Implementing WebSphere Business Integration Express for Item Synchronization

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2004. All rights reserved. 3

Chapter 1. UCCnet

Today's suppliers, consumer packaged goods companies, manufacturers, and

wholesalers face many challenges. Each year, 20,000 new food and non-food

Universal Product Code (UPC) items are created, and it typically takes 10 to 30

days to get these new items and price changes to market. Data elements that

describe these individual items may change up to four times per year.

Furthermore, nearly three out of five orders placed need to be revisited and

reworked before completion. To meet these escalating data demands on

suppliers, UCCnet has implemented multi-industry standards for product

identification and related electronic communications. A subsidiary of the Uniform

Code Council Inc., UCCnet is a neutral industry organization that implements

these standards by requiring its community of trading partners to provide

standardized item data in particular formats to its registry.

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