17 November 2004 — GXS is showcasing its e-commerce integration platform, Trading Grid, at the Odette Conference, Stuttgart. As one of the largest electronic business communities – serving over 14,000 automotive businesses world-wide – Trading Grid offers a continuum of integration services and real-time process visibility that drives 100% connectivity, “demand-driven” replenishment, synchronised product and price information and, ultimately increased speed for the overall execution of supply chains.

For the automotive sector specifically, Trading Grid will allow all trading partners to:

• Enjoy the benefits of a ‘connect once, trade with many’ model using industry standards including OFTP and cost effective access to ENX and ANX.
• Establish and strengthen supply chain capabilities in emerging markets, including Asia Pacific and eastern Europe, by providing connectivity and complete end-to-end visibility of the supply chain regardless of each partner’s cultural approach or technological capabilities.
• Improve supply chain performance through visibility and, business process management; alerting trading partners to exceptions, variations and errors before they become emergencies.

Scott Molitor, global director of automotive business at GXS, said: “The automotive market landscape is changing and with it comes many opportunities for business of all sizes. However, with these changes come many challenges. It is our goal at GXS to help global automotive companies of any size overcome these challenges in order to capitalise on the opportunities. This is the power of Trading Grid and the essence of our ‘no partner left behind’ methodology.”

GXS designed and developed Trading Grid to combine the reliability and best practices of its Value-Added Networks (VANs) with the speed and agility of the Internet. While VANs primarily move data, Trading Grid provides capabilities that get more out of the data and manage an overall business process. Trading Grid includes the following key components that accelerate this new business process networking capability:

• Global messaging services that provide real-time information flow between partners anywhere in the World;
• Improved access methods that simplify business enablement, from multi-lingual Web-based access options to direct ERP integration via Web Services adapters;
• Central data stores to virtually and securely aggregate high-volumes of trading community data;
• Hosted Trading Grid application services to manage and orchestrate specific cross-enterprise business processes, such as managing orders and reconciling invoices.

In today’s global economy, goods and services are readily sourced and manufactured from regions all over the world. Historically, companies invested in VANs to drive efficiency and reduce the cost of supply chain operations. However, a significant number of businesses have yet to participate in true business-to-business automation. For those that do participate, the environment remains highly manual and, error prone due to process and systems incompatibilities, lack of technical expertise and, technical resource. Trading Grid serves to improve process automation between businesses through a flexible set of global integration services and business process networking capabilities; tailored to meet the business needs of large and small companies.

Enhanced by Partners ‘On the Grid’
GXS Trading Grid is supported with the company’s global partner program, the GXS Partner Grid. GXS Partner Grid enables strategic, solution, and technology partners to leverage the Grid to build innovative, customisable solutions for customers. Launch partners for Trading Grid announcement include Verisign, PureEdge Solutions, TradeBeam and many more.

About GXS
GXS is a leading global provider of B2B e-commerce solutions that simplify and enhance business process integration and collaboration. Organisations worldwide, including more than 75 percent of the Fortune 500, leverage GXS Trading Grid® to achieve balance between supply and demand. Active in the global standards arena, GXS solutions enable customers both large and small, to connect with global partners, synchronise product information, optimise inventory levels and demand forecasts, and accelerate the execution of supply chains.

Headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., GXS provides sales and support to businesses and their partners worldwide. For more information about GXS visit www.gxs.co.uk.