The Product & Price Information Format (PPIF) 

The Product & Price Information Format (PPIF) is a standardized format for electronic transmission of manufacturer price and product updates.

With a standardized format, the electronic transmission of this data is more accurate and more efficient than sending paper files or files in a format that is difficult to upload. The manual labor involved in hand-entering this information leads to opportunities for errors or delays in getting the new prices in the hands of the distributor. Using PPIF means that the same type of information is transmitted in the same manner and in the same format every time, so the upload process is just a few clicks rather than thousands of keystrokes.

Designed to supersede both ANSI X.12 832 and custom manufacturer pricing formats, the PPIF is a single-format, single-program system that can be easily installed and used by manufacturers, distributors and OEMs. The ASCII format eliminates the need for significant software expenditure by users and may be transmitted via mail, e-mail or the Internet.

Current Version 2.6 released & effective April 12, 2019

A joint task force of the Power Transmission Distributors Association and the Bearing Specialists Association approved a revision to the widely used Product & Price Information Format (PPIF) version 2.5 to add an optional Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) field. 

Many manufacturers have raised awareness of the need to support brand value, local distributor value and inventory as well as the need to minimize concern of pricing abuse, i.e. special privileges for OEM resale. Therefore, an optional field has been added to the PPIF where a supplier can provide the MAP for each product. PPIF version 2.6, released April 12, 2019 is also effective as of April 12, 2019.

Visit the PTDA Resource Library  and click on the Business Solutions tab to download the current PPIF format and supplemental documents.
PPIF V2.6 Format and Supplemental Documents

  • Microsoft Excel® Format v2.6
  • Microsoft Excel® Template w Examples v2.6
  • PPIF users and endorsers
  • Frequently asked questions