GXS Updates Extended Enterprise Forecast-to-Pay Applications

Version 2.1 of Global eXchange Services' Order Lifecycle Visibility intended to promote inter-enterprise collaboration through extended supply chain

Version 2.1 of Global eXchange Services' Order Lifecycle Visibility intended to promote inter-enterprise collaboration through extended supply chain

Orlando, FL — October 22, 2004 — B2B connectivity specialist Global eXchange Services (GXS) has taken the wraps off the latest version of its Order Lifecycle Visibility solution, designed to provide companies and their extended supply chain communities with the ability to view, transact and collaborate on order, shipment and settlement processes.

Version 2.1 of Order Lifecycle Visibility, one of several value chain solutions that leverage the company's new Trading Grid platform, also provides a centralized source of supply chain data that organizations need to share both internally and with the extended supplier community, GXS said in announcing the new release.

"OLV 2.1 builds on the success of GXS' first-generation service by providing significant enhancements for online order management and business process workflows," said Michael Del Sarto, director of collaboration services for GXS. "OLV 2.1 goes beyond Web forms, leveraging the value and power of the newly launched GXS Trading Grid platform to connect companies, both large and small, enabling them to solve business problems in a collaborative, shared environment."

GXS said that the OLV 2.1 suite increases the depth of order management capabilities it can offer its customers, including upgraded capabilities in the following business process modules:

  • Forecast and Order Presentment - Allows organizations to share strategic order forecasts, legally binding purchase orders, order schedules, order revisions and materials releases electronically to 100 percent of their trading partner community, with shared, on-line visibility for internal users and suppliers.


  • Forecast and Order Collaboration - Allows buyers and their suppliers to collaboratively agree on periodic schedule commitments, provide order promises and detailed order acknowledgements.


  • Shipping and Receiving - Supports the shipping and receiving process for inbound shipments via ship notice visibility and bar code label generation capabilities. Supports closed loop supplier order fulfillment process by matching the original order quantity with the actual shipped quantity and the received quantity.


  • Invoicing and Settlement - Supports e-invoicing, supplier self-service invoice inquiry and payment visibility.
According to GXS, the OLV suite allows customers to configure business rules to match their business processes, to set-up e-mail-based alerts and to enforce data quality through the application of data validation rules.

GXS said that companies rolling out the OLV service can see such benefits as improved internal productivity through elimination of paper-based processes and increased data quality. OLV can also help lower inventory and transportation costs by offering better visibility on inbound shipments, GXS said. In addition, the solution provider said that many companies are using OLV to extend their internal, back-end systems to their trading partners and are leveraging OLV functionality through their supplier portals.

OLV 2.1 is currently available and was launched in conjunction with the company's Trading Grid, a real-time platform developed to enable and streamline cross-enterprise business processes. Serving more than 30,000 businesses worldwide, Trading Grid offers capabilities intended to ensure synchronized product and price information, optimize inventory levels and demand forecasts, speed the overall execution of supply chains and ultimately provide end-to-end business process visibility, according to GXS.
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