GXS Rolls Out Internet-Based Automotive Communications Standard

GXS, the world’s leading provider of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce solutions, today announced that it now supports the Odette File Transfer Protocol version 2 (OFTP2), a new Internet-based communications standard for automotive companies. OFTP2 allows automotive suppliers and manufacturers (OEMs) to exchange business documents securely across the Internet.

GXS has embedded an OFTP2 communications service in its B2B communications and outsourcing platforms, including the GXS Trading Grid(R) and GXS Managed Services. The ability to exchange electronic transactions securely is essential for automotive suppliers and OEMs, especially for the exchange of engineering CAD/CAM files, which need to be shared across the supply chain throughout the product lifecycle, from manufacturing through recalls and the aftermarket, often spanning a period of twenty years.

Hella, a top fifty global automotive supplier of lighting and electronics, is one of an emerging group of European automotive companies that is currently deploying OFTP2 with their trading partners. Hella exchanges more than 35,000 transactions a day with customers, suppliers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs). “No business could be conducted at Hella without reliable connections with business partners. GXS’s support of OFTP2 will allow us to further consolidate data communications with trading partners in any region of the world,” said Udo Thienelt, Manager of Integrated Applications at Hella.

Up until now, many European automotive companies have utilised the first version of OFTP as a data transfer standard, a 25 year-old point-to-point protocol that relies on slow ISDN connections or aging X.25 networks. As supply chains have grown in complexity and cloud-based services have risen in usage, companies have searched for alternative communication options.

Odette International was formed by the automotive industry to set the standards for e-business communications, engineering data exchange and logistics management for the European motor industry and their global trading partners. “We are pleased that GXS has released an OFTP2 service. Odette has been working hard to introduce OFTP2 and with GXS’s announcement we expect to see many more automotive companies standardize on OFTP2,” said John Canvin, Managing Director of Odette.

The new GXS OFTP2 service provides a faster, safer, cheaper alternative to older point-to-point solutions and supports the following capabilities:

— Internet for file transfer, eliminating the need for dedicated
networks.
— A combination of file encryption and digital certificates
(certificates can be provided by Odette).
— Exchange of very large files using file compression and checkpoint
mechanisms.

“At GXS, we have seen significant interest in OFTP2 from our automotive customers and are pleased to offer this important new communications protocol as a service,” said Mark Morley, Automotive Industry Marketing Director at GXS.

To learn more, please register for the live webinar below:

Webinar: OFTP2, a New Internet Communications Standard for the Automotive Industry

Date: Thursday October 14th, 2010, 10:00AM New York / 3:00 PM London

Speakers: Mark Morley, GXS Industry Marketing Director; Bob Heidish, GXS Global Product Manager Registration: http://bit.ly/OFTP2-webinar

About GXS
GXS is the world’s leading provider of B2B e-commerce solutions. The company’s software and services simplify and enhance how networks of businesses integrate business processes and collaborate among trading partners. Organizations worldwide, including more than 75 percent of the Fortune 500, use GXS solutions to extend their supply chain networks, optimize product launches, automate warehouse receiving, manage electronic payments and gain supply chain visibility. GXS’s automotive customers include 80 percent of the Top 20 global OEMs and 82 percent of the world’s Top 100 suppliers. GXS participates in a number of automotive industry bodies around the world including North America’s Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) and Europe’s Odette and Galia associations. Based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, GXS has operations and offices around the world. For more information, see http://www.gxs.com, http://blogs.gxs.com and http://twitter.com/gxs.