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The Covast BBot, the World’s First Supply Chain Integration Appliance, Debuts at U Connect 2007 B2B appliance to be introduced to top retailers and manufacturers at prestigious industry event ORLANDO - June 4, 2007 - Covast, a leading provider of business-to-business
(B2B) integration solutions, today introduced BBot, the first supply chain integration
appliance, to the world's top retailers and manufacturers at U Connect 2007.
U Connect 2007, the prestigious conference of the GS1 US™ organization,
is the annual epicenter for supply chain professionals to debut and exchange
ideas on how to build better supply chains through standards. The Covast BBot
is one of the most innovative technologies to be introduced at this year's event.
Attendees can learn more about BBot at Booth #519, located in the Exhibit Hall
of the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Using simple "plug and play" technology, BBot automatically enables
seamless integration between the complex supply chain systems of large hubs
and their smaller suppliers. BBot is virtually maintenance-free, requiring only
a LAN with internet connection to facilitate immediate integration across the
supply chain.
This solves a fundamental problem with supply chain integration and visibility.
Most large hubs use many complex supply chain systems to conduct business, while
small suppliers use less complex systems, spreadsheets or email. As a result,
many of these smaller suppliers lack the technology to comply with industry-specific
trading protocols and formats. BBot overcomes this challenge by offering comprehensive
support for all industry protocols and formats, then automatically connecting
and integrating the supply chain systems of hubs with the Microsoft Office environments
of their smaller suppliers.
Built on Microsoft technology, BBot is a network appliance of pre-configured
hardware and software. To work, a hub publishes a profile of its different supply
chain systems and processes to the network. Suppliers simply plug BBot into
their LAN and the appliance automatically configures itself to the hub profile.
Using Microsoft Office, BBot instantly bridges supply chain systems, allowing
real-time integration between hubs and suppliers.
The impact of BBot extends beyond supply chain visibility and integration.
Other benefits include:
- Increased responsiveness to market and customer demand. Hubs can react
to market and demand changes in real-time.
- Easy supplier and regulatory compliance. BBot gives small suppliers the
integration infrastructure needed for hubs to comply with RFID, SOX and other
regulations.
- Reduced IT costs. BBot requires virtually no setup or maintenance.
- Maximized value of existing IT investments. BBot improves ERP, CRM and
other supply chain systems by giving each system consistent, accurate and
timely data.
"Supply chain integration at the flip of a switch almost sounds too good
to be true. But, this is exactly what BBot delivers. It's an entirely new concept
and one that we're proud to introduce alongside the world's greatest supply chain
companies here at U Connect," said Daan Scheer, CEO, Covast.
To learn more about the Covast BBot supply chain integration appliance or
Covast's suite of B2B industry solutions, please visit www.covast.com.
About Covast and BBot
Covast, a leading provider of business-to-business integration solutions,
is revolutionizing supply chain integration through the world's first B2B integration
appliance - the Covast BBot. Requiring only a local area network with internet
connection, BBot automatically enables integration between the complex B2B systems
of large supply chain hubs and their smaller customers and suppliers. The result
is improved visibility, compliance, efficiency and accuracy for every supply
chain. Covast is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and an IBM Business Partner.
Covast maintains its European headquarters in the Netherlands and its U.S. headquarters
in Atlanta. For more information, visit http://www.covast.com.
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