News

Newest Version of Internet Trading Network Improves the Exchange of Dead Stock and Enhances Supply Chain Optimization

Source: Industrial Distribution, June 24, 2002

Prophet 21, Inc. (Nasdaq:PXXI) has released the latest version of their Internet trading network, Trading Partner Connect version 7.0.

Trading Partner Connect streamlines the commerce process between distributors, their manufacturers/suppliers, and end users, thereby increasing sales and improving customer service while reducing operating costs.

"This newest version of Trading Partner Connect further streamlines the commerce process between distributors and their trading partners - especially manufacturers/suppliers," says Chuck Boyle, Prophet 21 president and CEO. "Because members access Trading Partner Connect through an electronic marketplace, everyone is automatically upgraded to version 7.0, giving them instant access to features such as pricing service updates, improved inventory visibility, and e-mail alerts that keep distributors apprised of their return on investment in Trading Partner Connect."

Additional Benefits for Distributors

Distributors that do not use a Prophet 21 enterprise solution to run their business can now view real-time pricing and availability from their Trading Partner Connect partners without back-end integration to their enterprise solutions.

The commerce process between distributor partners has also been furthered streamlined with the addition of a workflow alert notification system. Distributors are alerted when a purchase order (PO) has been received through Trading Partner Connect. Distributors also receive workflow alerts when pricing and availability information requests are made on their dead stock items.

This gives the owner an opportunity to contact the potential buyer and negotiate a deal. These proactive announcements help distributors gain a higher return on their investment.

Automatic network updates ensure seamless commerce processes when distributors add, change, or remove a rationalized item code. This ensures the commerce process is not interrupted between trading partners.

If a distributor changes the item code for a rationalized item, the item will remain rationalized to preserve the network's accuracy and integrity, save employees time, and avoid re-keying errors associated with manual data entry.

Additional Benefits for Manufacturers/Distributors

Manufacturer/supplier members of Trading Partner Connect will see significant benefits with the release of the newest version. Pricing service integration updates the network automatically to enable manufacturers to reach multiple distributors by sending pricing service updates once to Trading Partner Connect.

Trading Partner Connect automatically delivers the updates to members, which helps alleviate pricing discrepancies and revenue loss due to not receiving the information via traditional updates such as diskettes or CDs through the mail.

Supply chain optimization, forecasting, and inventory visibility gives manufacturers/suppliers access to member distributors' stock quantities, giving them a more accurate snapshot of the supply chain, rather than solely relying on point of sale data, to help them determine production runs.

Distributors also benefit by gaining the ability to view their trading partners' and their own stock availability and pricing in real time over the Web, letting them access information remotely.

Other enhancements to Trading Partner Connect included in version 7.0 include:

• Enhanced search capability on unique information fields
• Dead stock report enhancement quantify and qualify flagged items
• Data mining report presents a familiar format
• New transaction handler processes 820 electronic data interchange (EDI) documents
• Item maintenance field simplifies dead stock identification
• Additional identification parameters increase sales for dead stock
• And more

Pricing and Availability

Trading Partner Connect version 7.0 is currently available. For additional information and pricing, please visit www.p21.com or call 1-800-776-7438. Existing customers can contact their Prophet 21 Inside Sales Representative directly.

About Trading Partner Connect

Trading Partner Connect streamlines the commerce process between distributors, their manufacturers/suppliers, and end users, thereby increasing sales and improving customer service while reducing operating costs.

Distributors benefit from dead stock reduction, lower EDI VAN costs, and access to a rationalized catalog of millions of items, enabling them to compete on a larger scale and improve customer service. In addition, distributors may connect with other purchasing platforms and trading communities through Trading Partner Connect.

Distributors may also develop Web sites to give their customers on-line customer service and ordering capabilities 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Manufacturers/suppliers benefit as well, by improving their ability to interact with distributors and more accurately predict consumer usage of their products.

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