News

Source: BusinessWire, May 30, 2002

YARDLEY, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2002--Prophet 21, through its Internet trading network, Trading Partner Connect, can significantly reduce distributors' Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Value-Added Network (VAN) charges, while helping them conduct electronic commerce in real time.

Trading Partner Connect members can send all of their EDI traffic through the Internet trading network in real time, eliminating batch processing, costly modems, and phone lines. Trading Partner Connect routs the documents, whether the recipient is a Trading Partner Connect member or not.

Most importantly, VAN charges are reduced by more than 20 percent because of the 24 hour a day, seven day a week connection to Trading Partner Connect.

"Our use of EDI has definitely increased since moving to Trading Partner Connect," says Rene Savage, system administrator for Stellar Industrial Supply located in Tacoma, WA. "It has improved our relationships with suppliers. We spend less time keying documents and are meeting our deadlines, so we're getting larger discounts.

"Since we've starting conducting EDI through Trading Partner Connect, I've also had to do much less maintenance on our system," adds Savage. "Not only have we done away with an external modem, but Trading Partner Connect is more reliable than more traditional EDI. Messaging goes through one source rather than different VANs depending on whom we are contacting. In addition, I can verify receipt of documents by checking the Trading Partner Connect Web site, saving me from calling and confirming.

Because security and messaging software is inherent in Trading Partner Connect, distributors don't need to worry about intercepted messages or multiple deliveries of the same document.

70 Percent Savings

Another Prophet 21 Trading Partner Connect member, Oliver H. Van Horn based in New Orleans, saw their EDI bill drop by nearly $500 a month - an almost 70 percent reduction - since conducting EDI through the Internet trading network.

"Prophet 21 is the only software provider in this market space to offer this type of application," says Lee Eagan, CEO of Oliver H. Van Horn. "You can't afford not to have Prophet 21 because you won't survive without Trading Partner Connect. This is a good example of how Prophet 21 has helped us stay in the technology vanguard in our industry."

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