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| Electronic
Commerce |
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The
Rubicon system includes a number of features to facilitate electronic
commerce. Two of the most important areas reflect both the old
and new ways of exchanging data between Rubicon clients and
their customers and vendors. |
| The
Internet |
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Clearly
the "hot topic" in all areas of computer and information
technology is the revolutionary effects of the Internet. The
Internet is having a profound affect on the way people communicate
with one another, and the ways in which businesses communicate,
both internally, and with their customers and vendors.
As a Unix based product, Rubicon's software solution has a substantial
advantage in integrating Internet technology. Unix systems have
always been the primary servers on the Internet, and remain
so today. The Unix systems sold by Rubicon, including SCO's
Enterprise server, come with all the software necessary for
any level of Internet connectivity.
Rubicon
personnel have years of experience with putting systems on
the Internet. Rubicon can assist with e-mail, World Wide Web
servers, both for public and internal "Intranet"
use, interactive connectivity, public and restricted file
archives, etc.
We will
shortly be including, as part of the standard product, a web-based
inventory inquiry. This will allow customers, on a password
protected basis, to find products, determine availability
and customer specific pricing, see detailed descriptions,
diagrams, and spec sheets, and even place orders, all from
their web browser. The programming also provides detailed
reporting (typically through e-mail) to the associated sales
people, so they know what their customers have been looking
at, providing opportunities for follow-up, value-added assistance,
and add-on sales.
We are
only beginning to see how thoroughly the Internet will affect
wholesale distribution, but we are convinced that the change
will be dramatic. It is now not only possible, but fairly
economical, to have an on-line, real-time connection with
all of your major customers and vendors. We believe that this
kind of interactivity will provide tremendous opportunities
for those who can take advantage of it.
We are
working to insure that Rubicon customers will be there.
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| EDI
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The
"old" approach is typified by electronic data interchange,
or EDI. Many large companies have electronic trading partnerships
based on the ANSI X.12 EDI standards. Through EDI, trading partners
can exchange a wide variety of transactions, from catalogs,
and requests for quotes, through purchase orders and shipment
notification, to invoicing and payment advices.
As a practical matter, most Rubicon clients, particularly those
in wire and cable distribution, don't require anything that
elaborate. Rubicon provides programming for handling the three
most commonly required transaction sets: Purchase Orders (ANSI
850), Invoicing (ANSI 810), and Functional Acknowledgments (ANSI
997). These programs are part of the standard system (though
it should be said that customization is often necessary to deal
with specific requirements of particular trading partners).
For most users, these are more than adequate, and can get EDI
off the ground with little or no software expense.
For those
whose requirements are more elaborate, Rubicon has extensive
experience in interfacing with several of the full featured
EDI packages, both PC based (such as STX), and server based
(for example, St. Paul Software).
In summary,
the standard system can address most users' needs, and for
those with more complex requirements, Rubicon can assist in
identifying the most effective solution.
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| Summary |
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Rubicon
Electronic Commerce features include:
- base
functionality in EDI
- ability
to integrate "best of breed" EDI packages
- World
Wide Web processing
- real
time connection with live data
- password
security
- encrypted
transactions (requires secure server)
- allows
viewing of availability
- customer
specific pricing, if established
- tracking
of customer inquiries
- allows
selected users to place orders through the Web
- extensive
experience in "making it work"
- setting
up EDI trading partnerships
- working
with value added networks
- Internet
connectivity
- server
configuration and software
- Web
page design and setup
- integration
with enterprise systems and data
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