WWRE to launch global connections with trading partner data pools

In a major effort to support trading partner data integration and attract more suppliers as well as retailers to its services, the WorldWide Retail Exchange plans to connect with 12 or more industry data pools before year-end to cover several markets throughout the world, Nick Parnaby, global director of member development and marketing, tells InternetRetailer.com. “Our intention is to serve a truly global membership,” Parnaby says. “We’ll build data integration with every major data pool.”

The connections, which enable WWRE participating retailers to integrate product information with product catalogs of groups of suppliers, will cover data pools in major markets including Japan, the UK and Canada, in addition to the apparel industry-specific data pool managed by QRS Corp., Parnaby says.

WWRE has been criticized by some industry analysts for failing to provide a broad enough number of data pool connections, limiting its members’ ability to share data and participate in supply chain collaboration with trading partners. But Parnaby says the new thrust, which will be formally announced in greater detail on May 19, is a continuation of recent efforts such as WWRE’s connection to the SINFOS GmBH data pool used by 1,000 companies in Germany and other European countries.