The website allows manufacturers and distributors to trade through the use of EDI, and vendors to manage the inventory (VMI) of the distributors. The B2B gateway places no additional technological burden on the manufacturers or distributors, as the logic for managing the inventory resides on the B2B gateway.
Manufacturers build a rules database for the management of inventory and have the online capability of modifying rules. Standard electronic purchase orders are generated and sent to the vendor, requiring no additional technological assets.
Publication date: 08/21/2000
