Leading Global Corporations Standardize on Sterling Commerce GENTRAN:Server for UNIX For Electronic Commerce Implementations
4 August 1997
Leading Global Corporations Standardize on Sterling Commerce GENTRAN:Server for UNIX For Electronic Commerce Implementations
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 4 -- Furthering its position as the
world's leading supplier of UNIX-system-based electronic commerce (EC)
software and value-added services, Sterling Commerce, Inc. (NYSE: SE), today
announced it has recently signed contracts for its GENTRAN:Server(TM) for UNIX
product with several market leaders worldwide. The contracts include
implementations at organizations around the world, including Auchan,
Mitsubishi International (MIC) and Nissan Australia.
These organizations have standardized on GENTRAN:Server for UNIX as the
strategic platform for secure, reliable global EC and electronic data
interchange (EDI) transactions. They selected the market-leading
GENTRAN:Server for UNIX based on its ability to seamlessly link different
corporate business applications such as Baan, Oracle, PeopleSoft and SAP to
each other and to the applications used by their customers and suppliers
worldwide.
"The licensing of our GENTRAN:Server for UNIX by several industry leaders
is further evidence of Sterling Commerce's leadership position in providing
EC/EDI solutions for the UNIX platform," said Brad Sharp, president of
Sterling Commerce Interchange Software Group. "These agreements, coupled with
continued growth in the UNIX market, support our already strong belief that
UNIX will remain a key platform for delivering world class EC/EDI solutions to
our customers worldwide."
Auchan
A leading retail chain headquartered in Lille, France, Auchan operates
hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores, and employs nearly 81,000
people. Auchan selected GENTRAN(R) to provide an inventory management program
that will reduce operational costs and allow the company to pass savings on to
its customers. In addition, Auchan anticipates other benefits, such as
improved accuracy and timeliness of orders through streamlined supply
management, which will improve customer service and responsiveness.
Auchan is processing 30,000 to 40,000 order messages daily among 1,100
trading partners, and expects to increase this community to include 6,500
trading partners. Auchan is also working with Sterling Commerce to extend its
EC program by providing access to all EDI coding standards, including the
international EDI standard (UN-EDIFACT), the European retail EDI standard
(EANCOM) and the French EDI retail standard (GENCOD).
"Auchan is standardizing on GENTRAN:Server to leverage the 20 years of
industry-leading expertise that Sterling Commerce has in EC and EDI," said
Arnaud VanTichelen, EDI project manager for Auchan. "This strategy will allow
Auchan to cost-effectively build an EC infrastructure, while remaining focused
on our core business. Today, GENTRAN:Server for UNIX gives Auchan a secure
and reliable EC server to communicate with thousands of trading partners. In
the near future, Auchan will use GENTRAN Internet and Web-based solutions to
further expand its global trading community with additional suppliers and
partners."
Mitsubishi International
Mitsubishi International (MIC), a $10 billion division of $150 billion
conglomerate Mitsubishi, has diversified operations ranging from the trading
of cocoa to fuel and machinery. MIC is migrating its EC applications from the
AS/400 platform to UNIX to expedite various business processes and to conduct
automated transactions 24 hours per day.
MIC initially selected GENTRAN:Server to securely and reliably handle
sales and purchase order transactions in concert with its SAP R/3 system and
to communicate with seven to 10 key trading partners. Using GENTRAN:Server,
MIC expects to dramatically increase its number of trading partners to include
more than fifty, representing billions of dollars in transactions annually.
"GENTRAN:Server provided two primary differentiators for MIC -- a packaged
product that eliminated detailed coding and a seamless SAP interface -- that
simplified our EC migration," said Sushil Wagle, assistant general manager of
Mitsubishi. "Our future goal is to be able to have all document processing
flow through GENTRAN:Server into our SAP R/3 system."
Nissan
Nissan Australia is implementing GENTRAN:Server for UNIX as the foundation
of its EC infrastructure to streamline its financial operations. In
conjunction with the implementation of SAP R/3 financial applications, Nissan
will use GENTRAN to exchange vehicle purchase information, including component
ordering, receipt of advanced shipping notices and the provision of
registration data with finance companies such as Nissan Finance and Essanda.
Nissan also expects to extend the use of GENTRAN to other finance companies
and migrate older PC-based EDI applications to GENTRAN.
"Sterling Commerce is the ideal EC partner for Nissan Australia, based on
the proven ability of GENTRAN to interface with other strategic business
applications like SAP R/3 and its strict adherence to international EC
standards," said Michael Carydias, manager of operations and technical support
for Nissan's information systems division. "The industry-leading Sterling
Commerce UNIX solution is flexible and scalable enough to meet both the needs
of a small enterprise and those of a major corporate group. The superior
functionality of GENTRAN:Server and the company's first-class professional
services staff will help streamline our financial processes and provide a
measurable competitive advantage."
Sterling Commerce, Inc.
Sterling Commerce, with executive offices in Dallas, Texas, is a leading
global provider of electronic commerce software products and services that
enable businesses to engage in business-to-business electronic communications
and transactions. Sterling Commerce has been providing electronic commerce
solutions for over 20 years and has more than 30,000 customers worldwide and
1,700 employees. For more information, call 800-299-4041, Ext. 777 or visit
the Sterling Commerce Web site at http://www.stercomm.com.
NOTE: GENTRAN is a registered trademark and GENTRAN:Server is a
registered trademark of Sterling Commerce, Inc.
All other products or company names mentioned are used for identification
purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE Sterling Commerce, Inc.