Textrade debuts new technology

Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 3/19/2001 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK -Textrade.com Inc., the global textile network, is introducing a new document management solution that enables companies to work in concert with their trading partners via the Internet.

Dubbed TextradeOffice, the system allows trading partners to communicate more efficiently about the status of inbound and outbound shipments and share all documents relevant to the procurement process. The system also seamlessly integrates different businesses' existing information technology systems to create a private data network.

"What this means is that TextradeOffice eliminates the paper chase associated with international trade," said Patrick Tan, Textrade's chief technology officer. "All import/export documentation from a company's suppliers and customers is organized in a virtual folder that is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week from anywhere in the world. There's no more calling customers for missing documentation. No more lost faxes."

TextradeOffice, which is now being released internationally, also lets companies meet their customers' electronic data requirements without having to hire technical staff or host the software applications. Members enter documents through a Web browser and TextradeOffice will automatically deliver the documents to customers' legacy enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

TextradeOffice offers sharing and central archiving of transaction documents, including contracts, purchase and sales orders, invoices, packing lists, shipping advice, quota certificates, letter of credit authorizations and certificates of origin.

Textrade's members include representatives from leading textile companies and organizations such as Chinatex; the Textile Distributors Association; CMI Industries; Alice Mills; East Asia Textiles; Noble Mills; La Commerciale; and the Taiwan Textile Federation.