It Isn't XML vs. EDI

March 26, 2001 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - As the article "Corporate Users Cool Toward XML for Supply Chain" points out, companies aren't going to give up years of EDI development for XML [Computerworld.com, Feb. 21]. But we've been supplying EDI solutions to our customers for nearly two decades, and we're telling them that you don't have to look at EDI and XML as competitive solutions. They are, in fact, complementary.

Hubs in a hub-and-spoke model need to offer their suppliers the opportunity to conduct e-commerce with them in any manner that works for the spoke, not exclusively for the hub. By adding XML capabilities to complement their EDI systems, hubs open the doors to all suppliers. Any-to-any data messaging benefits the hub by expanding the base of potential suppliers.

Standards are important for e-commerce, but part of the power in XML is the ability to become standard-agnostic. Companies looking at XML today can be relatively certain that the ultimate shakeout in standards won't make their XML investment obsolete.

Joe Dalman
Chief operating officer
TIE Commerce
St. Paul, Minn.
joe.dalman@tiecommerce.com

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