendor On-Boarding phase, a copy of the packing slip will be sent to the FDO Operations team for review and validation. Advance Au t o Par t s F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 14

Section 8: Shipping an Order To simplify shipping, orders are sent collect via UPS. Advance Auto Parts has negotiated the use of a 3 rd party account number with UPS, allowing all freight to be charged directly to AAP. Prior to shipping the first customer purchase order, a UPS representative will contact you to schedule a visit with your logistics department to set up the 3 rd party account. At this visit, please provide your shipping facility origin address and shipping facility contact information: Name, Telephone Number and E-mail Address. On site, the UPS representative will ensure your Worldship unit is correctly set so all reference fields can accept proper Purchase Order information. Additionally, the representative will review the 3 rd party program and requirements with logistics team members. There will be orders that cannot be shipped via standard UPS. Orders addressed to a Post Office Box (PO Box) or Military Address (APO) must be delivered using one of these options: United States Postal Service (USPS) FedEx Smart Post UPS Mail Innovations Costs for these shipments are to be billed back to AAP as an additional line item on EDI 810 invoice. Packages exceeding the UPS small package requirements should be sent via the UPS Supply Chain Solutions Economy Domestic Freight Service or Estes Express Lines. Maximum Size = 165 inches in length and girth Maximum Length = 108 inches Maximum Package Weight = 150 pounds When completing the Bill of Lading (BOL) for any Less than Truckload (LTL) shipment, 3 rd party billing information must be included for AAP to pay the freight. Please use the following address information for 3 rd party billing Advance Auto Parts c/o Williams and Associates 405 East 78 th Street Bloomington, MN 55420 Customers may choose their shipment service level. The following services are offered. These must be coded as options in your order management system and will be indicated on the 850 EDI Purchase Order. UPS Ground UPS Second Day Air UPS Next Day Air Saver UPS Next Day Air Notes: Orders specified for Next Day delivery will be shipped UPS Next Day Air Saver Shipments for Puerto Rico use UPS Ground or UPS Next Day Air and must include your Support Center phone number on the shipping label. Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 15

Section 8: Shipping an Order (cont.) UPS Shipping Label should be formatted to include the Advance Auto Parts store number, if available, and the customer s name. Shipment to Store: Advance Auto Store # Attn: Customer Name Store Street Address Store Street Address 2 (if applicable) City, State Zip Store Phone Number Shipment to Customer: Customer Ship-to Name Street Address Store Street Address 2 (if applicable) City, State Zip Customer Phone Number Purchase Order Number must be included in the Reference field on all shipping labels beginning in position 1. The prefix PO should be followed by the number without spaces PO12345678. The PO number must be entered into any of the 5 reference fields on the UPS shipping label. Your UPS representative will set your Worldship unit to print the PO number when he visits your logistics team prior to shipping your first order. Tracking numbers are to be included on the 856 Advance Ship Notice for all UPS shipments. Shipment tracking detail should be sent to AAP according to this schedule: 856 ASN for UPS ground delivery within 24 hours of package pick-up by UPS 856 ASN for UPS overnight delivery within 2 hours of receipt of the purchase order Purchase Order and Pro# for LTL shipments are sent via email to fdosupport@advance-auto.com a minimum of twice daily by 2:00 p.m. EST and at end of business day. Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 16

Section 9: Updating Inventory On-Hands Inventory on-hand data must be updated daily to ensure the customer will receive the product ordered. To do this, each vendor may choose one of 4 methods to communicate their updated on-hands. To assist this process, Advance Auto Parts has developed a website for easy updating. This site titled, Hosted Vendor Solution, allows manual, automated or traditional FTP uploads. Upload manually through the Advance Hosted website: Allows you to update your inventory files in Excel, save them as.csv files and click the upload button. Transmit directly to the Advance Hosted website FTP site: Transmits updated inventory files systematically to the website s FTP site. Transmit using AAIA IPO standard: Allows you to use the industry standard Internet Parts Ordering data file format to exchange information. IPO vendors must maintain a 99% system uptime. Any planned disruption to service must be communicated 2 weeks prior to outage to the FDO Support Team. Inventory levels for all part numbers assigned an AAP SKU must be included each time the inventory is updated. Please deduct allocated inventory from your on-hand data. Submit a record for each part number AAP offers, even if the on-hand=0. Inventory data that is not updated for 72 hours will be purged from the system and reset to 0. This will bar a customer from having visibility to your product. You will be notified of the purge and will be requested to update immediately. A Factory Direct Ordering Hosted Vendor Solution Quick Start Guide is available. A copy will be sent to you or please email fdosupport@advance-auto.com. Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 17

Section 10: Handling Customer Returns Customers are directed to return products either to their local store or directly to the AAP distribution center #23 in Delaware, Ohio. As returns are made to stores, team members will aggregate products and transfer them to their servicing distribution center. At the distribution center, returns will be processed by type, i.e., defects, saleable, etc. While different types of returns may be aggregated into a single shipment, they will be segregated and listed on separate Return To Vendor (RTV) documents. Product that is saleable will be marked with a tag indicating FDO, while defective product will be tagged with the word Defect on its tag. Product originally delivered to a store that has not been picked up by the customer for 30 days will be returned. All products will be returned to your distribution center via an AAP distribution center. A request for a Return Authorization from each distribution center holding return product will be made prior to any returns being shipped to your facilities. Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 18

Section 11: Responding to Customer Issues Our promise to our customers that Service is our best part extends beyond providing our customers a superior assortment of products; it also manifests itself in the expedient and efficient delivery of that product. Occasionally, there are service issues that arise and all parties must work together to resolve these problems quickly and as seamlessly as possible. The FDO Support Team attempts to identify and correct problem orders so the customer will not experience any delay with their delivery. When our Customer Contact Center receives a call or email from a customer that requires information or intervention by the vendor team, reply to the communication must be responded to within 2 hours. These emails will come from fdosupport@advance-auto.com. Types of issues that our customers experience and expected action from the vendor are: Problem Cause Vendor Action AAP Action Customer did not receive ordered product Vendor is unable to fulfill order because inventory is unavailable Transmit a 0 quantity ASN and update the HVS system with 0 onhand quantity Notifies customer order cannot be fulfilled Customer did not receive ordered product Returned package to Notify Notifies customer that the vendor attempted fdosupport@advance- address was delivery to address auto.com and issue undeliverable and issue listed on package credit for canceled order a credit Customer did not receive ordered product 850 Purchase Order not received nor acknowledged Receives PO and fulfills order Resend purchase order Customer did not receive ordered product No UPS tracking number Discern reason why Work with vendor to available tracking number is not remedy situation available Damaged shipment or missing item from box Package damaged during shipment UPS will contact the vendor to file claim. Reship product if requested by customer. Alert vendor about claim and contact customer to ask about reshipping product. Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 19

Section 11: Responding to Customer Issues (cont.) Filing a Claim If a package is lost or damaged during shipment, a freight claim is filed with the carrier. As the originator of the shipment, the carrier will work with your logistics group to collect the necessary data for them to investigate the problem. UPS Claims While the AAP third party account number is used to ship packages collect via UPS, the vendor, as the shipper, must file the claim. Once it is established that a package has been lost or damaged, a UPS representative will contact you to gather the necessary information. Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 20

Section 12: Handling Canceled Orders An order is canceled when there is no inventory available to fulfill the order or the order is too late to be fulfilled or the customer wishes to cancel the order. To communicate the cancellation of an order, an 856 ASN with a ship quantity of zero (0) is transmitted to AAP. This ASN will trigger our system to communicate directly with the store or customer who purchased the product. Following the transmission of the ASN, the inventory status must be updated to reflect the current on-hand quantity. Three scenarios for canceled orders: If you cannot fulfill the order, your system should cancel the purchase order and trigger the generation of the 0 quantity ASN followed by an inventory update of 0 on-hand. Inventory is updated to reflect out-of-stock position. If the customer cancels the order, you will receive a notice from the fdosupport@advanceauto.com mailbox. At that time, if the order has not been shipped, you are to cancel the purchase order in your system and trigger the 0 quantity ASN. If the package is undeliverable, your system should cancel the purchase order and trigger the generation of a 0 quantity ASN. Simultaneously, a credit must be issued for this product to AAP. Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 21

Section 13: Invoicing Following the delivery of the 856 ASN, an 810 Invoice will be submitted to AAP for payment. Advance Auto Parts F a c t o r y D i r e c t O r d e r i n g V e n d o r M a n u a l Page 22