Construction Supply Exchange Selects ChanneLinx to Build Digital Marketplace for the Building Materials Industry.Business Editors/Technology Writers GREENVILLE, S.C., and ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 2, 2000 Construction Supply Exchange and ChanneLinx.com have announced the launch of csXnet.com, a digital marketplace for the building materials Building materials used in the construction industry to create . These categories of materials and products are used by and construction project managers to specify the materials and methods used for . industry. csXnet is an outgrowth of Construction Supply Exchange, a corporation formed by various state and regional building material dealer associations. Construction Supply Exchange was created to provide a low-cost e-commerce e-commerce, commerce conducted over the Internet, most often via the World Wide Web. E-commerce can apply to purchases made through the Web or to business-to-business activities such as inventory transfers. solution for its members. Powered by ChanneLinx's Trading Management Solution(TM) platform, csXnet will electronically link manufacturers, distributors, dealers, retailers, builders, and remodelers. "Our goal is to use e-commerce to increase efficiencies at all levels of the building materials distribution channel," says Bill Tucker, Florida Building Material Association President. The csXnet digital marketplace includes four primary components. The first component uses the Web Data Interchange An interchange is a location where two things meet, usually perform some kind of exchange, and possibly go on their ways again. It is most commonly used in four contexts:
The second component allows manufacturers and distributors to post their products to the site so that dealers and retailers can purchase non-replenishment or special order products from them in a centralized cen·tral·ize v. cen·tral·ized, cen·tral·iz·ing, cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To draw into or toward a center; consolidate. 2. fashion. Utilizing ChanneLinx's eLinx(TM) Order Management System, csXnet will maintain pricing agreements between supplier and customer. "It's important to us that csXnet support the existing relationships between manufacturers/distributors and their customers, the dealers," states Tucker, "and eLinx allows us to do that. Suppliers can expose their products to a larger audience, but still offer personalized per·son·al·ize tr.v. per·son·al·ized, per·son·al·iz·ing, per·son·al·iz·es 1. To take (a general remark or characterization) in a personal manner. 2. To attribute human or personal qualities to; personify. service and pricing." If a supplier prefers, they can host their own eLinx catalog catalog, descriptive list, on cards or in a book, of the contents of a library. Assurbanipal's library at Nineveh was cataloged on shelves of slate. The first known subject catalog was compiled by Callimachus at the Alexandrian Library in the 3d cent. B.C. on their web site with click-through links on csXnet. The third component provides member dealers and retailers the opportunity to sell their products and services over the Internet. Dealers can use the Trading Management Solution platform, including eLinx, WebDI, and related products and services, to implement e-commerce on their own web sites. "Dealers can accept orders online, and provide quotes, account information, order status, price lists, and many other documents via the web," says Miller. "They can even allow their contractor customers to access all of this information from the job site via a web phone. Using the same technology that powers csXnet, we can e-enable dealers at a much lower cost than if they implemented e-commerce on their own." The fourth component includes all of the value-added services A value-added service (VAS) is a telecommunications industry term for non-core services or, in short, all services beyond standard voice calls and fax transmissions. typically associated with a digital marketplace. "We intend to make csXnet a rich site, so it will incorporate industry information, advertising, and a variety of services that dealers can take advantage of or offer to their customers," asserts Tucker. Transactions will be conducted through csXnet starting in April, 2000. The site can be accessed at www.csxnet.com. About ChanneLinx.com Through its Trading Management Solution(TM), ChanneLinx provides the complete e-commerce strategy by seamlessly linking each layer of an industry -- from manufacturer to consumer -- into an interoperable The ability for one system to communicate or work with another. See interoperability. digital marketplace. ChanneLinx markets its products and services to purchasing managers A Purchasing Manager is an employee within a company, business or other organization who is responsible at some level for buying or approving the acquisition of goods and services needed by the company. looking to streamline interaction with vendors, marketing executives ready to sell products over the web, and market makers building industry-specific vertical trading communities. The eLinx(TM) Order Management System is a primary component of the Trading Management Solution. eLinx presents products and services for buying and selling over the Internet, extranet, or intranet, and incorporates sophisticated search capabilities, workflow The automatic routing of documents to the users responsible for working on them. Workflow is concerned with providing the information required to support each step of the business cycle. management, and customer-specific pricing. By transforming the industry channel into a true digital marketplace, eLinx closes the communication loop between customers, buyers, and suppliers. ChanneLinx offers numerous products and services for converting inventory information to a web-ready format for use with eLinx. In addition to eLinx, the Trading Management Solution includes WebDI(TM). With WebDI, any two trading partners with Internet access See how to access the Internet. can exchange electronic documents, regardless of their back-office systems and without downloading downloading - download or installing any software. WebDI's XML XML in full Extensible Markup Language. Markup language developed to be a simplified and more structural version of SGML. It incorporates features of HTML (e.g., hypertext linking), but is designed to overcome some of HTML's limitations. platform bridges the gap between users of legacy VAN-based EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) The electronic communication of business transactions, such as orders, confirmations and invoices, between organizations. Third parties provide EDI services that enable organizations with different equipment to connect. methodologies and those of emerging e-business standards, such as Microsoft BizTalk and cXML. Several Fortune 500 companies have actively used the Trading Management Solution since 1996. ChanneLinx is headquartered in Greenville, S.C. About Construction Supply Exchange Construction Supply Exchange is a corporation formed by various state and regional building material dealer associations. Construction Supply Exchange was created to provide a low-cost e-commerce solution for its members, to provide electronic services to its members, to work with suppliers to make the supply chain more efficient, and to support the value proposition of the distribution channel. ChanneLinx.com, eLinx, and Trading Management Solution are trademarks of ChanneLinx.com, Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion