Sterling Commerce Announces Alliance with Bar Code Solutions
5 August 1998
Sterling Commerce Announces Alliance with Bar Code Solutions
Partnership Will Streamline Auto Industry Supplier/OEM Supply Chain
Relationships
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 5 -- Sterling Commerce , a
leading worldwide provider of electronic commerce (EC) value-added services
and software, today announced an alliance agreement with Bar Code Solutions, a
producer of integrated bar coded inventory tracking software for the auto
industry. The partnership will result in electronic data interchange (EDI)-
based solutions that meet the unique needs of automobile industry suppliers
and their trading partners.
Sterling Commerce and Bar Code Solutions will jointly offer an automotive
advance ship notice (ASN) solution that pairs Bar Code Solutions' Automotive
Release Management System (ARMS) product with Sterling Commerce's
GENTRAN:Director PC-based EC message management and EDI translation software,
plus related value-added network services. This integrated, Year 2000-
compliant solution is being offered in response to requirements by many
automotive industry Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) that their
suppliers use ASNs and automotive bar coding (B10 labeling).
Development of the joint ASN solution began in mid-1997 in support of the
Honda of America Manufacturing integrated EDI and barcode label
specifications. It will now include other U.S. manufacturers as well as many
Pacific Rim companies.
"As these automotive requirements become reality, we are partnering with
Sterling Commerce to provide a solution that is both easy to use and helps
suppliers meet the requirements they are facing," said Wayne Metcalfe,
president of Bar Code Solutions. "This joint software and service offering
will ease the process for suppliers while at the same time increasing the
efficiency of their supply chains."
"We're pleased to join with Bar Code Solutions to offer a solution
tailored to meet the needs of OEMs for integrated software, bar coding
capabilities and value-added services," said Jack Brooks, vice president of
sales for Sterling Commerce's Commerce Services Group. "We understand the
importance of vertical industry requirements as we help our customers build,
manage and service their electronic commerce trading communities."
Sterling Commerce provides a host of services and software solutions to
streamline the supply chain for auto manufacturers and their suppliers,
including EDI standard templates and maps for the OEMs to do business with
Honda as well as the Big Three auto makers.
Sterling Commerce is a leading global provider of business-to-business
electronic commerce software and value-added services. The company is ranked
eighth on the Forbes Magazine list of the Best-Performing Small Companies in
America. Software Magazine's 1998 annual Software 500 feature awarded
Sterling Commerce an Editor's Choice award and named it the number one E-
commerce company in its class. Sterling Commerce has been providing
electronic commerce solutions for 20 years, and has 36 office locations and
more than 40 distributors worldwide. Sterling Commerce had 1997 revenues of
over $350 million, and has more than 42,000 customers worldwide and 2,300
employees. For more information, visit the Sterling Commerce Web site at
http://www.sterlingcommerce.com.
Bar Code Solutions, headquartered in Troy, Michigan, is a software
development company specializing in the integration of Automotive ASN shipping
solutions and inventory tracking systems. Bar Code Solutions actively supports
the auto industry through its membership with the Automotive Industry Action
Group (AIAG). The company also provides Automotive ASN shipping solutions to
more than 600 auto suppliers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. For more
information, visit the Bar Code Solutions Web site at
http://www.bar-code-solutions.com
The GENTRAN suite of services and product names are marks of Sterling
Commerce, Inc.
The "Automotive Release Management System - ARMS" is a trademark of Bar
Code Solutions, Inc.