GAITHERSBURG, MD and ATLANTA, GA -- 12/08/09 -- GXS and Inovis, leading providers of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce services and software solutions, today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to merge. Inovis brings with it approximately 16,000 customers from a range of industries including retail and consumer products, financial services, transportation/logistics and automotive. The combined company creates a leading global provider of B2B e-commerce services and gives the company an even greater global presence.The merger of GXS and Inovis will further streamline customers' global B2B deployments and provide them with a comprehensive range of B2B integration software and services-based solutions. GXS is a leading B2B e-commerce services provider with a strong focus on helping customers optimize their global supply chains through its software-as-a-service (SaaS) and software-based portfolio that includes B2B messaging services, supply chain visibility, product master data management and B2B Gateway software. Inovis is a leader among B2B Gateway software providers and has a strong portfolio of complementary software and services including managed file transfer, supply chain visibility, product catalog, B2B Gateway and multi-enterprise master data management software. "Today's merger announcement marks a turning-point in the B2B e-commerce industry," said Bob Segert, president and CEO of GXS. "GXS sees strong potential for further growth in B2B managed services and B2B integration software. ...

... or something like that...  The title comes from an old song by Simon & Garfunkle, a "folk-pop" duo from the 60s and 70s...  They gave us a LOT of hit records in their years together - and Paul Simon certainly had a string of hits after they split.  Art Garfunkle didn't do as well, but he still stayed busy and active in the recording industry. I always think of the old adage about "stopping and smelling the roses" when I think of that old song (BTW, it's "FEELING GROOVY")...  Which then leads to thinking about "tunnel vision"...  And all of this came up today because of a comment made to a previous post that fairly SCREAMS "sales pitch!" and ... well, I've never been a fan of the heavy-hitting sales pitch. Years ago, I actually was in sales - I was selling new (and used) Chrysler and Plymouths for a dealer in the San Francisco Bay Area.  This was in the late 80s and I only did it for a few months.  I had to get out of there because, while I love cars - I'm a certifiable car nut - I couldn't deal with all of the high-pressure tactics that so many sales people used.  It actually kind of shocks me to think about how ...

EDI 101 – part II – The Basics of Standards and Syntax So, you’ve decided to come back for more, eh?  Glutton for punishment, I guess. This time around, we’re going to cover the concepts of the “STANDARDS” and also the SYNTAX and the Content of your EDI Document.  Now, again, I’m coming from a background in retail and using the ANSI/ASC-X12 standard.  And we use version 4010, which is, arguably, a few versions behind, but that’s not truly important.  I know that UN/EDIFACT and TRADACOMS have their own standards and documents, but, again, I’m just dealing with what I know – X12. For each industry that uses EDI and the standards, there are different forms that can be used.  The book on My desk for the X12, v 4010, is the size of a dictionary.  And it’s printed on that same super thin paper in tiny little type-face.  And it’s almost 1800 pages of that tiny type.  But not every document is used in every industry that may use EDI and use the X12 standard.  Some are strictly for retailers; some for real estate; some for insurance, for banking, for hospitals.  Some of the documents MAY be used across the industrial lines, but some are very specific and specialized.  Within that X12 standard, there are literally HUNDREDS (at ...

If you were alive and watching TV through the 90s, you probably saw - or at least heard of - ABC's long running "Home Improvement" - starring Tim Allen - and giving a start to Pamela Anderson (Lee) - whose career nearly EVERYBODY should know.  It was a show about "Tim 'the tool man' Taylor" and his family.  Tim was the "host" of a TV Show called "TOOL TIME" - a fictitious handyman show that was sponsored by the equally fictitious Binford Tools. But one of the things that Tim was ALWAYS looking for was "MORE POWER!" from his tools - and just about everything else in his life.  Tim's tinkering with tools would often lead to disastrous results - with an over-powered tool that did far more than it should and was usually pretty destructive. The other day, I wrote a bit about the power of DETAILS in our EDI world.  But this morning, I was reminded that - even with all the details in the world - we're nothing without the tools to use them.  And how our actions and all the details we can monitor and provide, how they're for nothing if the users don't use the tools we provide them. This concept of TOOLS and how we should use them was pushed to the forefront of My ...

With all due respect to Right Said Fred, I’ll take a bit of their song and use it… But, let’s face it - EDI isn’t sexy. It’s not glamorous… We’re not going to get many invites to black-tie-and-beaded-gown-red-carpet-fancy events. There are no EDI “Oscars” or “Emmys” or “Tony Awards” or anything like that. There’s just data. And details. Lots and lots of details. And they do say that “the devil is in the details”… And do I know a thing or two about details! I’ve often been told that I sometimes put in TOO much detail. When I was taking some creative writing courses in college, one teacher was always fascinated and enthralled by the amount of details I’d provide in a story and another always warned Me about too much detail - to let the reader create the image in their mind, of their experiences. If you’ve read much of My work on EDI Talk (or My latest blog over at Inovis), you’ll know I do tend to go into some details - and, yes, sometimes get a bit off track with them… Now, where were we…? OH! Yes. Details. And not the men’s fashion magazine! Truly, however, it is just those details and our attention to them that can make or break our EDI career. How well we provide ...