Free online library will allow specifiers to access ALL product data, in one place
CESA members will soon be able to store and publish all equipment data and support materials, including CAD and Revit symbols, spec sheets, manuals, price lists and catalogues, in a new online information source developed by Specifi and CESA. Called Sp Share, it will provide customers, designers and distributors with a single point of access for CAD and Revit symbols and product information, via a free portal. Sp Share goes live in June 2019.
In addition to perpetual free use of Sp Share, CESA members will be able to publish their price lists and catalogue information to Specifi’s UK Quote products for free through to the end of 2019. In 2020, CESA members can continue to publish their entire price lists and catalogues to Specifi Quote, for an annual cost of £1,500 per brand.
“Sp Share is a very exciting development,” says Keith Warren, director of CESA. “Having access to a single online resource covering all product information used to specify catering equipment will be a major benefit to distributors, designers and operators.”
Sp Share is a natural development of the CESABIM database, which it will replace. “The new system offers a comprehensive library of product information, whereas CESABIM was restricted to files that could be used in BIM-based designs,” says Warren. “Furthermore, Sp Share is a browser-based interface that will be intuitive and user-friendly.”
Specifi will be in charge of organising and uploading the data for CESA members. CESA and Specifi will request that global IFSE and FCSI standards are used by companies submitting their product data. However, Specifi has agreed to accept whatever the supplier provides, and publish it without discrimination, with the exception of outdated pricing.
Bob Wolters, CEO of Specifi, says, “Creating, managing and distributing multiple CAD and BIM files, as well as multiple price lists, in multiple languages, currencies and units of measure, is an increasingly complex business. Sp Share is designed to make the management and distribution of all this much easier for manufacturers and suppliers.”
Warren adds, “Currently, equipment specifiers have to gather information from different sources – one for prices, another for BIM or CAD models, another for spec sheets, and so on. It’s a real headache. Sp Share brings it all together: we think it has the potential to be a game-changer.”
ABOUT SPECIFI®: For 25 years, Specifi® has been recognised as the leading system for content creation, design, quoting & project management for catering suppliers and professionals in over 80 countries across the world.