15 December 2004 — GXS, a leading provider of B2B e-commerce solutions that simplify and enhance business process integration and collaboration, today announced it has been recognised as a leader in product information management (PIM) by Forrester Research, Inc., a leading worldwide research company. According to Forrester’s recent market evaluation, “Product Information Management Leaders Emerge,” based on the company’s current offering, strategy and market presence, GXS is positioned as a leader in the growing PIM marketplace1.

According to the report's author, Erica Rugullies, GXS’ “product information manager is strong in many core functional and underlying technology areas like the data model, synchronisation, search, user interface, architecture, PIM standards support, and integration. The product is also strong in security/auditing, internationalisation/localisation and configurability/extensibility.”

“We are excited to have achieved leadership status for this rapidly emerging and strategic category,” said Bobby Patrick, senior vice president of marketing at GXS. “Customers are recognising that clean product data creates a foundation for new competitive opportunities and is vital to a long-term differentiated consumer experience. With GXS PIM, customers can eliminate product catalog disparities, substantially reduce invoice errors, and introduce new supply chain collaboration advantages with partners. Combined with our strength powering country data pools, and a relentless commitment to key standards organisations such as EAN International and EPCglobal, GXS is committed to ensuring our customers benefit first from global data synchronisation.”

The GXS PIM solution enables companies to manage and store product information, such as descriptions, dimensions, images and prices. GXS is currently the only provider that offers a complete Data Synchronisation solution for both retailers and suppliers that incorporates Tele-consulting, Community Ramping, PIM Software and Data Pool Services into one package. The Data Synchronisation solution runs on the GXS Trading Grid®, which provides true end-to-end business process visibility through product synchronisation and pricing information, inventory level optimisation and demand forecasting, which speed the overall execution of supply chains.

The Forrester Wave™ methodology was used to evaluate the offerings of 13 vendors. The Forrester Wave is a research graphic built on an open methodology and a straightforward algorithm that exposes vendor scores, key attributes, and weightings in an interactive spreadsheet. The PIM solutions were judged on the strength of current offerings such as features/functions, underlying technology and cost; product roadmap, value proposition and pricing model; and the current market presence.

1Rugullies, Erica, “Product Information Management Leaders Emerge,” Forrester Research, Inc., 8 December 2004.

About GXS
GXS is a leading global provider of B2B e-commerce solutions that simplify and enhance business process integration and collaboration. Organisations worldwide, including more than 75 percent of the Fortune 500, leverage GXS Trading Grid® to achieve balance between supply and demand. Active in the global standards arena, GXS solutions enable customers both large and small, to connect with global partners, synchronise product information, optimise inventory levels and demand forecasts, and accelerate the execution of supply chains.

Headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., GXS provides sales and support to businesses and their partners worldwide. For more information about GXS visit www.gxs.co.uk.