EDITEL Journal EN

editelJOURNAL

2|2012

C o r p o r a t e M a g a z i n e o f t h e E D ITE L G r o u p |

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B R AT I S L AVA

© Andi Bruckner

Vienna

Roughly 50,000 distribution partners (grocery stores and restaurants) help bring Coca-Cola products to consumers.

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BUDAPEST

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EDIToRIAL Peter Franzmair, CEO Editel Austria

Many products, services and even business sectors…

Tradition Meets Future Tradition is a good thing, but long-term sustainability is even better. The official bottler of the world’s most beloved soft drinks, Coca-Cola Hellenic Austria (CCH), is constantly on the lookout for innovations in order to maintain its leadership position in the beverages industry. According to Heidrun Girz, Supply Chain Customer Collaboration Manager and Gabriele Bergler, IT Service Manager at CCH, this is only feasible with a well-oiled supply chain and reliable EDI infrastructure.

EDITEL Journal: There are very few brands that have global recognition value at the level of Coca-Cola.

How do you handle this enormous amount of brand recognition as the official bottler for Coca-Cola?

Girz: It certainly is very true that the Coca-Cola brand is very well known, which of course means that we have an outstanding starting point. However, we cannot get complacent, because the beverages market changes very quick-

ly. That not only means that we have to adapt to the market conditions, but that we also have to actively shape them.

Solidifying our customer and partner relationships is an important aspect of our overall strategy. For us, that means initiating and implementing promising projects with some of our best customers, which will ultimately help us take our market performance to the next level. In order to make that happen, one needs not only technical

claim to be sustainable and innovative. These terms are quickly becoming overused and are prone to lose their original meaning. In this editorial message, I wanted to be sure to use them for a very specific purpose, because innovation and sustainability are synonymous with continuous developments in the areas of technology and business. Ultimately, these terms are synonymous with creativity and as such, they are essential conditions for the future of our modern society.

Electronic Data Interchange is one of these forward-looking technologies.

It is sustainable, because it has been shaping logistics processes and making them more efficient in many sectors for some 25 years. It is also innovative because, even after a quarter of a century, it offers enormous potential for supply chain optimization. In this issue, we will show you exactly how current EDI projects can continue developing and optimizing business processes.

For example, I’d like to highlight the beverage manufacturer Coca Cola Hellenic Austria, which is one of many highly active EDI users. The company uses EDI for many processes, including traditional delivery processes and even VMI and CPFR (page 1). EDI is also making continuous headway in Central and Eastern Europe. For instance, the Czech branch of Tesco (page 3), the Slovakian milk producer and subsidiary of Bongrain Milex (page 4) and the Hungarian company Coop (page 5) have invested in EDI projects in order to improve their competitiveness and their efficiency. In this issue you will also learn more about recent developments in the sectors of HORECA and the Turkish consumer goods sector.

Happy reading, Peter Franzmair

Top stories in this issue 1

EDI drives innovation This interview with Heidrun Girz and Gabriele Bergler of Coca Cola Hellenic Austria provides insight into how the company stays on top of the beverage market.

EDI is one of its success factors.

2

Sodexo launches EDI

Thanks to the connection to eXite®, Sodexo’s procurement of goods processes are now not only more resource-efficient, but also more sustainable.

3

Tesco CZ optimizes eBilling processes

Tesco CZ successfully implemented invoice-related status messages COMDIS and APERAK and now benefits from higher transparency and security for invoice processing.

4

Green IT in the Slovak FMCG sector

Ivan Turčiak, the company’s IT director, talks about the green trend in the procurement of goods process at Milex, a subsidiary of Bongrain.

5

Coop Hungary is now centrally connected…

…thanks to eXite® and Electronic Data Interchange.

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Turkey en route to EDI

The Turkish FMCG sector is growing steadily, which explains the industry’s interest in optimizing procurement of goods processes with the help of EDI. The EDITEL Journal is published as a supplement to GS1 Information in a total of 13,000 copies. It is available in German, English as well as in Czech and Hungarian for our international clients. To download the Journal as an epaper, please visit www.editel.eu. If you have any suggestions, please contact us at info@editel.at.

editelJOURNAL 2/2012

CCH Austria benefits from EDI because of: + Efficient business processes + Increased competitiveness + Innovative sales and logistics concepts + Sustainable and environmentally friendly infrastructure + A single connection (eXite®) to all business partners

expertise, but mainly a comprehensive approach and a fundamental willingness to cooperate with others. By doing that, we will create long-term value and profitable business growth, mainly for our customers.

How important is Electronic Data Interchange within that optimization strategy?

Girz: It’s very important. Without EDI, it would not only take us substantially longer to map our ordering and delivery processes, but the order processing costs would be very high.

You can probably imagine how much paper, manual processing and potential data entering errors come with 19,000 EDI transactions every month.

We strongly believe that the more logistics processes along the supply chain we can handle electronically, the more

Which EDI projects are you currently working on implementing?

Bergler: A few months ago, we already introduced electronic invoicing (eBilling) with digital signature.

This project was initiated as part of the REWE EDI project. This is fantastic because it is no longer necessary to send collected paper invoices to customers. Having less logistical and administrative work is a big plus for both sides.

We also collaborate with beverage wholesalers and distributors to sell our products. CCH sends despatch instructions (INSDES: Instruction To Despatch) to our collaborators. Following successful delivery to the client, the cooperation partner reports back the precise amounts of delivered products to CCH via electronic despatch advice (DESADV: Despatch Advice). This way, we are able to take care of our delivery areas in an efficient and customer-friendly way. It is essential to have correct master data, that is, a continuous information comparison process in case of changes in the master data as well as a correct delisting process.

In the past few years, the hotel and catering industries have become additio-

HORECA

BEVERAGES

ORDERS: Order DESADV: Despatch advice INVOIC: Invoice INVRPT: Inventory report ORDRSP: Order response

CPFR

VMI

DESADV

ORDERS

INVOIC

INVRPT

ORDERS

ORDRSP

PRICAT

DELFOR

GENRAL

INSDES

DESADV

And precisely which are these processes at CCH? Bergler: We use EDI for many processes, including ordering, billing, despatch as well as stock management.

That means that a big part of our logistics chain has already been optimized, which also includes the implementation of logistics concepts such as VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory) and CPFR (Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment), during which we, the supplier, take over the inventory planning for our customers. The products therefore arrive on an as-needed basis in the central warehouse and they are always on time.

ORDERS

Coca-Cola Hellenic Austria brings Coca-Cola products to all of Austria. The company currently has roughly 1,000 employees in Austria who work in production facilities, sales locations and in distribution centers. The company is currently investing EUR 40 million to build a modern production and logistics center in Edelstal, where the well-known mineral water Römerquelle, which is part of CCH Austria, originates. Coca-Cola Hellenic Austria is a subsidiary of the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company and is one of Europe’s largest bottlers of soft drinks.

DESADV

About CCH Austria

efficient our internal and external business processes will be.

INVOIC

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RETAIL

PRICAT: Article master data DELFOR: Delivery forecast GENRAL: General message INSDES: Instruction to despatch

Every month, more than 19,000 fully automated transactions are processed between CCH and its business partners via the EDI platform eXite®.

nal significant business area for EDI. Companies such as Dussmann, EUREST, Sodexo and Interspar Restaurants are just some of our supply chain partners in this business sector that have successfully used EDI as a key technology. What’s interesting is that the entire goods procurement process, starting with the orders (ORDERS), despatch advices (DESADV) all the way to billing, was integrated from the very beginning.

So everything is all said and done in terms of automation?

Bergler: Definitely not. We plan to implement RECADV (Receiving Advice) next year, which is the electronic processing of receiving advices.

By receiving information about the goods that were actually received by customers and partners, we are able to more quickly deal with potential errors in quantity and can therefore avoid needless credits. In addition, the time needed for reconciliation for both sides is dramatically reduced. The en-

tire delivery process is therefore more reliable and efficient. In addition, there certainly is some more room for additional automation, even including our pre-suppliers. It’s also important for us to electronically integrate our logistics service providers at some point in the future.

What’s your assessment of the future development of EDI in the FMCG industry?

Girz: Fundamentally, the potential for EDI has to be individually explored and discussed with each client.

We are, however, convinced that this technology is essential for sustainable and forward-looking supply chain management for the entire industry. We will continue to reap the highest-possible benefit of EDI technologies, in cooperation with our clients, partners and suppliers. n www.coca-colahellenic.at www.editel.at

News HORECA

Sodexo goes live with EDI One of Austria’s leading catering firms, Sodexo, supports sustainable projects and initiatives in myriad ways, including waste reduction and grocery donations. The company now also leads the way in terms of process optimization in the area of mass catering.

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his year, Sodexo went live with Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and is thus now able to run

Brief overview + Connections to 50 suppliers are being planned + Connections to 13 suppliers are live + Implemented processes + PRICAT: Article master data + ORDERS: Orders + DESADV: Despatch advice

its procurement processes in a resource-saving and sustainable way.

Thanks to the interface to the EDI business platform eXite®, the company is able to reach all its suppliers with a single data connection. With support from the EDITEL experts, Sodexo is in a position to successively integrate all its suppliers into eXite®, with suppliers running the gamut from full-line distributors to local bakers and butchers.

In addition, the web-based EDI portal tradeIT is the ideal EDI solution to quickly and almost effortlessly integrate even small suppliers into the exchange of article master data (PRICAT), orders (ORDERS), despatch advices (DESADV) and invoices (INVOIC). ”By transitioning to the electronic procurement of goods, we were able to achieve long-term ordering process optimization. With only one interface

to eXite®, we can handle all our communication with all our suppliers. To us, transitioning to EDI means organizing and structuring our procurement of goods processes in a sustainable and forward-looking manner,” said Susanne Sperlich, Director Purchasing & Logistics of Sodexo Austria. n www.sodexo.at www.editel.at

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News Czech Republic

EDITEL CZ And Asseco Solutions: JOINT ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE SEMINAR 2012 EDITEL CZ presented the firstever joint seminar in cooperation with Asseco Solutions with highly experienced speakers.

The seminar was dedicated to Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), in particular to paperless e-invoicing and e-archiving, which included both EDITEL´s and HELIOS Orange solutions.

Approximately 30 participants benefited from the speakers‘ valuable knowledge about electronic communication. In addition, participants also had the opportunity of learning from the practical experience of Mr. Jiří

Tříško, director of the organization department, SPAR CZ. This seminar was also successfully held in Bratislava. n www.editel.cz www.AssecoSolutions.eu

Would you like to learn more about EDITEL Group´s events and activities?

Please visit our web site at www.editel.eu

E-Invoices are just the beginning

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or many years Tesco receives and processes EDIFACT message INVOIC from their suppliers, who could verify the status of the electronic invoice of their business partners only via e-mail, phone or via web service TIMS. Now Tesco joined the chain stores, which have successfully realized the project of electronic invoicing ex-

About Tesco Tesco is one of the largest retailers on the Czech market. It is not „just“ a merchant. Tesco not only fulfills the needs and wishes of its customers within the CR but also cares about the environment, society and the city in which it operates. It corresponds with the company‘s strategy to be always a merchant that adapts to the specific market in the country, the environment and habits of local customers.

Brief overview + Implementation of billing-related status messages at Tesco CZ + COMDIS + APERAK + Transparency and efficiency throughout the entire billing process + Ability to recognize errors and avoidance of manual corrections in the very first phase of billing processing + Better collaboration with suppliers + Consulting services provided by EDITEL CZ

tension, namely the implementation of the feedback messages APERAK (Application error and acknowledgement) and COMDIS (Commercial dispute).

Now the supplier receives invoicing status reports automatically via EDI. This realization helps to provide a fully automated continuous billing process with the elimination of errors at the start of the automatic matching of electronic invoices, but also to inform about the status of the commodity supplier invoices issued to customers such as Tesco. Through this project, Tesco not only answered prayers of its suppliers but at the same time streamlined one of the most important areas of electronic data processing.

on best-practices which were meant to prevent possible issues related to the implementation process on our side as well as for our suppliers. EDITEL also provided support in the testing phase and thanks to the relevant quality assurance measures of all involved parties, we subsequently went live without any problems“

Project consulting

Crossing borders

At the end of last year, EDITEL CZ supported the implementation of feedback messages as an independent project consultant. Mr. Marek Přástka, EDI Coordinator CZ & SK, Tesco Stores a.s. about the project: ”When EDITEL proposed the option of consultation we did not have to think twice about it. After all EDITEL has many years of experience in the field of e-billing and electronic data interchange in general. Together we discussed the possible pitfalls of the project and jointly elaborated

In February of this year, Tesco has launched a process of generating reports APERAK and COMDIS with its suppliers via EDI. The pilot project was implemented locally in the meantime and referred to the suppliers invoicing to Tesco CZ and in the small extent also to Tesco SK. In the course of time, however, the feedback messages EDIFACT should be activated also in other countries, which will speed up the regional roll-outs of electronic invoicing on the Tesco side and more efficient and

© maxkabakov – Fotolia.com

Thanks to the implementation of invoice-related status messages COMDIS and APERAK, e-billing process at Tesco is now transparent and secure, both for Tesco and its suppliers.

more transparent e-invoicing for vendors. n www.itesco.cz www.editel.cz

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GreenER IT Thanks to EDI

EDITEL Journal: Mr. Turčiak, what was the motivation behind the recent major changes in the EDI system in your company?

Ivan Turčiak: We were always trying to move forward, not only when it comes to producing high quality cheese products, but also in terms of company organization, and this includes our technology. Unfortunately, the EDI infrastructure we had was not strong

About Bongrain Bongrain is a food company specializing in the production of cheeses and other dairy specialties and is one of the world’s leading milk processors.

The Bongrain Group is active on all continents and offers high-quality products tailored to both the tastes and habits of local consumers and the specifics of its markets.

Brief overview + EDITEL Services for Bongrain Slovakia + eXite® communication + eBilling and digital archiving + Adapting the EDI system to a modern infrastructure + Almost 100% paperless billing process + Higher efficiency in all business processes + Sustainability and focus on the environment

EDI solution had to demonstrate compatibility with SAP, which we plan on introducing in January 2013.

Ultimately, how did you choose EDITEL as your new EDI services provider?

Ivan Turčiak: It was certainly essential that our new EDI provider be able to meet all the requirements I previously mentioned. During the meetings we had with EDITEL, it also became clear to us that they had the most practical experience. They were able to answer all our questions immediately, directly and thoroughly.

It also made us feel reassured to know that EDITEL had already had a strong presence on the Slovakian market for several years and had developed strong connections to our partners.

We also received positive feedback from our sister companies in Austria and the Czech Republic, where EDITEL´s systems and services have already been used for several years, and that certainly confirmed our decision.

We feel quite well-prepared for our future projects, and we are in a good position to keep on developing sustainable and efficient business processes.

enough for what we needed. In light of the Bongrain Group‘s size and international presence, we had to explore other alternatives.

Has EDITEL met all your needs and expectations so far?

Ivan Turčiak: EDITEL has not only met our requirements and expectations, but has also brought additional ideas to contribute to the development of our company.

Which criteria did you use for this project? Which requirements were particularly important to you?

Ivan Turčiak: One of the primary requirements for our new EDI service provider was migration of the existing EDI infrastructure without any noticeable impact for our clients. In addition, we were also looking to achieve seamless integration into our ERP system.

There were also very strict security measures in the area of IT infrastructure that had to be met, and our new

Could you please clarify this for our readers? What exactly do you mean?

Ivan Turčiak: With our previous infrastructure, it had only been possible to issue invoices via EDI and thus in a paperless fashion up to a certain degree. Thanks to a well-designed approach and the applicable eBilling solution, EDITEL was able to help process almost 100% of our invoices electronically. Since this is very much in line with our company‘s corporate policy

© MaFiFo – Fotolia.com

There’s a reason that green corporate strategies are currently very much in vogue. Business process structures that are truly sustainable not only save resources, but also significantly increase overall profitability. Bongrain Slovakia’s IT director, Ivan Turčiak, told us how Electronic Data Inter­ change helped his company achieve these goals.

EDITEL has not only met our requirements and expectations, but has also brought additional ideas to contribute to the development of our company.

of considering the environment, we decided to include the project in our corporate strategy called “ZELENÝ LIPTOV“ (www.zelenyliptov.sk). The goal of this corporate strategy is to have a company that’s continuously going “green and greener.“

tered its task professionally and well within the allotted time frame. I would not hesitate to work with EDITEL again on similar projects.

Mr. Turčiak, now that the system is in full operation, could you please share with us the following: how would you evaluate the decision to implement the new system by EDITEL thus far?

Ivan Turčiak: Despite the initial concerns, which stemmed from the fact that this was a large-scale migration project, I can say that EDITEL mas-

www.bongrain.com www.editel.sk

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Coop chooses EDI: save time and money with electronic business processes With size comes complexity: the bigger a company, the more essential it is to have transparent business processes. In cooperation with its partners, the Coop Group has successfully established the Coop integrated system, which is currently being expanded. More than half of Coop’s turnover is created within this system.The integrated Coop system not only supports the group’s internal supply chain management, but it has also been extended to include a new module called supplier’s portal, which covers external partners.The EDITEL EDI platform eXite® and a certified archive round out the system.

Istvánné Deé, IT director of COOP Hungary Zrt, gave us some insight into this project.

EDITEL Journal: Ms. Deé, what were the Coop Group’s requirements for the project and when did it start?

Istvánné Deé: We were looking for an efficient EDI solution that would yield the best return on investment for both parties. After we made our internal decision, the pilot project started in August 2011 at Unió Coop Zrt., which is one of the biggest companies of the Coop franchise. The pilot phase ended in February 2012.

About Coop Hungary Zrt. -Everyone’s a “good neighbor.” This sentence is at the heart of the retail chain’s philosophy: Coop is everywhere. It’s the friendly, local food store that is part of our everyday life. Coop is one of the biggest retail chains in Hungary.The group has a presence in more than 1,500 areas with almost 3,000 stores. With a workforce of 32,000 people, Coop is one of the largest employers in small-town Hungary. In 2011, the Coop Group hit 1.8 billion euro turnover. In addition to supporting myriad social causes (protecting local values, supporting local communities, educating youth, training employees, supporting athletes and the poor), Coop strives to run its operation in a highly efficient manner.

EDITEL services for Coop HU + eXite® Business Integration Network + EDITEL certified Archive Implemented EDI processes ORDERS Order ORDRSP Order response DESADV Despatch advice INVOIC Invoice

Please describe the ordering process before the project.

Istvánné Deé: Before we implemented this system, orders were sent to suppliers via telephone or fax. After the supplier processed the order, delivered goods had to be registered at the shop item by item.

Following successful delivery, the supplier would send a paper invoice to Coop headquarters.

Which processes have been implemented and how many partners are already connected to your EDI system as of today?

Istvánné Deé: We have implemented electronic orders (ORDERS), order responses (ORDRSP), despatch advices (DESADV) and invoices (INVOIC). One of the first COOP distributors to go live was UNIÓ COOP. After the testing phase with five shops, a total of 107 shops were connected to the EDI system, including the implementation of eBilling with the supplier FrieslandCampina. Another 156 shops went live with Nyírzem Coop Zrt, while other Coop distributors are currently in the testing phase. One benefit of our EDI infrastructure is that our retail shops can decide on the level of EDI implementation for this first phase. Some for example decided to implement eBilling as a first step and the remaining EDI messages at a later point.

You just mentioned invoices. Are they also archived in the certified EDITEL archive?

Istvánné Deé: Yes, we do use the archive system as well. It allows us to store our

data and comply with all legal regulations.

Should we be subject to a tax audit, the archive allows us to securely export all invoicing documents for the tax authority’s review.

partners, distribution centers and suppliers as possible to our EDI network.We are already negotiating with all involved parties and with our EDI provider, EDITEL.

How did your employees feel about the new EDI processes?

Istvánné Deé: After they learned more about the benefits of EDI-based supply chain processes, they were quite happy about the change. Their daily workflows are now much faster and more efficient.

What was your attitude toward EDI before and after the project and the collaboration with EDITEL? Istvánné Deé: We were looking for an EDI solution which could be integrated into our standard Coop supply chain management. In addition, we wanted to ensure that our franchise partners could easily connect their suppliers to the EDI system.

EDITEL was a valuable partner in finding the right solution for us and providing reliable support during the implementation, supplier roll-out and actual operation of the system. n

What were the biggest challenges of the project?

Istvánné Deé: The challenge on the technical side was to meet the requirements of the Coop integrated system and to guarantee up-to-date article master data, which is a basic requirement for successful EDI implementation. On the organizational side, we had to coordinate new processes and activities of 107 shops and train our employees in our new internal regulations and processes.

www.editel.hu www.coop.hu

Let’s talk about the future.What are your plans regarding your company’s EDI activities?

Istvánné Deé: We are also considering Benefits for COOP Hungary with exchanging eleceXite® and EDITEL archive tronic article mas+ long-term, sustainable supply chain management and ter data with our + efficient, resource-saving business processes partners (PRICAT: + fast,trouble-free documentation of receipt of goods Price Catalogue). + better cooperation with business partners Furthermore, our + safe archiving in compliance with all legal regulations goal is to connect + single EDI connection (eXite®) to all suppliers and partners as many franchise

News Hungary

Partner Management Service for Élésker Trading Ltd. Companies choose to implement Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) for many reasons, mainly because they will save money with this quick and efficient system. However, this can only work properly once all involved business partners, such as suppliers and logistics partners, are connected to the EDI system across companies. This, on the other hand, requires both time and resources.

EDITEL supports its customers through the customized Partner Management

Service in order to achieve efficient and timely system implementation.

The client specifies which partners the EDITEL specialists should contact, and EDITEL then works with those partners and provides technical support through the entire implementation process.

This implementation went very smoothly for the Hungarian company Élésker.

The company includes 21 retail locations, a wholesale cash and carry operation and a logistics center and is part

of the Reál group. Élésker’s processes were also optimized as part of the EDI implementation at Reál. EDITEL Hungary is in charge of the seamless and resource-saving supplier connection via the eXite® platform. The company will be thus able to handle all its procurement processes, from ordering to billing, in a standardized and efficient fashion. In addition, billing at Élésker will be handled entirely electronically (eBilling) and billing information is safely archived in

the certified EDITEL archive, which is in compliance with all applicable regulations.

Would you like to receive more information about EDITEL’s partner management service?

Please contact: Christoph Stenech Tel: +43 / 1 / 505 86 02 31 E-mail: stenech@editel.at www.elesker.hu www.editel.hu

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News Turkey

Cost savings potential in the Turkish FMCG industry

Perder Istanbul Perder Istanbul is an association of renowned Turkish retail companies. Its goal is to support local retailers and to promote information exchange and synergy potential in the Turkish FMCG industry.

tial. The event focused on the optimization potential of the supply chain by using Electronic Data Interchange. Vecni Cem Onat, managing director at EDITEL Turkey, gave a presentation on this subject. According to international studies, the EDI-related savings potential amounts to 51 euro per order2invoice process.

This translates into significant savings potential from which Turkish retailers stand to benefit.

n

© Minerva Studio, Alex_Mac – Fotolia.com

The Turkish FMCG industry ranks among the fastest growing industries in Central and Eastern Europe. On October 10, 2012, renowned industry representatives gathered during the Perder Istanbul industry meeting in Istanbul to discuss how local retailers can leverage this poten-

www.editel.com.tr www.istanbulperder.org.tr

News Austria

From manufacturers to POS and back again GS1 Austria Fashion Group moves things forward.

IMPRINT Owner and publisher: EDITEL Austria GmbH, 1040 Vienna, Mayerhofgasse 1; T: +43 1 505 86 02; e-mail: info@editel.at.

EDITEL Austria GmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GS1 Austria GmbH. The corporate objective of EDITEL Austria GmbH is the electronic data exchange between business partners, the sale of the required software and support services.

Management and responsible for the content: Peter Franzmair Editorial staff: Sylvia M. Gerber Proofreading & Translations EN: Dagmar Jenner, www.texterei.com Translations CZ, HU: Markéta Zapletalová, Mihaly Viszkei Layout: www.creativedirector.cc Disclosure pursuant to Austrian Media Law as amended in March 2009: the purpose of this newsletter is the promotion and support of EDITEL Austria‘s business activities.

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ince 2009, GS1 Austria Fashion Group has actively helped its members with the implementation of GS1 standards in order to optimize their processes, increase their revenue, reduce out-of-stock situations, achieve quicker stock turnover and enable faster availability of items on the sales floor.

There‘s strong demand for the use and implementation of GS1 standards for the labeling of products, packaging and pallets. In addition, consistent EDI messages were also much in demand, and thus, the EDI work group for sports retailers was founded in 2011. The participants include

leading retailers in Austria as well as the top brands in the sporting goods industry.

By working together, seven message types were defined and authorized in merely six months.

Following initial tests, the group has been working in an actual live environment with the defined messages since the first quarter of 2012. During regularly scheduled meetings, the group works on future development and on reaching consensus on essential further expansions in order to maintain a high degree of standardization.

GS1 Austria Fashion Group and its mem-

bers have a clearly defined goal: to fully utilize GS1 standards. GS1 Austria Fashion Group is a platform for Austrian companies in the fashion, sports and textile industries and offers unique opportunities to exchange information and experiences in a neutral forum. In addition, GS1 Austria Fashion Group offers access to new technologies, such as RFID technology.

Become part of GS1 Austria Fashion Group and benefit from this very unique network. n www.gs1.at www.editel.at