ECOutlook hosts Huntsman's data transformation application on a Microsoft Corp. ![]()
Edi to xml converter online free software#Huntsman's homegrown EDI-based system running on an IBM AS/400 has no compatibility with customers' enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and other software packages, Rossler notes.ĮCOutlook takes data from one company, transforms it into standard digital formats in XML and presents it so that other companies' systems and employees can read it. ![]() ![]() Huntsman uses 's data transformation service to translate customers' order data from any format into EDI for its internal order entry system. A common, automated format will let customers transmit orders from any time zone, obtain immediate order-receipt notification, track order status online and "eliminate the potential for errors and misunderstandings," says Rossler. Faxed or EDI-transmitted orders from Huntsman's international customers are often difficult to interpret because of language differences and poor telephone connections. "Many have homegrown computing systems, others have Oracle, SAP and other ERP systems," says Rossler. But the technological capabilities of Huntsman's thousands of customers are all over the map. Huntsman Packaging wanted to automate its global supply-chain process to let customers use the Web to transmit purchase orders, shipping notices and invoices quickly and easily to the company. Edi to xml converter online free plus#Those reasons, plus the rising popularity of the Internet to facilitate business-to-business e-commerce, have spurred a broad interest in XML. Companies can also run XML applications on inexpensive Web servers over existing Internet connections, says Russom. For one thing, XML messages present data in a human-readable format, so it's easier to train and keep programmers. "There are a variety of issues that need to be addressed and satisfied before people become comfortable doing this (new) type of (XML) communication," says Kyle Rossler, senior marketing vice president at Williamsburg, Va.-based Huntsman Packaging Corp., an $800 million manufacturer of thin-gauge plastic film used for products such as cereal box liners.īecause it's less complex than EDI, XML is cheaper to operate and support. Nonetheless, large companies aren't about to scrap their EDI investments. Operational costs and intricacies have limited EDI's use to about 300,000 companies worldwide - and to about 20% of their suppliers, says Cameron. EDI-based transactions over proprietary private networks accounted for "the bulk" of the $500 million worth of goods and services that businesses exchanged electronically last year, according to a recent report from The Yankee Group in Boston.Įven with the entrenched investment in EDI, companies haven't adopted the technology widely enough for it to transform the way businesses conduct e-commerce. "It's common for vendors to spend $250,000 per month keeping up the connection to the EDI network and keeping the servers up and running," he adds.ĭespite such complexities, EDI isn't going away anytime soon. That makes the messages difficult to decipher and debug, which in turn makes it expensive to train and retrain EDI programmers.ĮDI also requires dedicated servers that cost from $10,000 to $100,000, says Russom. Because VAN bandwidth is expensive, EDI compresses messages. In addition, EDI runs on VANs, which charge $1 to $20 for each message. "There is no one XML standard right now."Īdding trading partners under traditional EDI requires customized mapping of each new partner's document format, says Debra Cameron, president of Cameron Consulting in Gaithersburg, Md. "The biggest challenge is trying to choose an XML standard," says Peter O'Neill, technology vice president at, a software and services supplier in Houston. The problem lies in getting EDI and XML data to interoperate seamlessly - and in translating EDI data into the many XML languages. To compete in e-commerce, electronic businesses need to support EDI-to-XML interoperability with supply-chain partners. It enables highly secure document exchanges in a compressed, machine-readable form over private value-added networks (VANs). EDI is the de facto legacy standard for automating order processing and document interchange among intracompany or intercompany applications. XML is an emerging data-description standard designed to simplify Web-based e-commerce transactions among supply-chain partners. Edi to xml converter online free how to#But when Advanced Marketing wanted to work online with, it had to figure out how to send its EDI messages over the Internet using SamsClub's proprietary XML format. Distributes its books to membership warehouse clubs, the company and its customers exchange purchase order data using electronic data interchange (EDI) technology.
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