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Gateway To Everything, but EVERYTHING about Electronic Commerce and EDI |
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See our EDI Toolbox editor on on EC-BP.COM Check out our latest BLOGS on EC-BP.COM. |
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Find out about EDI Global Identifiers and EDI Directories
See Penney Vanderbilt BLOG about Golf and Vacations, especially on the French Riviera. She writes about supply chain management too! |
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The JWH EDI Services Electronic Commerce Messaging System may be a right for you if you already have an EDI translator, EDI personnel, or do your own mapping and only need EDI VAN communication.
The power of our global EDI network is available on your server, your cloud platform or your application.
Move past the ancient VAN technology. JWH EDI Services Electronic Commerce Messaging System will bring your EDI operation into the 21st Century. READ MORE |
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Traveling in Europe? You will probably need to make a FERRY RESERVATION. Réservation Ferry en français Stop by and see our Reservations Center. |
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Our Transportation EDI Section |
| Link to many EC/EDI writings by Our EDI Toolbox editor |
| New Uses for EDI: That is what EDI is all about. |
| Introduction to Electronic Commerce on the French Riviera. Can you spell Sophia-Antipolos? |
| Electronic Commerce is BIG in the TINY Principality of Monaco. |
| A Store Chain where ELECTRONIC COMMERCE is King. |
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Is EDI Owned by IT or the Business?
Lot to talk about so: Even more on who should OWN EDI |
| EDI Roll Out |
| A Decade of Change in EDI. |
| EDI Project Management in a Recession. Well, things are a little different now. For those of you who became EDI project managers in the last few years, pay attention. Projects are not something “nice to have”, they are “we must have”. The budget is tight. Act like the assigned budget is your own money. |
| 3PL / 4PL / 5PL / 6PL Definitions |
| Planning a Logistics System |
| Your EDI Skills |
| Data Aggregation, Business Intelligence, Business Analytics, and How These Things are Being Delivered in the EDI World. |
| Cloud and EDI – The Ideal IT Mélange |
| Looking Under the Covers |
| Should My Client Start A New EDI VAN? |
| EDI Directories |
| What is an EDI VAN? |
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Mergers 2010 It is interesting to watch the number of mergers/acquisitions of EDI, Cloud and Supply Chain companies in 2010. EDI is NOT dead, it is now the darling of bigger, broader companies. |
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Cloud Opportunity. Why Didn't I Think of It? Cloud computing is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtual resources are provided as a service over the Internet. |
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The CIO and EDI We have been commenting several times about “who owns EDI”, but irrespective of the outcome, the CIO has a role in the software/hardware end of EDI. |
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Blackberry and EDI All about mobile access to supply chain data |
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EDI Organizations Several times we have discussed “where” EDI falls in a company. Usually a simple choice of EDI under the CIO or EDI under the business. Well! There are a lot of other ideas also. |
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EDI Recruiters I have always been interested in the EDI job market because as a project manager I depend on finding the best staff I can. |
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An unusual WebSite on WHOISEDI I recently saw a new EDI service that fascinates me: www.whoisEDI.com I looked way beyond their initial offering, which I will summarize as “Registration of EDI Identifiers (ISA_06)” |
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CLOUD and SaaS for Supply Chain If we are a manufacturing company and looking at the CLOUD, aren't we concerned with the whole “Supply Chain”, not just the EDI element? I took what I have used previously called “Integrated Supplier Management” with a view of basing it on the Cloud. |
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EDI and ERP What would happen if a mid-size company replaced its ERP system from one brand to another? What are the effects on the EDI system? |
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Outsourcing EDI Thinking about moving your EDI solution to an outsourced/managed supplier? Check this first. |
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EDI,IT and the Business Yes, I have talked about this subject before. Yes, I will talk about it again. WHY! Because a successful EDI program can only happen when EDI, IT and their stakeholders all are in harmony. |
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Does SCM need IT? I have been involved with “Cloud-based” thinking over the past several months, plus I have seen the level of IT expertise among the (younger) workers in Supply Chain organizations. This has led me to a really radical thought: does the Supply Chain Business need the IT Department? |
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2012 SCM Model I am developing what I expect the “model year 2012” SCM system should encompass. |
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10 Unusual XML Applications We always hear that XML has all kinds of flexibility. Thought I would explore and see what unusual things have been done with it. |
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860 Purchase Order Change I am calling this an “Op-Ed” View because my usual stomping grounds is the land of Material Releases, JIT Schedules, etc. where you have a different (easier?) change process. I am also going to try and paint a Global picture of how the purchase order change process occurs outside of North America. |
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Cloud-based Project Management Software In 2011 we talked a lot about Cloud-based systems using SaaS. In 2012 we will be expanding our discussions, addressing issues/concerns and getting into more specifics. As an EDI Project Manager, I am rising to the issue of Cloud-based Project Management Software. |
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Thoughts on Survey on EDI costs Remember statistics with it's "Bell Curve"? I looked through our recent Survey on EDI Costs to find the 10% - 20% of the responses that fall at either end of the curve: and are, let's call "unusual". Yes, we found some interesting comments; especially on surveys and on EDI between big customers and small suppliers. |
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The End of ERP In 2011 we talked a lot about Cloud-based systems using SaaS. Over the past several years there have been numerous articles written on “Is EDI Dead?”. But EDI just “keeps on trucking”. EDI embraced XML, AS2 and the Cloud; to name just a few recent advances. Plus, EDI became the “engine” for E-Commerce. |
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EDI System Tune Up Just like your car, your EDI system requires periodic “tune up”. You need to step back and see if your system is giving you the “best mileage for your dollar”. Remember, things change over time and something that worked well last year might not now because of external changes in your business process or internal changes in the interfacing systems. |
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Taking On Your Customer's Demands SURPRISE!!! You've been a supplier for “Big Company” for several years and you get a letter from them: you have to do begin trading with them using EDI or risk losing them as a customer. There are really only two ways you can react: (1) This is a great opportunity to really strengthen my supply chain, take out costs and become more efficient; or (2) Oh! Poor Me! |
| Differentiate Your Supply Chain Management Using Logistics In reviewing the business elements of a company that interfaces with EDI, I am certain the most difficult to understand is the “Supply Chain”. The most common mistake is thinking that “Supply Chain Management” (SCM) is just another name for “Logistics”. |
| Looking Into The Cloud / Grappling with Cloud Concepts The Cloud is with us and it is real! We have all heard something about it; accepted it; rejected it; or are still thinking about it. In some respects it is the old “outsourcing” debate all over again. Outsourcing is “good” because it focuses the company on its core competencies. Outsourcing is “bad” because the company loses control over vital operations. Accepting and utilizing the Cloud is just another of the revolutionary changes (PC, smart phone, etc.) that we have encountered over the last few years. In one sentence: Cloud computing eliminates: (1) staffing; (2) maintenance; (3) obsolescence of hardware, software; and (4) capital investment. |
| See a whole lot more Supply Chain, Electronic Commerce articles |
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Supply Chain Management (SCM)
The importance of electronic commerce to your supply chain |
| Supply Chain Synchronization |
| Defining Supply Chain Management: a historical perspective and practical guidelines |
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AS2
AS2: Specifications for reliable business communications standards |
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B2B WebSites
The Web is what forms the foundation of e-commerce, and facilitates the new level of cooperation that exists between business partners |
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EDI Glossary
EDI in the eyes of the US Government |
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Financial EDI
Financial EDI (FEDI) is the computer-to-computer exchange of payment and payment-related information between companies using a standard format. |
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Mapping and EDI Standards
The conversion from one format to another format is considered "mapping". EDI incorporates standard layouts for all business documents. |
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Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) is a unique not-for-profit organization where, for more than 25 years, OEM's, suppliers, service suppliers, government and academia have worked collaboratively to drive cost and complexity from the supply chain via global standards development and harmonized business practices." Their membership is not just the "big three" but includes Caterpillar, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, VW. See a copy of their newsletter that has our article about the last decade of EDI. Is EDI Hot—or Not? Here’s one expert’s opinion on what has changed in the world of EDI over the last decade. |
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Retail EDI
RetailEDI.com was formed by a collective group of people within the Retail industry to address common interests. All have been involved within the industry for between 10-20 years doing everything from helping companies get integrated, selling software, designing process and strategic approaches to help suppliers, retailers, 3PLs and many others. One of the things they are trying to accomplish with the site is providing a place where people can come and learn about how processes within the industry can be interconnected and efficiency brought to bear through measured, well thught out plans. The consumer walking into a retail location never realizes how many companies, processes and how much technology were brought to bear to insure there is a shirt hanging on a rack that fits - that the price ticket reflects the correct price - or the person at the counter is able to check to see when their next shipment of a particular size/style of shoe is coming in. The site could have called Retailprocesses or something - but RetailEDI was chosen because so many of the systems in retail are or can be managed within the common understanding of the term "EDI" The other goal with the site is to promote solutions. The goal is where a semi-social network takes over and people in need can be put in touch with people who can solve. Simple enough premise - putting people in touch with each other. |
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Not only can you search hotels by city, but you can search by
your favorite chain of hotels.
Going to Orlando or Philadelphia or wherever, we can find all the best hotels at the best rates!!! |
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| Electronic Data Interchange: (EDI) Customer tells you that he only orders over EDI??? What do you do now??? We have been there and can help. Click here or on the calculator to find out what EDI and electronic commerce are all about. |
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Ecommerce as defined by the
United States Government Electronic Commerce [EC] is the paperless exchange of business information, using Electronic Data Interchange [EDI], electronic mail, electronic bulletin boards, electronic funds transfer and other similar technologies. Electronic Data Interchange [EDI], a major part of Electronic Commerce [EC], is the computer-to-computer exchange of business data in a standardized format. |
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What is XML? XML is an acronym which stands for Extensible Markup Language. XML is a markup language for documents containing structured information. Both content (words, pictures, etc.) and some indication of what role the content plays are contained in structured information. Almost all documents have some structure. A markup language is a mechanism to identify structures in a document. XML defines a standard way to ad markup to documents. XML was created for richly structured documents and stored data to be used over the web within a structure common to all viewing parties. The only viable alternatives, HTML and SGML, are not practical for this purpose. The use of XML is expected to grow rapidly over the next five years, just as the popularity and use of HTML has grown over the last five years. HTML stands for "Hypertext Markup Language". HTML is the language which allows developers to present electronic media (i.e. web pages, email) in color, bold, and different size text. It allows the OTC Journal to look like a magazine, but definitely has limitations. XML opens a whole new door to the Internet and its capabilities which HTML is incapable of filling. XML is a standardized simplified language, which allows richly structured documents and legacy data of all kinds to easily understand each other. Two examples of the use of XML are the NASDAQ quote feed and the SEC's EDGAR System. Dozens of commercial stock quote providers pull their data from the NASDAQ quote feed. The information comes to them in XML. The same is true of EDGAR- all the EDGAR pages are written in XML. This universal language makes it easy for public companies to file their documents in the SEC Electronic Filing System, and thus provide all viewers the ability to review the documentation in a common format. The development of XML was completed in 1998 by the non-profit World Wide Web Consortium (http://www.w3c.org/). Software developers are introducing commercial products, and sales of XML based technologies are beginning to ramp up now. See more about XML forms See a slide show What is XML all about? By Ken Kinlock at kenkinlock@gmail.com |
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Evolution of Ecommerce Many analysts consider e-commerce a logical development with roots tracing to Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). In existence since the 1970s, EDI provided a means for enterprises to incorporate electronic communications into supply chain management. Although EDI improved just-in-time manufacturing and reduced supply chain costs, it also was very expensive and difficult to implement. This was primarily because EDI systems run over private Value Added Networks, the cost of which was borne by participants. Additionally, organizations participating in this buy/sell network had to install proprietary software to ensure compatibility of documents being sent over the network-adding further cost and complication. Internet-based electronic commerce differs from EDI in two basic ways, both of which address the problems inherent in EDI: 1. Based on Internet technologies, electronic commerce uses a public communications medium-open to anyone with Internet access. 2. Because it is based on Internet technologies, electronic commerce is accessible through common Web browsers-and this is all a user needs for compatibility with virtually all electronic commerce sites. This dramatically drives down costs: An Internet server and public network access are much less expensive than virtual private networks, and everyone can use whichever computer platform they choose without having to be concerned with compatibility issues. B2B and B2C Internet-based electronic commerce has evolved into two major segments: business to consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B). B2B and B2C users have different buying needs. In B2B e-commerce, time is essential. Real-time inventory status, accurate pricing, and current delivery information are among the factors that allow business buyers to respond instantly to customer demand, increasing their efficiency and profitability. Consumers look for an experience that more closely approximates shopping-the ability to browse at their leisure (through a catalog), put selected items into their cart, then charge their purchase to a credit card. B2B and B2C consider change differently. In business, where success is often based on leveraging new technologies or processes, there is an imperative to embrace change that drives the investigation and implementation of new technologies. |
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| All About E-Commerce |
| Value Added Networks (VAN) |
| Defense Department Vans |
| GS1 US family of brands, including GS1 US BarCodes and eCom®, 1SYNC® and EPCglobalUS™ |
| X12 Technical Tutorial |
| So Who or What is DISA? |
| So who runs EDIFACT? |
| New England Electronic Commerce Users Group |
| We gather information from emails from many EDI Hubs and post them here. These news items are typically not found on any websites, so check this site regularly for the latest in EDI news. |
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WOW! Even more EDI/EC Resources
Still looking for more EDI/EC Resources? |
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History of EDITDCC was formed originally by transportation, hence the name Transportation Data Coordinating Committee. Formed in 1968, "it was incorporated with investor, user, freight forwarder, highway carrier, railroad, and water carrier directors to coordinate: (1) standardization of transportation data descriptions and codes; (2) reconstruction of tariff formats; and; (3) systems design to facilitate exchange of appropriate data among shippers, carriers, and others concerned." The man behind the scenes who put it all together, Ed Guilbert, the father of EDI. He had lots of good lieutenants from a wide variety of companies helping him. One of them was Jack Hunter from General Electric who got me involved early on with EDI Standards. A lot of why EDI succeded, was because of a "push" from major corporations, and strong executives, such as Larry Bossidy Added to the TDCC at a later date were UCS (retail/grocery industry applications), WINS (warehouse applications) and other applications. ASC X12 was accredited as an SDO (Standards Development Organization) by ANSI in 1979. Representatives from the transportation, government and computer manufacturer industries created the first formats, which were based on the TDCC structure. TDCC used the Version/Release/Industry ID code (data element 480). It was based in part on the industry and a 2 digit identification of the publication date and release within that publication date. The industry codes were as follows: A - Air Applications C - Ocean Applications D - Automotive Industry Applications F - Freight Claims G - General Applications M - Motor Applications P - Drug Industry Applications R - Rail Industry Applications T - Tariff Industry Applications U - Retail Industry Applications (UCS) W - Warehouse Applications (WINS) In 1989 TDCC begin the process of transitioning the published TDCC transaction sets into ASC X12. ASC X12 formed the Industry Transitional Subcommittee. Since the ASC X12 formats were based on the original TDCC structures, and over the years the two organizations used great care to coordinate the two standards, many of the lower level elements of the TDCC structures were already part of ASC X12. What needed to be transitioned in were the transaction set tables, and some missing elements and segments. By Ken Kinlock at kenkinlock@gmail.com |
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The Structured Product Labeling (SPL) is a document markup standard approved by Health Level Seven (HL7) and adopted by FDA as a mechanism for exchanging medication information. |
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EDI Testing Fees Despite the steady decline in the price of connecting to your partners, there are still hidden costs and frustrations. |
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| Basic Transportation EDI |
| Ryder Transportation Resources |
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Chicago's terminal railroad, the Indiana Harbor Belt upgraded its
ineffective information management systems to an electronic data exchange.
Connecting roads used to call Indiana Harbor Belt "Chicago's black hole." They don't anymore. Here's more about Indiana Harbor Belt's electronic commerce system. |
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1EDISOURCE: Your source for everything EDI 1EDISource provides unparalleled EDI solutions for businesses of all sizes. Get help with EDI implementation, management, integration and more with our software Schedule a demo from 1EDISource |
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1. If you really want to reduce EDI fees, you need to start
with the big partners. Eliminate the VAN at least with the top 5
or so (trafficwise) .
2. For the other EDI capable partners:send AS2 as well. Even if they don't have AS2 yet their VANs will serve as gateways, but you'll saved on your end of eliminating the VAN. 3. For all TPs that are not EDI capable:. Purchase a corporate license for royalty free distribution of AS2 clients with an inexpensive translation engines that include your maps, then give away to all your partners. Check out free as2 (1 partner). |
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EDI Implementation and Roll Out Here's some information on roll-outs that you might find to be useful. |
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JWH EDI Services
has significant experience with outsourced implementation of your trading partners.
Our proven methods have worked for Fortune 500 companies. They could work for you too!
We have qualified and experienced consultants on all mainstream EDI packages, including: Inovis/Harbinger Trusted Link Enterprise (TLE) and Trusted Link for Windows (TLW), GXS Application Integrator, Tie Commerce, Sterling Commerce Gentran Server, Gentran Integration Suite (GIS), Seeburger, Axway, and Mercator. The schedule provides: three weeks for transaction mapping/coding by your trading partner two weeks for test transmissions four weeks for parallel testing, evaluation, and adjustments The final production date is dependent on: initial trading partner contact the specific transaction sets the number of transaction sets experience level of trading partners with individual transaction sets While most EDI implementation firms concentrate on selling you their software, supplying you with expensive EDI resources on a semi-permanent basis, or hosting your EDI solution; we concentrate on your major implementation of trading partners. Because this is usually a temporary effort, we go away when the project is completed. |
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EDI Trading Partner Implementation follows these general steps:
Buyer and Seller contact is established at the business level. Agreement is reached as far as business rules and legal issues. Process is handed over to the respective EDI organizations. EDI information is exchanged; typically using a WebSite as information source and a WebForm to provide necessary information. Partners follow a scripted testing process. Partnership is established when the transaction(s) are moved to their respective daily production systems. By Ken Kinlock at kenkinlock@gmail.com |
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EDI/EC Conferences Only a partial list! Let us know and we will add yours. |
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| AIAG (Automotive Industry Action Group) | |
| Electrical Industry Data Exchange Association | |
| New England Electronic Commerce Users' Group (NEECOM) | |
| DISA - X12 (Data Industry Standards Association) | |
| VICS - Retail | |
| WEDI - Healthcare | |
| ATIS - Telephony | |
| U CONNECT |
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EDIX - Electronics Industry Data Exchange
http://eidx.comptia.org/ |
| What does an EDI/EC Project Manager do? |
| A dynamic manager who serves as a part of the Application Development & Support team (or one of the business teams) and aids in the establishment of a new E-commerce Strategy as well as manage staff to support the current EDI/EC environment. |
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Responsibilities: *Lead the effort to design, develop, and implement company's future eCommerce direction with trading partners. *Management and coordination of e-Commerce team responsible for the development and support of EDI, XML, Web interfaces between company and our trading partners. *Work with business leaders to increase the number of trading partners and types of information exchanged electronically. *Work with third party vendors to implement future e-Commerce Strategy. *Coordinate activities to ensure that functional specifications and requirements are transformed into clear and concise technical specifications. *Responsible for coordination of code migration, coding standards and version control activities. *Responsible for obtaining individual task estimates and resource requirements. *Ensure sound unit testing, debugging procedures, and quality assurance activities are performed by development team. *Evaluate team member performance, structure training needs or performance improvement approaches. *Follows solid project management ideas |
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Business, Technical and Educational Requirements *Extensive experience with Electronic Data Exchange through EDI, XML, Web, and flat files. *Experience with Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) tools such as Web Methods, Tibco, SeeBeyond, and Oracle. *Extensive experience with many types of EDI translation software. *Experience withValue Added Networks, EDI platform infrastructure and Communications. *Experience integrating to ERP systems. *Solid communication and interpersonal skills. *Ability to lead by example. Take charge on issues and process improvement and realize the business benefit from the changes. *Combination of both business and technical experience. *Ability to work in a fast-pace environment. *MBA helpful By Ken Kinlock at kenkinlock@gmail.com |
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