Chapter Extension 13 Information Technology for Data Exchange: EDI and XML © 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Experiencing MIS, David Kroenke

CE13-2 Study Questions What technologies are used for data exchange? How does EDI facilitate data exchange? How does XML facilitate data exchange? How are proprietary distributed applications used in the supply chain? How are XML Web service applications used in the supply chain?

© 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Experiencing MIS, David Kroenke CE13-3 What Technologies Are Used for Data Exchange? Telephone Fax Postal mail Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) eXtensible Markup Language (XML) XML Web Services for inter-program communications

© 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Experiencing MIS, David Kroenke CE13-4 How Does EDI Facilitate Data Exchange? Electronic Data Interchange – Standard for exchanging documents electronically – Standard of formats for business documents EDI X12 standard – Standardized documents created by ANSI – Document contains set of segments with defined fields EDIFACT standard – International standard HIPAA standard – Medical records standards

© 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Experiencing MIS, David Kroenke CE13-5 How Does XML Facilitate Data Exchange? eXtensible Markup Language – Offers advantages over EDI HTML is problematic – Developed by W3C – Allows organizations to exchange documents – Significant standards for computer processing – Key part of standards for Web services

© 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Experiencing MIS, David Kroenke CE13-6 XML and the Supply Chain XML can improve efficiency of processes and activities – Documents created in XML – Structure recorded in second document called XML schema – Information sent to suppliers is validated against schema Saves labor and expense because automated – May publish schema on Web site Grant access to distributors to validate documents received Automated system saves labor time and money

© 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Experiencing MIS, David Kroenke CE13-7 Distributed Computing Process of program on one computer accessing programs on another computer Techniques – Proprietary applications – Web services

© 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Experiencing MIS, David Kroenke CE13-8 Proprietary Design Solution unique to organization Owned by organization that develops and pays for system Development by teams – Determine application requirements – Develop design – Write and test programs Alternative method – Company develops programs – Installs them on another company’s system – Call directly on first company’s applications

© 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Experiencing MIS, David Kroenke CE13-9 Proprietary Solutions Difficult to develop – Customers may require special-purpose programs Expensive to operate – Return on investment can make it worthwhile Takes time to develop

© 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Experiencing MIS, David Kroenke CE13-10 Interorganizational Information Exchange Information systems that connect organizations Require collaborative agreements – Requires joint meetings Careful conversations May require nondisclosure statements Agenda of other side unknown Don’t discuss meeting topics in public places – Clear goals and objectives Agree on topics to be addressed and avoided Don’t raise unrelated topics

© 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Experiencing MIS, David Kroenke CE13-11 XML Web Services Web services – Most major software vendors have products to support – Set of standards that facilitate distributed computing Uses Internet technology Tool for application interaction – Allows programs to access each other remotely No need to develop proprietary system

© 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Experiencing MIS, David Kroenke CE13-12 XML Web Services, continued Standards enable programs to obtain service description – What programs exist on other computer – How to communicate – Information used to invoke service – Data transmitted in XML documents XML schemas defined Can be automatically validated

© 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Experiencing MIS, David Kroenke CE13-13 Web Services and the Supply Chain Web services can simplify automation of chain interactions Web services can be published to other organizations Developers can access the services and write programs to call services Requires no other meetings or coordinated activities Provides cost savings and time reduction Can be changed and easily adapted

© 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Experiencing MIS, David Kroenke CE13-14 Active Review What technologies are used for data exchange? How does EDI facilitate data exchange? How does XML facilitate data exchange? How are proprietary distributed applications used in the supply chain? How are XML Web service applications used in the supply chain?