EDITEL Journal EN

editelJOURNAL

1|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 |

PRAgUE

|

B R AT I S L AVA

© roxcon - Fotolia.com

Vienna

|

BUDAPEST

|

Ist a n bul

EDIToRIAL Peter Franzmair, CEO EDITEL Austria

New Design and Even More Information!

O

ur fast-paced world demands constant change. In this spirit, we are proud to introduce the first issue of our newly designed EDITEL Journal. It includes a good variety of exciting articles revolving around Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and the activities of EDITEL Group, presented in a fresh and visually appealing layout.

One of these articles is dedicated to the successful launch of EDI in the Austrian sporting goods retailers industry: it took the industry just one year to define a total of seven message standards for electronic processes, ranging from purchase orders to inventory reports. The implementation is currently in full swing.

The restaurant and hotel industry has also been busy: an EDI initiative involving the implementation of electronic article master data and despatch advices at companies including Sodexo and Falkensteiner has been making significant progress. Outside Austria, companies in many different indus­ tries are optimizing their supply chains. One of them is the Czech subsidiary of the supermarket chain SPAR. The Hungarian subsidiary of the leading Russian oil corporation Lukoil is doing the same, having successfully implemented electronic invoicing (ebilling) with digital signature. In Slovakia, Rajo, a Meggle subsidiary, is a leading user of EDI: the company has implemented nine electronic business processes with 25 business partners. In this Journal, you will also learn about how complex logistics scenarios can be optimized efficiently in the long run. The pharmaceutical company Novartis and its logistics provider Rail Cargo Austria have done just that.

Austria’s Sporting Goods Retailers Are a Winning Team

I hope you enjoy reading this EDITEL Journal! Peter Franzmair P.S.: The EDITEL Journal is now also available as an epaper.

Read on at www.editel.eu!

It pays off to keep the ball rolling: the “sporting goods retailers” working group took approximately one year to develop a common industry-specific standard for the exchange of electronic data (EDI). The implementation phase, which is underway, is just as ambitious.

The pilot phase at SPORT 2000, an association of sporting goods retailers, was launched in January.

And it’s been very successful.

A

ustria’s sporting goods retailers live and breathe the industry they promote. Its representatives are energetic, focus on results and work great in teams, as evidenced by their collaboration with major suppliers in the GS1 Austria working group. Their common goal was to improve their processes for the procurement of goods. They unanimously decided that the standardization of electronic business documents had the highest potential. Their joint ef-

Top stories in this issue 1

Sporting goods retailers define EDI standards Sporting goods retailers support industry-specific standard for the exchange of elec­ tronic data. Sport 2000‘s successful pilot phase with selected retailers is underway.

2

HORECA’s EDI initiative is in full swing

Hotels and restaurants, from Sodexo to Falkensteiner, are expanding their use of Electronic Data Interchange.

3 eXite

® is the missing link between Novartis and Rail Cargo Austria

A single data interface shared by the pharmaceutical company and its logistics service provider helps save money and resources.

4

forts resulted in the definition of a total of seven standardized formats. Thanks to EDI, all industry actors will benefit from more efficient logistics processes in many areas, from strategic purchasing to the point-of-sale.

Karl Cegner, Senior Project Manager at GS1 Austria, expands on the details of this project: “We are very happy about the results of this project. It is now important that participating companies

SPAR CZ introduces eBilling

Spar implemented electronic invoicing in the Czech Republic.

Read this article for background information on this project.

5

Lukoil: a newcomer to the world of EDI

The Russian oil company introduced electronic invoicing in Hungary.

6

Rajo pioneers the use of EDI

Rajo, a subsidiary of Meggle, introduced standardized processes in three different countries. An example to follow!

k

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 1/2012

Overview + Austria’s sporting goods retailers actively use EDI + EDI project at SPORT 2000 was launched in 2012 + 7 message formats will be introduced: orders (ORDERS), order response messages (ORDRSP), despatch advices (DESADV), invoices (INVOIC), article master data (PRICAT), sales reports (SLSRPT), inventory reports (INVRPT) + Connection of international SPORT 2000 retailers to the system

exchange as many business documents as possible, which will allow them to quickly achieve maximum benefit from this transition. We started with electronic invoices. Underlying article master data turned out to be a major challenge in this area. It is essential to keep the data complete and up to date, particularly in the sporting goods industry, because they are key to efficient and successful processes in the area of procurement of goods. In our industry, we distinguish

The implementation was also highly ambitious. SPORT 2000, an association of sporting goods retailers, is one of the pioneers in this area. In January 2012, the pilot phase with selected suppliers, including Jack Wolfskin and Adidas, was kicked off. As a first step, electronic invoices (INVOIC) were exchanged with these business partners. Following the successful completion of these test runs, article master data (PRICAT), despatch advices (DESADV), purchase orders (ORDERS) and others will quickly follow.

For this association, which revolves around all things athletic, the use of electronic data interchange had been unchartered territory. Yet, since an outsourcing EDI solution was used, there was no need to have internal technical expertise or a complex IT infrastructure. An external system handles the exchange of all business documents and also takes care of converting formats into the respective in-house format. An interface links the external system to SPORT 2000’s ERP system, which automatically receives and processes electronic data.

Christian Kreuzer, IT Director at SPORT 2000, elaborates: “The indus-

© GS1 Austria

SPORT 2000 Austria was originally founded as Zentrasport Österreich e. Gen., in May 1972.

Initially a buying group of only 10 sporting goods retailers, it now includes 209 sporting goods retailers with 319 stores throughout Austria. On the international level, SPORT 2000 International is active in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, England, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia as well as the Baltic States with a total of 3,500 stores. SPORT 2000 International’s annual sales amount to approximately 5 billion euro.

Article master data

PRICAT Orders

ORDERS Order response

ORDRSP

Retailer

About SPORT 2000

between never out of stock (NOS) articles and seasonal articles. For NOS articles, the manufacturers must guarantee article availability on a permanent basis, whereas retailers order seasonal articles on an as-needed basis. Another important factor is that many articles are available in different colors and sizes. Because of all these details, merchandise management processes need to rely on correct master data adjustment.”

Manufacturer

2

Despatch advice

DESADV Invoice

INVOIC Sales report

SLSRPT Inventory report

INVRPT EDI processes in the fashion sector.

try-wide standardization of message formats translates into major efficiency improvements in the exchange of electronic data. We therefore plan to quickly exchange as many business documents as possible. Our plans also include SPORT 2000 retailers located beyond Austria. As soon as the pilot phase has been successfully completed, we plan to gradually connect them to our EDI network.”

basis. Since there is less paperwork and labor-intensive processing, we have more resources to focus on our main business: customer service.”

The technology’s viability for the future is also an important issue for participating companies. The standardized exchange of business data makes its expansion to international locations easy and cost-efficient. n

The sporting goods retailers’ decision was not entirely altruistic. After all, the efficient use of EDI is associated with considerable benefits, explains Christian Kreuzer: “At SPORT 2000, we have more than 200 business partners with whom we exchange paper documents – purchase orders or invoices – on a daily

www.sport2000.at www.editel.at

HORECA NEWS

Restaurant/Hotel Industry Invests to Extend Automated Supply Chains This year, EDITEL will continue its long-term collaboration with renowned companies in the restaurant and hotel industry and has thus extended the implementation of EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) to additional business partners in the industry, including Sodexo Austria, Falkensteiner Michaeler Tourism Group and the Hotel Neue Post.

Initially, the implementation will include the exchange of electronic article master data, orders and despatch advices. The exchange of electronic invoices will be added at a later point in time.

The project covers all technical processes, in particular Community Management of suppliers. They receive personalized assistance by EDITEL’s EDI experts who also help suppliers with the implementation. The goal is to connect suppliers to the system as swiftly as possible.

Mr. Björn Neumann T +43 / 1 / 505 86 02 - 31 E sales@editel.at

If you would like to learn more about Community Management at EDITEL, please contact:

www.sodexo.at www.fmtg.com www.hotelneuepost.at www.editel.at

These companies already rely on electronic data interchange.

editelJOURNAL 1/2012

3

Healing Logistics Complying with drug safety regulations, handling unusual delivery conditions, meeting deadlines, coordinating with logistics service providers and freight forwarders – these are the daily challenges faced by pharmaceutical companies and their warehouse logistics. Novartis, the industry leader, has found a remedy against this increasing complexity: automated electronic exchange of business data.

E

very day, drugs needed for patient treatment are delivered to approximately 1,200 Austrian drugstores, doctors and hospitals. This requires pharmaceutical companies to provide efficient and sophisticated warehouse logistics in addition to their actual core competence, which consists

ABOUT Novartis Novartis is Austria’s major pharmaceutical company and employs approximately 4,000 people. In Austria, Novartis Group has six locations in Vienna, Upper Austria and Tyrol. In addition to innovative drugs, Novartis also markets products for disease prevention and generic drugs, giving patients a comprehensive choice of medical products.

overview + Novartis optimizes its supply chain processes by incorporating its logistics service provider, Rail Cargo Austria + The system relies on a joint interface for the automated exchange of logistics data (e.g. movement of goods, inventory notes, etc.) + Saves considerable time and resources at Novartis and RCA + Implementation of nine electronic logistics processes

about Rail Cargo Rail Cargo Austria AG (RCA) is the market leader in rail logistics in Austria and Central and South­ east Europe. As a logistics service provider, RCA supports businesses in their international goods and merchandise exchange activities, offering services in the areas of intermodal logistics, contract logistics as well as universal freight forwarding services. Rail Cargo Austria AG is a fully owned subsidiary of the ÖBB corporation.

in re­searching and developing pharmaceutical products. To achieve just that, most of them rely on external providers of logistics services to handle all deliveries.

However, the logistics companies’ expertise alone does not make for efficient merchandise delivery processes.

In order to get the right drug swiftly and reliably to the right patient, operational teams need to work hand in hand and IT systems need to be perfectly linked to each other. This approach can translate into a key competitive advantage, as evidenced by the practical experience of Novartis and its long-standing logistics partner, Rail Cargo Austria (RCA).

While purchase orders between Novartis and its major retail clients were previously handled via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), RCA did not fill these orders for delivery via EDI, but instead used dedicated Novartis terminals located on RCA premises.

At the RCA logistics center, all merchandise movements had to be fed into Novartis’s SAP terminals. As a consequence, RCA’s own warehouse management systems could not be used.

This resulted in manual work and additional expenses for maintenance and system refinement. Even small adjustments to the warehouse processes, such as changing waybills, required cost- and labor-intensive programming work. Monika Anderl, project manager at Novartis Austria, explains: “We had to find a way of relieving our systems while capitalizing on the full potential of RCA’s IT infrastructure. After all, RCA, as an expert logistics provider, has the software needed to map warehouse logistics processes”.

The company’s long-standing experience with electronic data interchange and its collaboration with RCA as its logistics services provider ultimately encouraged Novartis to expand its use of EDI. Instead of limiting the use of EDI to wholesale orders, Novartis now relies on EDI for all drug distribution processes, which was made possible by the implementation of a joint Novartis/ RCA EDI data interface.

Via this interface, all logistics information is exchanged electronically and automatically and transferred directly to both companies’ IT systems. Dur-

ing the course of a project that lasted just six months, nine different logistics processes, ranging from delivery and receipt of goods to batch status and reports about warehouse status and stock movement, were mapped electronically and implemented as EDI interfaces.

Monika Anderl elaborates: “Since we no longer need additional programming, we save considerable amounts of money and resources. While the interface was initially a considerable change for us, we merely had to make a few corrections during the initial testing phase. After all, the processes were still new. Compared to the amount of customer orders, the number of corrections was minimal. The system now works like a charm“.

The EDI logistics project that was implemented at Novartis and Rail Cargo Austria resulted in internal optimization. In addition, the project clearly showed that competitive pressure in the pharmaceutical industry is increasing.

Innovative sales strategies and the im-

plementation of efficient supply chain processes are becoming increasingly important. Integrating logistics service providers via EDI into the value chain is a cost-efficient way to incorporate warehouse logistics into companies’ complex internal processes, especially for pharmaceutical companies. Having automated its processes, the company can once again focus on its actual core competency: patient treatment. n

www.novartis.at www.railcargo.at www.gs1.at www.editel.at

Learn more about supply chain optimization in the pharmaceutical industry! Visit us at this year’s GS1 Austria Healthcare Day on 19 September at MQ – MuseumsQuartier Wien - Arena21 & Ovalhalle.

Delivery of goods DESADV RECADV

Receipt of goods acknowledgment Despatch order INSDES DESADV

Ready for despatch

Instruction to collect goods INSDES RECADV

Receipt of goods acknowledgment Batch status PRODAT

Inventory report INVRPT

Inventory movement advice INVRPT

EDI processes between Novartis and Rail Cargo Austria.

4

editelJOURNAL 1/2012

© marog-pixcells – Fotolia.com

Different Country, Same Solution

EJ: Mr. Tříško, let’s talk about the 2012 eBilling rollout. Why did SPAR CZ choose this moment in time to implement such a large project?

The main rationale behind this decision was our need to make our corporate processes more efficient and to reduce error messages. This will obviously also improve collaboration with our suppliers.

Last but not least, this project constitutes

About SPAR Czech Republic SPAR Czech Republic is part of ASPIAG – Austria SPAR International AG. The international corporation was established in 1990 and is headquartered in Widnau (Switzerland). SPAR Austria as well as five other autonomous country-specific organizations in northern Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Croatia are fully dedicated to serving regional clients.

an important contribution to sustainability and environmental protection on behalf of our company.

EJ: How did your suppliers react when you announced this project?

In the Czech Republic, many suppliers already use eBilling and have the required internal processes in place, which makes it easy to simply expand their network to other partners. Therefore, our vendors had a great interest in including SPAR CZ into their network for the electronic exchange of invoices.

EJ: The implementation of status, confirmation and control messages was especially important to you. Why are these crucial for your business?

The steadily increasing number of vendors who send us electronic invoices naturally goes hand in hand with an in­ crease in potential errors, especially in

the initial testing phase. In order for us to react swiftly and efficiently, it is imperative that we receive notifications on a regular basis. In addition, many suppliers in the Czech Republic routinely use confirmation notifications. Some of them have defined them as an essential part of their processes. The electronic exchange of such notifications allows us to reach a high level of automation for invoicing processes.

EJ: Which process kicks in after an invoice is received?

As a first step, we will implement AUTACK, which is a confirmation message for the digital signature, APERAK, which is an acknowledgement message about the formal accuracy of invoices prior to the import into the system, and COMDIS message, which is a notification about the content authenticity from the accounting department.

EJ: How did your staff react to the implementation of eBilling?

We have received nothing but positive feedback. To me, this is a good sign for the level of acceptance among our staff.

The accounting department fully supports this project and the organization division expects that it will translate into an efficient solution for the automated processing of error messages. What’s more, our IT department is happy to have an additional electronic archive, where

EDI development at SPAR CZ SPAR CZ is a long-standing user of EDI and has been carrying out the basic procurement of goods electronically for more than 10 years. The company exchanges orders (ORDERS), despatch advices (DESADV), receipt advices (RECADV), sales reports (SLSRPT) as well as inventory report messages (INVRPT) with its suppliers and now also invoices (INVOIC).

© Floortje – iStockphoto.com

Like many other countries, SPAR Czech Republic complies with EU legislation on invoicing and will implement eBilling with digital signature in 2012. Status and confirmation messages, which make the automation of the invoicing process even more secure, are being used in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. We interviewed Jiří Tříško, director of the organization division at SPAR CZ, about the details of project implementation in his region.

EDI messages and other important documents, such as contracts, project documentation, etc. can be archived.

This makes the project a win-win situation for everybody involved.

EJ: It is not uncommon to hear people say that EDI is an outdated technology. SPAR has many years‘ experience in this area. What relevance does electronic data interchange have in your company?

Just delete the word “outdated” and replace it with “proven” and I’ll agree with you 100%. I believe – and this is corroborated by our long-standing experience with EDI – that this essential technology has allowed us to make significant progress when it comes to simplifying and streamlining our corporate processes.

Continuous adaptations and advancements to match the current market situation are obviously essential. EDI has become a core technology and to us it is an essential and important part of our industry, especially given the fact that many business partners are already familiar with it.

EJ: What is your take on the success of the upcoming eBilling rollout?

We are very optimistic. 2012 will be a milestone year for SPAR CZ. Following the successful completion of the test and pilot phases, we would like to exchange electronic invoices with our largest sup-

pliers, to whom we already successfully send our orders, by late 2012. This would cover roughly 50 percent of the overall volume of all invoices for goods received. n Read the complete interview on our website www.editel.at/en/media/e-billing_SPAR_CZ www.interspar.cz www.editel.cz

Jiří Tříško, director of the organization division, SPAR CZ

editelJOURNAL 1/2012

EVENT NEWS

EDITEL & DATACARE Announce Collaboration

EDITEL CZ: General Partner of 18th EDI Symposium 2012 in Prague

© vege, Eisenhans - Fotolia.com

PHARMA NEWS

EDITEL and DATACARE have a common goal: accelerating the use of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) based on GS1 standards in the entire health care sector, especially between large pharmaceutical wholesellers and

the pharmaceutical industry. The exchange of electronic orders is already in place, and future projects include the exchange of electronic despatch advices and invoices, among others.

Wolfgang Strasser, managing director at DATACARE, welcomes this initiative, emphasizing that “standardized, automated processes in the health care industry translate into efficient and transparent procurement of goods, thus saving money in many areas. The higher the number of companies that use this technology, the greater the benefit for all parties”.

EDITEL is a collaboration partner that supports and advises pharmaceutical companies interested in this technology, ensuring timely and cost-efficient technical implementation. Would you like to learn more about our Health Care EDI Initiative?

Please contact: Christoph Stenech T +43 / 1 / 505 86 02 - 30 E sales@editel.at

5

EDITEL supported the 18th EDI symposium as a general partner. The symposium was dedicated to e-invoicing and helping businesses, especially SMEs, streamline their operations with this technology. About 100 participants benefited from mutual knowledge exchange about electronic communication in the world of business with a strong focus on e-invoicing.

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

Please visit our web site at www.editel.eu

www.datacare.at www.gs1.at www.editel.at

www.komora.cz www.editel.cz

Lukoil Hungary enters the world of EDI

© Guido Vrola – Fotolia.com

Lukoil, the leading Russian oil company, has successfully introduced electronic exchange of invoices (INVOIC) in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia and has recently started the implementation in Hungary.

W

hile the economic crisis is a major topic around the world, the Russian corporation Lukoil is focusing on the future. In 2012, the company plans to develop additional

ABOUT LUKOIL Lukoil is one of the largest oil companies in the world with sales of $100 billion and a net profit of $9 billion.

The company employs approximately 150,000 people in 30 countries. In Hungary, the Russian company operates 73 gas stations. Worldwide, there are 6,000 franchise Lukoil gas stations.

business areas while also investing in its technological advancement.

In Central and Eastern European countries, technological advancement also includes the optimization of supply chain processes with the help of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). This has been successfully implemented in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. Hungary, where invoices were hereto processed manually, is up next for automation.

In collaboration with EDITEL, an EDI partner and provider, Lukoil decided to

implement EDITEL’s integration solution and to link to the communication platform eXite®. This will allow Lukoil to exchange invoices, including fully integrated invoice processing and archiving.

The system has been live since 2012. Andrea Riez, project manager at Lukoil, is very happy about this successful project: “Resources needed to process invoices decreased significantly. We also saw a major decline in incorrect invoices. What’s more, the data quality of our business partners with whom we run EDI is considerably higher than before.”

Faster and more efficient work processes are essential at Lukoil. The same is true for the secure transmission of sensitive invoice data. All this is guaranteed when data is exchanged via the high-security b2b platform eXite®.

The higher the number of companies with whom electronic invoices are exchanged, the higher the benefit for all parties.

Therefore, Lukoil expects numerous business partners to introduce EDI in an effort of reaching extended EDI coverage. n www.lukoil.hu www.editel.hu

OVERVIEW + 2012 EDI Go live at Lukoil Hungary + EDITEL integration solution + Fully electronic invoice processing + Invoices are processed faster than before + High data quality

6

editelJOURNAL 1/2012

Front Runner…

Rajo, a Meggle subsidiary, knows a thing or two about staying a step ahead of competitors in a challenging business environment. A manufacturer of dairy products, Rajo is one of the longeststanding users of EDI on the Slovakian market.

Relying on this technology, the company has obtained top-notch results.

A

ccording to the economic provisions of the German-Slovak Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Slovak retail market is expected to grow by 1.7 percent in 2012.

Retailers plan to attract consumers to their stores with special offers, discounts and the promotion of low-cost private label products to increase sales.

Other major stakeholders in the market have no choice but to adapt to this increasingly challenging environment.

Now more than ever, merchandise purchasing and the underlying logistics processes need to be flexible and efficient since they are key to a company’s success in a competitive market.

Rajo, a subsidiary of the German Meggle AG, is one of Slovakia’s largest FMCG companies. For more than 10 years, the manufacturer of dairy products has been relying on the eXite® b2b platform to electronically exchange

data with its business partners. This business data includes orders, despatch advices and invoices. Rajo recently introduced an EDI outsourcing solution by EDITEL that will prepare Rajo’s procurement of goods for the challenges of tomorrow.

Ladislav Tóth, IT manager at Rajo, on the key requirements for this project: “We wanted a solution that didn’t tie up any additional resources on our side, but that was completely managed by the EDI provider. In addition, we needed maximum flexibility to account for new requirements. To us, it was equally important that additional Meggle/Rajo subsidiaries in Hungary and in the Czech Republic could easily be connected to the system. As a matter of course, the same also applies to the integration of our business partners.”

The project was launched in February 2010. As a first step, an interface between the EDITEL outsourcing solution and Rajo’s centralized SAP system was created. Tests with selected vendors followed. After successfully completing the testing phase, all Meggle subsidiaries in the Czech Republic and Hungary were connected to the system. The entire data traffic is handled via the eXite® Business Integration Network.

Rajo currently exchanges as many as nine electronic business document types ranging from orders, despatch advices, invoices and remittance advices to payment confirmation notifications with 25 business partners. EDITEL’s EDI solution covers three EDI systems in three different countries. This high level of EDI penetration makes Rajo one of the leading EDI users in Slovakia. Orders, despatch advices and invoices are processed automatically, which has considerably reduced manual work and paper consumption. EDI has also increased data quality, which in turn improved the company’s collaboration with its trading partners.

Mr. Tóth concludes: “This EDI solution enables us to connect a complex network of Meggle/Rajo subsidiaries and business partners to each other and automate

their supply chain processes. EDITEL SK has proven to be a reliable and experienced expert in this area. Our ultimate goal is to use EDI with all our suppliers and reach full EDI coverage.” n

www.rajo.sk www.editel.sk

ABOUT Rajo a.s.

Rajo is one of the leading manufacturers of dairy products in Slovakia. It is one of the largest subsidiaries of the German Meggle Group in the CEE Region. Rajo’s sales volume of € 650 million accounts for 20% of the corporation’s overall sales.

overview + EDI integration at Rajo, a subsidiary of Meggle + EDI message formats exchanged: ORDERS, CONTRL, ORDRSP, DESADV, RECADV, INVOIC, AUTACK, APERAK, COMDIS + Data exchange with approximately 25 business partners + Connects EDI systems in 3 countries (SK, CZ, HU) + Objective is full EDI coverage

IMPRint

News BULgariA

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

bauMax Bulgaria: ”EDI IS a business Must-have“

As of today, bauMax BG exchanges orders and invoices electronically with approximately 400 suppliers. This makes the international retail company one of the pioneers in the do-ityourself industry in Bulgaria. Given the fact that efficiency and sustainability of logistics processes for the procurement of goods have increased considerably since the introduction of EDI in 2009, bauMax is happy with the implementation of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). Petar Todorov, IT manager at bauMax BG, on his experience thus far: “The exchange of

electronic data via eXite® helps streamline processes with our clients while also improving our internal processes, for example regarding data quality and cost-efficiency. EDI has evolved into an indispensable technology for businesses today.” bauMax BG entrusted ACSIOR, a Bulgarian eXite® franchise partner, with the technical implementation and support. Dimitar Vassilev, director of marketing at ACSIOR, looks back on the project: “Thanks to our excellent collaboration with the client, the EDI project was implemented swiftly and efficiently. bauMax suppliers mostly rely on web-EDI solutions such as webIT client and tradeIT. These solutions do not require any complex technical infrastructure and are easy to implement while being cost-efficient. As requested, for some suppliers, we also implemented an integrated EDI solution with a direct interface to the company’s ERP system. In addition, all bauMax suppliers are connected to the eXite® Business Integration Network, which will make the integration of additional business partners easy and effortless for bauMax and its suppliers.” n www.baumax.com www.acsior.com www.editel.eu

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 Proof Reading & 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.