Operations
Issues Reviewed By Joint Committees
The NARM Operations Committee and the VSDA
Manufacturers Operations Committee met in Los Angeles on April 28 and 29.Here's a brief
recap of what was discussed:
Progress of EDI
The committees reviewed industry progress in implementing
existing standards for EDI and concluded that significant progress is being made.
Two Dimensional Bar Codes
Opportunities for applications of the Symbol PDF417
technology were explored. This technology allows over 1 Kilobyte of information to be
stored within the parameters of a standard bar code. Numerous possibilities for Symbol
PDF417 include substitution of appropriately coded product for EDI packing slips,
receiving documents and invoices.
UPS Bar Code For DVD
It was decided that the 11th position of the standard 12
digit bar code, which designates configuration, will be the number 01 for DVD.
VAN Services
The committees are investigating options for group
purchasing of VAN (Value Added Network) Services for our industry, to take advantage of
volume discounts for EDI transactions. VANS are used to supply electronic mailboxes for
providing secured vehicles to control the inflow and outflow of electronic data for EDI
transactions.
CompuServe Presentation
The Business Services Division of CompuServe Information
Systems gave a presentation of their network services, which included VAN Services,
Internet/Intranet Services, World Wide Web applications and POS applications.