Ashwani
Interesting insights, but I can't say that I agree with some of your
conclusions on how internet EDI is different from traditional EDI. The
internet is just a another transport mechanism.
1. We (Kleinschmidt) support any protocol. Therefore the sender or
receiver of the data is not tied down to any one means of communication. We
support TCP/IP if the customer wants it. With the internet, if the ISP goes
down you are hosed, unless you have multiple ISP's (like we do). With a
VAN, if your ISP goes down you can still use the old "legacy" means of
communication like Xmodem, or Zmodem. Most VANs support multiple protocols,
you would have to check with your specific VAN to see if they support the
communication method that you would like to use.
2. Delay, interesting comment. We don't delay data here at Kleinschmidt,
unless the customer would like us to deliver or pick-up data on a scheduled
service. And many do and that is a service we provide.
We have 4 state of the art Tandems in production with a fifth being
installed as we speak. We have two production sites with multiple phone,
ISP's, power supplies with different voltages, UPS (battery back-up not the
motor carrier), diesel generators etc. so that we have what we think is the
highest reliability in the market. Vs. the internet, depends on the means
of communication. Communication over the internet where you get an
immediate acknowledgment is good for time sensitive data, but if you have a
problem who do you call? Using email can be very sporadic, sometimes fast,
sometimes you can get a message back hours later that your message can't be
delivered for hours.
Note that my earlier post to this message board was delayed from yesterday
afternoon to this morning, so I reposted. Problem could be anywhere in the
chain. A process must be in place with each trading partner, defining what
to do if you don't get the acknowledgement back after sending the data.
Don't forget that timing of the acknowledgement's return can be different
for each trading partner. And if that process takes place after normal
business hours does, your company (and your trading partner and ISP) have
someone available to monitor that process 24 x 7? We monitor each of those
items (and so do some other VAN's).
3. Cost of communication. How do you reach the internet? Do you have some
magical way of getting the data from your computer to the ISP or do you use
some type of communication line? Sounds to me like the cost for the
physical communication method is very similar. Don't know about local or
not. Here in Illinois businesses have to pay for local calls like long
distance calls, but the long distance is cheaper. On top of that you can
reach customers (suppliers) via a VAN that want to use the internet and
those that don't want to without having multiple processes running.
4. Basically correct. You do pay for service. And you generally get what
you pay for. How many folks own a car, maybe a Lexus, Mercedes, or
something similar with leather seats and power windows, vs. a Yugo or KIA.
Both the Yugo and KIA will get you to the same destination, for a lot less
money, but is the reliability the same. What about the service you receive
when there is a problem? Your decision on the car, your decision on cost
vs. service.
5. I won't specifically comment on this one since we don't sell software.
However, we do provide "in-network" or "outsourced" translation for many of
our customers. This is platform independent and saves our customers money.
We already are doing XML translations for customers. Those customers did
not need to change anything on their side in order to communicate via XML
vs. "traditional" EDI.
6. My personal opinion. XML is EDI. It is a means of formatting data that
is being transmitted between two something's, where the something's can be
applications, people or whatever. It (XML) has its advantages and
disadvantages, depending on the application. XML is certainly more web
browser friendly, but as for moving data from application to application via
the internet I am not sure that it provides all the advantages sometimes
touted here.
Doug
Doug Anderson
Assistant Vice President Sales Support
Kleinschmidt Inc.
450 Lake Cook Road
Deerfield, IL 60015
847-405-7457
847-458-5234 (home office)
847-945-4619 (fax)
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.kleinschmidt.com
-----Original Message-----
From: ashwani madan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2000 6:05 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: The need for speed: XML vs. Internet EDI
Hi Steve,
I agree with discussion group members that XML won't make much of a
difference in transmisson time,because XML means just a syntax/format
change.Adding information about the data itself (meta data) anyways flows
with conventional EDI as well, in terms of tags/codes.XML is a means to
provide easy and efficienct data processing capabilities.
Just an insight, how Internet EDI is different from conventional EDI is
summarized as below :
1.Traditional EDI :-* VAN based. Uses proprietary protocols.
Internet EDI :- Internet based. Uses TCP/IP protocol
2.Traditional EDI :-* Offline - Delay in delivery
Internet EDI :- Online - Instant delivery
3.Traditional EDI :-* Expensive if VAN is not local.May have invest in
ISDN,Dialup,Leased Line,etc. to reach the VAN network
Internet EDI :- Can be reached through normal Internet connection.
4.Traditional EDI :-* Billing is generally by character or transaction.
Internet EDI :- Flat monthly fee (based on pipe bandwidth or connect time).
5.Traditional EDI :-* EDI Softwares are not Platform independent. There has
to be a different version for installation on different OS e.g., Unix,
windows etc.
Internet EDI :- Platform independent
6.Traditional EDI :-* EDIFACT, ANSI X.12, TRADACOMS, etc are conventional
EDI standards
Internet EDI :- XML is Internet oriented. Other conventional EDI standards
can be easily wrapped in XML.
Ashwani
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