Nashville—fcB2B held its annual meeting last month here, where it unveiled its first non-EDI standard product catalog. Designed to enable suppliers who do not have an EDI infrastructure, the new tool aims to modernize business and provide a standard format for product and price catalogs without having to implement the traditional fcB2B standard.
“While we’ve made huge strides in achieving adoption across the supply chain with our standard, this new format will allow smaller vendors the ability to join their peers in supplying their customers with e-commerce functionality and help advance our goal of achieving industry-wide implementation,” said Lewis Davis, senior director of technology and research, WFCA/fcB2B. “Many vendors have struggled with understanding and implementing the traditional fcB2B standard; this will provide them a more cost-effective process.”
While the traditional B2B exchange remains superior, the group said, the new standard provides a Comma Separated Values (CSV) format that matches the attributes used in the fcB2B 832 product catalog and can serve as a temporary platform as distributors and manufacturers continue to work on their long-term objectives with fcB2B.
“Pacific Solutions is thrilled that the fcB2B committee has adopted a standard .csv import of product data,” said Bob Noe, president, Pacific Solutions. “The product catalog is the bedrock to pricing and purchasing accuracy and devising a simplistic way in which all suppliers can adopt sooner than later will elevate our entire industry.”
David Marshello, director of e-commerce vendor development, added, “RFMS has been a leader and first adopter of B2B technology, and we look forward to assisting new manufacturers and distributors in joining the current 55 B2B-enabled vendors to provide product catalogs, invoices, ship notices, purchase orders and web services.”
If you had looked into fcB2B before but didn’t have the resources or found EDI to be cost-prohibitive, contact Lewis Davis at 706-217-1183 ext. 132 or ldavis@wfca.org to find out more about this non-EDI Standard.