SPS COMMERCE ANNOUNCES RAPID CUSTOMER GROWTH IN GROCERY INDUSTRY
-- Expansive Suite of Low Cost, Hassle Free, Hosted Services cited as key reason for rapid adoption among small to mid-sized food distributors and manufacturers --
St. Paul, MN, August 4, 2003 - SPS Commerce, the number one provider of hosted supply chain integration services for the retail industry, announced today that the Company has added over 500 new grocery
customers to SPSCommerce.net during the second quarter of 2003. The
customers - ranging from regional fisheries, dairy producers and beverage distributors to small and mid-sized food manufacturers - have embraced SPS Commerce`s model of delivering complex data integration technology through a low cost, easy-to-use hosted service.
The Company`s online service, SPSCommerce.net, is designed to work effectively within the unique staffing, technology and budget constraints of small and mid-sized businesses. For as little as $49 per month, smaller companies can use SPSCommerce.net to outsource their entire electronic transaction operation, be it EDI or XML, for data translation with one or more of their large retail and/or grocery
customers.
The Retail Grocery sector has combined annual sales of over $425 billion and encompasses over 127,000 grocery stores. Low margins are commonplace for the sector, creating a demand for technology to streamline operating efficiencies. SPS Commerce is accelerating the adoption of supply chain technology to vendors in this sector by providing a suite of low cost, hassle free services that is an attractive alternative to traditional EDI software. SPS Commerce services include:
• File Integration:
With this solution, small grocery suppliers can integrate their back-end ERP system (e.g. Great Plains, Maccola, Sage, etc.) directly to their trading partners` EDI systems, thereby eliminating any additional manual processes or errors. SPS Commerce has pre-built adapters for
most of the popular ERP applications.
• WebForms:
This no-software, low-priced option is perfect for grocery suppliers that either don`t have an EDI department or simply don`t want to add an additional trading partner to their internal systems. The only thing required is an Internet connection and an SPS-provided username and password to begin trading electronically. These on-line forms are individually created based on the grocery retailers` EDI specifications.
• Fax and Manual Services:
If a grocery supplier chooses to continue using non-electronic order processes, SPS Commerce can provide both Fax and traditional mail conversion services. SPS will convert fax or paper documents into EDI and send it to the grocery retailer on behalf of the supplier. SPS will then take the EDI information from the retailer and convert it back into a fax or paper document and send it to the supplier. These services include a one-time partner setup fee along with monthly minimum service fees.
"Prior to Q2 2003, the majority of our customers were suppliers providing products to mass merchandisers, specialty retail and industrial distributors. The recent growth in vendors participating in the grocery supply chain marks an important milestone in our growth
strategy," said Archie Black, CEO of SPS Commerce. "We welcome our new
grocery customers and look forward to serving their unique needs while expanding our network to more grocery retailers."
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 de pth and/or breadth of integration with trading partners - especially small and mid-sized partners. Our solution has helped many large retailers and distributors, electronically enable and integrate over 52,000 trading partners into their e-supply chain. For more information, visit 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.
Contacts:
Eric Chaffee
SPS Commerce
(651) 603-4400
echaffee@spscommerce.com
Derek Lyons
SHIFT Communications
(617) 681-1238.
dlyons@shiftcomm.com
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