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EDI Fundamentals Class
May 11, 2006
Whether you are new
to EDI or have been working in the field, this is a
great opportunity to network with other EDI
professionals and brush up on your EDI knowledge.
Sign Up Now for Early Registration Discount
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Staffing & Support |
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EDI Job
Opportunities
We currently have opportunities
posted for positions in Torrance, CA and Dallas,
TX.
View the positions.
Employers
If you are looking to fill an EDI
position or find short term staffing, we can
post a job opening on our site for a minimal
monthly fee.
Find out more about
EDI staffing. |
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Upcoming Industry Meetings |
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The next meeting of the Southern
California eBusiness Forum is scheduled for
April 12, 2006. This is a great place to network
with like minded profesionals!
Additional Information |
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We try to cover the
highlights of the industry but if we have missed
something, let us know and we will try to incorporate it
in an upcoming edition.
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Retail EDI News
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Supply Chain Technology - A
Whole New Language
There have been several name changes and
new technologies in the last few years
which make for a whole new language for our
industry. We will try to summarize some of the
biggest changes for you. If you would like
to know more about theses intiatives, we
suggest attending our
EDI Fundamentals Training. I'ts not
just for newbies! Most of our attendees are
working in the field and want to broaden their
knowledge and understanding of the lastest
trends.
UCC (Uniform Code Council) has
been renamed to GS1 US as part
of their alignment with the global organization,
GS1. This means that many of our
acronyms that were prefixed with UCC have been
renamed.
UPC (Universal Product
Code) - We now have a 14 digit code
called the GTIN (Global Trade Item
Number) which allows us to indicate
packing information in the code.
UCC-128 Label (shipping
container label) is now technically a
GS1-128. That's going to get hard to
get used to.
RFID (Radio Frequency
Identification) - If you are a Wal-Mart
supplier, you are being asked to update your
shipping labels to include RFID. This new
technology could ultimately replace bar codes.
See more on Wal-Mart and RFID below.
Data Synchronization
- We have had UPC Catalogs for almost two
decades now. Data Synchronization is a newer
technology with Data Pools for storage of item
information, near real-time synchronization of
the data and expanded data attributes. |
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New EDI
Documents and Requirements |
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Beals
Department Stores has posted their
updated Vendor Partnership Guide effective
February 1, 2006. They are trying something
innovative. "To those vendors who currently are,
or become successful partners with us in our
Store Cross-Dock Program, Beall's is extending a
50% discount within our Expense Offset
Policies."
Boscov's
added a new section to their Routing
Guide effective January 15, 2006 with UPC/EAN
Standards and Inovis Catalog requirements.
Corresponding expense offsets have also been
implementd.
Federated
Department Stores has posted their
2006 Vendor Standards effective February
2006 along with periodic updates regarding the
FDS/May merger. Vendor standards that are
updated for 2006 include GTIN,
Purchase Order Carton Consolication,
and Textile Retail Ticketing.
JCPenney is updating their
documentation to reflect new terminology
associated with the UCC's name change from
Uniform Code Council to GS1-US. An example
of the change is that the term UCC-128 bar code
label will be revised to GS1-128. A list of the
new acronyms can be found on the
GS1-US website,
Legacy Terms.
Lowe's
has updated their Data Synchronization
Process Vendor Implementation Guide. Wow, 103
pages to describe the process. Vendors that
implemented early versions will need to upgrade
because the data attributes have changed.
Because the global data standards do not support
100% of Lowe's requirements, a Lowe's Schema
extension is supported by their Datapool, 1Sync. |
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Retail
Mergers and Acquisitions |
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The Bon Ton
Stores has
acquired the Sak's Northern Department Store
Group consisting of Carson Pirie Scott,
Bergner's, Herberger's, Younker's and Boston
Stores. For the next several months, supply
chain requirements (including EDI) will remain
the same and are still available via the Sak's
website.
Federated Department
Stores is continuing to transform many of
their acquired May Company properties into
Macy's stores. Check the Federated website to
keep abreast of conversion time frames.
For additional EDI in
Retail news and information, visit the
EDI Center website. |
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EDI Standards News
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X12
Version 5010 was released last year. One of the
first retail implementations we have seen is at Kroger.
For Kroger vendors that want to utilize the 14 digit
GTIN code, they will need to upgrade to version 5010.
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Technology News
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Wal-Mart now has
over 300 suppliers tagging products using Radio
Frequency Identification,
RFID. This number will continue to grow
as well as the number of Wal-Mart facilities capable of
handling RFID. Wal-Mart also has projects to utliize
RFID in other areas including a proof-of-concept project
involving using sensor tags to identify crates of
perishable items such as fruit. This will let them know
how long the fruit has been in transit so it can be
delivered to the store at the right time.
The DOD also has a large RFID
initiative, requiring suppliers to attach RFID tags to
cases and pallets. They have a 3 year time-frame to roll
out RFID for all classes of supplies.
These two very large
initiatives should keep the momentum going for RFID
implementations in the supply chain. In additon,
there are many applications of RFID from animal tracking
to baggage handling that are increasing the usage of
RFID. The second generation of technology is being
implemented and prices of tags continue to drop. The
momentum for RFID adoption is strong.
Additional
information on RFID applications can be found here.
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For information on EDI training and
staffing services, please visit the EDI Center website. |