CenterField Software, the local data integration specialist, has announced an agreement with UK company Orion Consulting to distribute and support PathFinder, a low-cost electronic transaction system that eases the complexity and cost of taking transaction data from a proprietary financial system and seamlessly translating it to a format another system can understand.
"Most Web users would think that electronic transactions are simple processes," says Julian Field, MD of CenterField. "This may be true when buying a book over the Web, but in B2B transactions the complexity of transforming data in one format specific to a buyer`s ERP system into another proprietary format can require expensive and complex software solutions."
Electronic data interchange (EDI) was introduced to solve exactly this problem and has become the backbone for the communication of commercial documents between businesses. EDI standards specify the communications protocols and the messages themselves. Unfortunately, EDI development costs are high due to the expensive software, skills and communications technology required.
PathFinder breaks the conventional mould of EDI applications. It is a low-cost data interchange system - costing a third of comparable offerings - designed for moving documents reliably and traceably between trading partners and integrating them into whatever databases and ERP systems are in use at the companies without requiring extensive programming and configuration of the systems.
"Due to the speed of change in the EDI world, a flexible product is vital," explains Field. "XML standards for document exchange are still immature and changes occur with annoying regularity. In addition, there are many bodies producing XML standards, making it difficult for an organisation to standardise and openly transact via these standards."
With PathFinder, businesses can accept commercial documents from a variety of sources over a LAN, WAN or the Internet (via FTP, for example) straight into their business systems to enable realtime processing of orders and invoices.
One of South Africa`s largest retail organisations is the first local company to install PathFinder and is running live. The company can now accept orders from multiple origination points directly into its merchandising system without intervention. It can also accept batch transactions from suppliers using older technology.
Field says CenterField is setting up a distribution channel for South and southern Africa. "Costing two thirds less than competitive offerings, PathFinder will be a welcome alternative to the status quo in electronic transaction software in South Africa and through our channel partners we will be addressing the widest possible market."
Share
Editorial contacts