Wal-Mart Chooses Internet Protocol for Data Exchange
Says supplier costs will drop with AS2
September 16, 2002 12:00 PM ETComputerworld -
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced last week that it has chosen an Internet-based protocol for electronic data exchange with thousands of its national and global suppliers.
Wal-Mart said that the use of the new Electronic Data Interchange-Internet Integration Applicability Statement 2 (EDIINT AS2) protocol is expected to lower costs for the company and its suppliers, although one analyst said that might not be the case.
Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart picked the Commerce Suite developed by Dallas-based iSoft Corp. The software supports the AS2 protocol, which was approved by the Internet Engineering Task Force last year. Wal-Mart said its choice of AS2 means that suppliers won't need to resort to deploying value-added networks (VAN).
Under the agreement, iSoft will install server software at Wal-Mart's headquarters and offer client software to Wal-Mart suppliers for only a $300 annual maintenance fee, iSoft CEO Christian Putnam said.
Suppliers aren't required to purchase the iSoft client and can use AS2 software from one of several other vendors, Putnam said. He added that the AS2 approach will replace Wal-Mart's reliance on dial-up modems for ordering goods.
"It's a huge step in performance," Putnam said.
Ken Vollmer, an analyst at Giga Information Group Inc. in Cambridge, Mass., said that if a supplier has just a few data connections or links to only Wal-Mart, the AS2 client would make sense. But a large number of connections would be better handled by a VAN, he said.
AS2 and several other EDIINT protocols haven't caught on as expected and account for less than 10% of total EDI traffic, far below the 40% level projected three years ago for 2002, Vollmer said. The vast majority of EDI traffic is still handled by VANs, partly because EDIINT doesn't scale well enough, he added.
Additional Resources


White Papers & Webcasts
Accelerate SSL Encrypted Applications
The amount of SSL traffic is growing in the enterprise. Because it is encrypted, it cannot be properly controlled and accelerated. Blue Coat...
Security Configuration Management
In this web video, follow along with Jim Hansen, Senior Product Manager with Big Fix, as he explains why Security Configuration Management is...
ESG Lab Field Audit
Many companies have successfully implemented Riverbed WAN optimization solutions within their Cisco networks. This ESG Lab Field Audit document explores the success that...
Usability Is Everything
Learn what sets Workday's HR and Payroll solutions apart from the competition....
Shape Your Apps Strategy to Reflect New SaaS Licensing and Pricing Trends
Why are smart companies choosing software-as-a-service? Find out in the complimentary Forrester Research report...
The Value of Real SaaS at Workday
Cost savings, speed to value, and innovation brought to the enterprise by Workday's software-as-a-service solutions for HR and Payroll....
2007 Gartner Magic Quadrant Report
Riverbed positioned in Leaders Quadrant of Gartner Magic Quadrant for WAN Optimization Controllers. Analyzing strengths vs. cautions, Gartner helps organizations looking to acquire...
SaaS at Flextronics, Inc.
Dave Smoley, CIO of Flextronics, discusses the real value of software-as-a-service and why he chose Workday for his HR solution....
Business Value of Performance IDC Whitepaper
Are you looking for a comprehensive solution that addresses insufficient or congested bandwidth, impaired application performance, slow remote backup and replication or obstacles...
Why Compliance Pays
This OnDemand webcast explores the relationship that firms with best compliance records have higher revenue, greater customer retention, lower financial losses from data...
Subscribe to Computerworld
