Enhancements Increase the Ease for Enterprises to Expand the
Depth and Breadth of Supply Chain Integration with Suppliers
St. Paul, Minn., May 13, 2002 - SPS Commerce, the leading Supply Chain
Integration Service provider, today announced a multitude of
enhancements to SPSCommerce.net. The service, which has already helped
retailers and distributors electronically enable more than 40,000
suppliers into supply chains, is being enhanced in three key areas:
Enablement, Catalogs and Transactions. The enhancements are a result of
SPS` expertise in running supplier enablement and management programs
for large enterprises - especially when involving small to mid sized
enterprises (SMEs).
On the supplier enablement front, SPS is introducing four portal
templates, (or portlets), each tailored to a distinct type of enablement
program, which helps automate and simplify the supplier experience
during setup and certification. It also assists the retail and
distribution hub in delivering a clear, concise message about the
program and managing progress of its suppliers` integration efforts.
The four portlets help take supplier enablement one step closer to a
"self-service" setup and certification effort across four types of
programs:
Extending integration for either catalog or transaction data to a
new group of previously unconnected suppliers - usually SMEs.
Extending integration for either catalog or transaction data to an
additional order management process.
Deepening the level of integration by adding additional documents
sets across a group of suppliers that are already integrated.
Providing ad-hoc supplier enablement of new suppliers that make up
the standard monthly "churn" of suppliers that retailers and
distributors realize as part of their standard business process.
SPS` Catalog Service has been enhanced to support two new capabilities.
First, the service has been updated to provide native support of item
data unique to both hard and soft line product lines. Previously, SPS`
catalog primarily focused on managing item data for soft lines products.
Secondly, SPS has upgraded its pricing management capability to provide
advanced features for supporting promotional requirements of retailers.
Specifically, unique price field data can now be managed for a single
retailer by custom groupings that can be used to support regional,
seasonal and promotional pricing requirements.
The SPS Transaction Service has also been enhanced in two major areas,
the Accessory Library and File Integration. SPS is introducing a new
suite of end-user productivity tools for WebForms called the Accessory
Library. Accessories are optional tools suppliers can easily drop into
the WebForms environment to minimize the amount of data entry required
to process advanced transactions such as Advanced Ship Notices (ASNs).
As of today, five Accessories are available in the library including:
· Case Pack/Auto Fill - Significantly simplified workflow for multiple
carton creation with advanced ship notices.
· Carrier Integration - Automated integration of tracking numbers and
carrier shipping labels.
· Transaction Templates - Virtually eliminates up to 95% of data entry
for commonly used transactions with little variation.
· Transaction Aggregation - Allows a single keystroke and/or action to
be taken across multiple transactions such as
in batch shipping, etc.
· Transaction Tracking - Automatically manages the administration
(opening & closing) of transactions across a single order.
SPS also has improved the validation capabilities of its File
Integration solution to provide near real-time feedback and more detail
regarding success/errors of submitted transactions.
"The hosted service model has matured to the point where the small to
mid sized suppliers are not only participating in ecommerce, but are
requesting more capabilities from their service providers," says Jon
Derome, Program Manager, Business Applications and Commerce at The
Yankee Group. "SPS Commerce continues to exhibit an in-depth
understanding of and execution on the unique needs of this market with
the numerous improvements to their service."
"Over the past six months we have witnessed a significant psychological
shift in behavior in the Retail and Distribution market around using
enablement programs to extend the breadth and depth of supply chain
integration," said Jim Frome, executive vice president and chief
strategy officer at SPS Commerce. "The latest set of enhancements to
SPSCommerce.net are designed to meet the needs of the hub organization
for tools to manage the supplier on-boarding process and community
management, and the needs of suppliers to simplify the experience of
meeting the compliance requirements of their customers."
About SPS Commerce
SPS Commerce is the leading provider of hosted Supply Chain Integration
Services. The Company specializes in managing trading partner enablement
and management programs to increase the depth and/or breadth of
integration with trading partners -- especially small and mid-sized
partners. Our solution has helped key enterprises, including over 70
large retailers, electronically enable and integrate over 40,000 small
and mid-sized trading partners into their e-supply chain. For more
information, visit the Company at www.spscommerce.com or call (651)
603-4400.
SPS Commerce is a registered trademark of SPS Commerce Inc.,
spscommerce.net and the SPS Commerce logo are the property of SPS
Commerce, Inc. All other names and trademarks are the property of their
respective holders.
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