GAITHERSBURG, Md. — November 7, 2006 — GXS, a leading provider of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce solutions, today announced that Avago Technologies has deployed GXS Managed Services to enable efficient connectivity with more than 160 trading partners around the world.  Avago, which conducts more than 100,000 e-commerce transactions per year, sought a B2B e-commerce provider that could support multiple standards and protocols, while providing effective integration with its global base of customers and suppliers.

Avago Technologies is a leading supplier of innovative semiconductor solutions for advanced communications, industrial and commercial applications.  Recently spun out of Agilent Technologies as a standalone company, Avago needed to launch a comprehensive B2B program quickly to support crucial operational functions.  Through GXS Managed Services, Avago ensured a smooth separation from Agilent, minimizing disruption to their customers and business partners, while creating an efficient B2B model for future scalability.

“Today’s high tech manufacturing companies are facing a variety of challenges and pressures stemming from global sourcing, new emerging markets and new environmental and financial regulations.  These pressures are driving changes in the ways companies do business and the ways they connect to suppliers,” said Steve Keifer, vice president of industry and product marketing at GXS.  “Companies like Avago must be agile, flexible and proficient in nearly all e-commerce standards to meet the needs of their diverse customer base in the high tech, automotive and telecom segments.  Through GXS Managed Services, Avago is gaining a competitive edge and capably conquering the demands of today’s global business climate.”

GXS Managed Services delivers unique business value to a variety of industries including retail, consumer packaged goods, financial services and high tech manufacturing, where business success often is driven by e-commerce and supply chain efficiencies.  GXS enables companies to free up internal resources to focus on core business objectives, reduce costs and fill gaps in internal expertise.  This is particularly important in a divestiture scenario such as Avago’s, in which internal resources are focused on quickly and effectively implementing an independent IT infrastructure.  GXS is known for its expertise in B2B outsourcing projects, its range of B2B capabilities and its proficiency in supporting a wide-range of standards and protocols.

As part of its divestiture from Agilent, Avago chose to outsource its B2B operations to a provider who could manage the critical integration with its supply chain partners.  Doing so enables Avago’s internal resources to focus on the successful implementation of its new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.  GXS Managed Services provides Avago all the functionality of a business with vast internal B2B expertise, at lower cost, in a short timeframe.  Avago now can communicate with suppliers and customers of any size or type, anywhere in the world.

GXS insulates companies from the complexity and expense of continual technology advancement and from supporting multiple standards by translating documents into the recipient’s preferred format.  This allows companies to focus on core business operations while giving them the ability to trade seamlessly with any supplier or customer.  In addition, product life cycles are becoming shorter.  To remain profitable, high tech manufacturing companies have been forced to become more flexible and responsive to changes in market demand.  Technology OEMs are pressuring discrete manufacturing and high technology companies to achieve demand-driven supply chains with near real-time decision-making capabilities.  GXS enables companies to automate information and processes exchanges and integrate critical supply chain information into internal business processes.  As a result, companies reduce time to market, optimize working capital and enable configure-to-order methodologies.

According to the Yankee Group¹, “Managed services providers can help organizations lower the cost to serve customers and suppliers, and ensure they can meet the changing requirements of their trading partner community.  They are a faster and more cost-effective option for deploying B2B e-commerce to a wide trading partner base due to their expertise, experience, existing network and shared infrastructure.  By addressing the fundamental obstacle in deploying effective B2B ecommerce (i.e., serving as an intermediary to establish technical and process agreements between unique and heterogeneous organizations), B2B managed service providers are emerging as a viable and effective option for enabling B2B e-commerce within and across trading partner communities.”

GXS Managed Services delivers unique business value in industries where business success often is driven by the effective deployment of B2B e-commerce transactions.  Organizations that use GXS Managed Services are empowered to free up internal resources, reduce costs and fill gaps in internal expertise by utilizing the service as an extension of the IT department.  GXS has nearly 20 years experience in B2B outsourcing and clients around the world, including Actaris, AMI Semiconductor, Bank of Montreal, BB&T, Exel Consolidated Services, Miller Brewing Company, National Instruments, Royal Bank of Canada and Thomson Consumer Electronics.  As a key component of the GXS Trading Grid, Managed Services offers the technical infrastructure to conduct a global B2B program, including transaction management, data translation, systems administration and supplier performance reporting capabilities.  In addition, GXS Managed Services provide customers with the B2B experts to deliver world-class B2B program management, trading community management and customer support.  GXS Trading Grid is GXS’ unique global integration platform that enables and streamlines cross-enterprise business processes and is used by more than 40,000 trading partners every day to exchange goods and services.

GXS is a leading global provider of B2B e-commerce solutions that simplify and enhance business process integration, synchronization and collaboration among trading partners.  Organizations worldwide, including 75 percent of the Fortune 500, leverage the GXS Trading Grid^® to extend supply networks, optimize product launches, automate warehouse receiving, manage electronic payments and gain supply chain visibility.  With an unmatched global presence, proven trading partner management and B2B outsourcing services, GXS’ on-demand solutions maximize the benefits of integration for businesses.   

Based in Gaithersburg, Md., GXS’ extensive global network serves customers throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific regions.  GXS can be found on the Web at www.gxs.com.

 

1 Yankee Group, “Emerging Demand for B2B Managed Services, Hosted Integration and Outsourcing” by Tara Pottebaum, November 8, 2005.