Trading Partner Connect was officially unveiled with full commerce capabilities during Prophet 21's Summit 2001 Users Conference. Our customer focus groups identified that, if we were to minimize business process reorganization and utilize existing infrastructure, the E2E approach was the most viable because conventional Web browsers breed redundancies in the supply chain. Buyer streamlines the procurement process between distributors and manufacturers. Alliance affords distributors the option collaborative commerce with other distributors within the confines of their enterprise solution. Seller provides distributors with a fully hosted, integrated co-branded electronic storefront solution.
Seller also includes content and transaction services enabled for handheld devices.
Supplier provides integration between Trading Partner Connect Internet trading network and manufacturers. Gateway presents distributors with the content enablement, messaging, and transformation services to seamlessly communicate, and collaborate with the world's leading customer-focused procurement platforms and trading communities. According to Joe Buffington, Chief Technology Officer, Prophet 21, Trading Partner Connect is addressing these issues. With Trading Partner Connect, trading partners can expect to receive guaranteed document delivery in the way they format existing documents today. Robust Rationalized Catalog E-marketplaces today do not address the issue of catalog rationalization.