Transora launches data synch suite as demand rises among small companies
Seeing demand for data synchronization services growing among small as well as large companies, Transora, the Internet trading exchange for consumer products goods manufacturers and their retail partners, has expanded its data synchronization services to help them share product data and conduct business through the Internet. The expanded services, available in a recently launched services suite called the Transora Data Synchronization Network, include the TDSN Onboarding Accelerator tool for helping small companies begin to quickly synchronize data with larger trading partners. By using the accelerator, companies can synchronize the particular product data required for a major supplier without synchronizing data for all products, Transora says.
Other new services offered as part of the TDSN include data synchronization for retailers and their manufacturers that provide direct store delivery, and a service to help companies synchronize product barcodes with global trade item numbers, or GTINs, which U.S. companies are expected to begin sharing with global trading partners in January 2005, according to a schedule set by the Uniform Code Council Inc. and its European counterpart, EAN International.
The TDSN also offers Transora`s main services, including its data synchronization engine for synchronizing all of a company`s product data with data of its trading partners. Data synchronization helps trading partners make sure they`re using common product definitions to improve accuracy in business documents. The TDSN also includes access to Transora`s Internet-based Data Catalogue for registering product data and making it accessible to trading partners.
"Our goal is to provide a comprehensive suite of standards-based applications and services to meet the needs of manufacturers and retailers in line with the vision of the Global Commerce Initiative," says COO Ken Fleming. The GCI is a broad international effort to let companies integrate their product data in a growing network of interoperable data pools, such as Germany-based SINFOS, which stores product data for about 1,000 European companies. Companies that can integrate with SINFOS and other Internet-based data pools will be able to view and retrieve specific data, such as price, size and style, from their trading partners and store in it their own product data catalog or repository.
Such integration was initially expected to fall within the operations of large multi-national companies, but Fleming says Transora sees demand for integration services rising among smaller suppliers and retailers who must meet the synchronization needs of their larger trading partners, such as Transora members Procter & Gamble, The Coca-Cola Co. and The Gillette Co. "Demand for data synchronization is escalating and Transora has extended its footprint beyond large, multi-national organizations already synchronizing data to include small and mid-size companies that are receiving requests for synchronized data," he says.
As more large and small companies synchronize their data, the Transora Data Synchronization Network will also enable them to get involved in supply chain collaboration by integrating their data into Transora`s application for conducting collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment, or CPFR, Fleming adds.
Back...
