GAITHERSBURG, Md., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- GXS, a leading provider of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce solutions, today announced that PepsiAmericas has selected GXS Managed Services to power the company's next generation B2B strategy. GXS is providing an agile B2B outsourcing solution that can support the bottler's current and future B2B requirements. Through GXS Managed Services, PepsiAmericas will be able to provide improved service to its retail customer base and will be able to respond more quickly to new business opportunities. PepsiAmericas selected the GXS B2B outsourcing solution because of the company's high availability architecture and dual-continent failover capability, as well as GXS' ability to support retailers' preferred e-commerce standards and protocols. Through GXS, PepsiAmericas can communicate with larger retailers using multiple Internet-based protocols such as AS2 and FTP, as well as with smaller retailers via e-mail, electronic data interchange (EDI) or web portals.
Serving a population of more than 122 million people, PepsiAmericas manufactures, distributes and markets products in 19 U.S. states, as well as in the Caribbean and Central Europe. The company's portfolio of beverages includes Pepsi brands, other national and regional beverage brands and non- carbonated waters and juices. With $3.7 billion in revenue, PepsiAmericas conducts business with hundreds of retailers that have a wide variety of B2B processes and capabilities, ranging from fully automated B2B integration platforms to manual processes such as telephone and fax. With e-commerce- enabled partners, the bottler exchanges a variety of transaction types including purchase orders, invoices and electronic payments. GXS will maintain PepsiAmericas' existing e-commerce program and will enable the company to expand its electronic trading network to additional retail customers, product suppliers, logistics providers, financial institutions and brand owners. GXS also will assist PepsiAmericas in adding new transaction types, such as advanced ship notices, price catalog entries, product movement and item/price synchronization. By selecting GXS Managed Services, PepsiAmericas will be able to easily support this expansion while entrusting the management of its B2B e-commerce network to GXS.
"The selection of GXS Managed Services is a key component of our multi- year initiative to transform our B2B order processing capabilities," said David Van Volkenburg, director of business solutions at PepsiAmericas. "In the past, we treated our B2B transaction processing simply as a necessary function of our business. We realized we could drive revenue and reduce costs by deploying a more efficient and advanced solution, as well as provide new offerings to our customers such as item/price synchronization and advanced ship notice. We now view our new B2B network as a tool for growth and opportunity, all while improving and adding new services to our customer base. Thus far, we are pleased and impressed with the solution GXS is deploying and ultimately, we expect GXS Managed Services to be a major asset to our business and to that of our customers."
Many of the smaller retailers that sell Pepsi products have limited IT staffs and B2B capabilities. To aid them in supporting B2B e-commerce transactions and to ensure orders for Pepsi products are filled as quickly as possible, PepsiAmericas will be using GXS Intelligent Web Forms to create a Web portal for use by these retailers. Part of the GXS Trading Grid(R) suite of solutions for small-to-medium sized businesses, GXS Intelligent Web Forms enables users to easily and cost-effectively trade electronically by simply filling out fields in a standard form that can be transmitted via the Web. Doing so minimizes data errors and reduces the costs of order processing, while increasing sales and reducing out-of-stocks at the store level.
"PepsiAmericas is one of a handful of bottlers and distributors investing in forward-thinking e-commerce strategies to advance its supply chain capabilities. The three-tier distribution model in the beverage industry of brand owners, bottlers and retailers is one of the more complex supply chain models in existence," said Steve Keifer, vice president of industry and product marketing at GXS. "By investing in more robust B2B e-commerce capabilities, PepsiAmericas will be able to provide a differentiated level of service to its customers and better manage planning, forecasting, replenishment and logistics processes, while reducing IT costs. It is our goal to ensure PepsiAmericas excels in its B2B initiatives."
GXS has extensive experience working with a variety of consumer packaged goods companies, as well as major grocery and convenience store chains, an important factor for PepsiAmericas in ensuring support for existing protocols and processes. In addition, GXS recently conducted a survey of its Managed Services customers to assess customers' reasons for outsourcing the management of their B2B networks and the results they have achieved. Some of the most significant findings were related to the business value achieved through B2B outsourcing, such as enhancing customer service levels, greater B2B functionality and the ability to connect to global trading partners. In fact, respondents reported a 42 percent average return on investment (ROI) in operational cost savings.
Customers of GXS Managed Services are empowered to free up internal resources to focus on core business objectives, reduce costs and fill gaps in internal expertise by utilizing the service as an extension of the IT department. Companies currently using GXS Managed Services around the world include Actaris, Avago Technologies, BB&T, BMO Financial Group, Drug Fair, Exel, Miller Brewing Company, National Instruments, Royal Bank of Canada and Thomson Consumer Electronics. As a key component of GXS Trading Grid, GXS Managed Services offers the technical infrastructure to conduct a global B2B program, including transaction management, data translation, systems administration and supplier performance reporting capabilities. In addition, GXS Managed Services provide customers with the B2B experts to deliver world- class B2B program management, trading community management and customer support. GXS Trading Grid is GXS' unique global integration platform that enables and streamlines cross-enterprise business processes and is used by more than 40,000 trading partners every day to exchange goods and services.
About PepsiAmericas
PepsiAmericas is the world's second-largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of PepsiCo beverages with operations in 19 U.S. states, Central Europe and the Caribbean. For more information on PepsiAmericas, please visit http://www.pepsiamericas.com/.
About GXS
GXS is a leading global provider of B2B e-commerce solutions that simplify and enhance business process integration, synchronization and collaboration among trading partners. Organizations worldwide, including 75 percent of the Fortune 500, leverage GXS Trading Grid(R) to extend supply networks, optimize product launches, automate warehouse receiving, manage electronic payments and gain supply chain visibility. With an unmatched global presence, proven trading partner management and B2B outsourcing services, GXS' on-demand solutions maximize the benefits of integration for businesses.
Based in Gaithersburg, Md., GXS' extensive global network serves customers throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific regions. GXS can be found on the Web at http://www.gxs.com/.
All products and services mentioned are trademarks of their respective companies.
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