Trading exchanges need to consolidate, Target exec says

Web-based trading exchanges in retail have spent nearly $500 million building their infrastructures and systems with little to show so far, Gerald Storch, vice chairman of Target, told Retail Systems 2001 today. The various exchanges should consolidate this year, Storch said. “There’s too much at stake wasting years and years trying to bring this all together,” he said. “These exchanges have to come together.”

The benefits of a single exchange include the ability to integrate the entire supply chain, scalability and the advancement of knowledge in regards to systems and technologies.

The major exchanges are World Wide Retail Exchange, of which Storch is a board member, GlobalNetXchange and Transora. Sorch said he will start a push at today’s board meeting of World Wide Retail Exchange to consolidate with the others. “I’ll be disappointed if we don’t see movement by this fall,” he said.