WEGMANS COMPLETES E-PRODUCT ID WITH RALSTON

DAN ALAIMO

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- In a significant step that could lead to more widespread use of electronic procurement, Wegmans Food Market here and Ralston Purina, St. Louis, successfully completed electronic item identification of a complete product category.

The setting of item identification standards was completed through the GlobalRegistry of UCCnet, Lawrenceville, N.J. UCCnet, a not-for-profit subsidiary of the Uniform Code Council, is working on adopting universal standards for electronic item identification to facilitate B-to-B commerce.

Since vendors and retailers have varied ways of identifying products, industry analysts have said setting standards for the universal identification of products will be a key factor for determining if e-procurement will proliferate.

Wegmans and Ralston Purina said they will continue to conduct any product information changes and updates for items included in the category through UCCnet's registry.

In processing the information, Ralston was able to upload product information for the company's moist pet food products category through UCCnet's Global portal.

From the portal, UCCnet's product registry could be accessed.

Meanwhile, Wegmans' legacy system then uploaded and authorized the information.

Finally, Ralston received a message from the UCCnet system confirming that Wegmans had authorized the products.

The process reflected that data synchronization had been completed.

One of the unique characteristics of the relationship between Wegmans and Ralston is that each company created its own solutions for interfacing through UCCnet.

Other companies usually rely on third-party solution providers.

"We look forward to applying all that we have learned about data synchronization to future e-business endeavors within and beyond the UCCnet system," said Walt Gudselak, manager of B-to-B e-commerce systems at Wegmans.

"Wegmans' direct connection to the UCCnet system provides immediate access to Ralston data, published on the UCCnet production database. We're ready to work with additional trading partners today," said Mike Merulla, Wegmans' e-commerce manager.

"Our trading partner community's needs continue to evolve as the supply chain moves toward advanced e-commerce tools such as trading exchanges," said Fred Geiger, senior vice president of product management for UCCnet.

"As this evolution continues, the UCCnet community will continue to rapidly address standards issues and provide guidelines to continue building a solid foundation for e-commerce," Geiger added.

Wegmans and Ralston are two of the initial pilot companies that worked to develop and refine UCCnet services since the organization's inception.

The companies have reported that they are able to reduce costly errors that may occur during traditional input of item information by utilizing the foundational services.

The companies are also able to decrease lead-time requirements for new product introductions and changes to item information.

By offering industry standards-compliant synchronized data and industry-defined application requirements, UCCnet's GlobalRegistry can become a platform for trade exchanges.

These so-called "foundational services" facilitate interoperability and serve these trading communities with applications that may not be available through their particular exchange.

Through UCCnet, Wegmans and Ralston have access to a synchronized product authorization file, found on UCCnet's GlobalRegistry, ensuring that the right information for the right products is always available to either trading partner.