XML

What is it and why do I need it?

By James R. Broughton

You and your employees do it every day. It is a simple task, but it takes up a lot of your time, your vendors' time, and your customers' time. It starts when your customer calls you and wants a particular inventory item. You don't have that item in stock, or you don't carry it. You know your vendor does, so you quickly call the vendor to ask him if he has it, and if so, how much you have to pay for it so you know what to charge your customer.

If you are lucky, you get right through to the vendor's inside salesperson. If you are not so lucky, you end up being put on hold or having to leave a message for him to call you. Then you have to tell your customer that you will have to get right back to him on the pricing and availability.

You have a simple question for your vendor. “Do you have it in stock?” And if the answer is “yes,” you ask, “What is my price?” A simple question, but three people are involved. You, the inside salesperson for the vendor, and the customer. In this case, time truly is money. You not only have people-time involved, but the customer may be checking other sources while waiting on you. If the next source has the item in stock at the right price, you just lost a sale.

So how do you eliminate this bottleneck? Thanks to the people at GAWDA and a programming language referred to as XML (Extensible Markup Language), the solution is just around the corner. XML is a programming language that makes it easy for one computer to talk to another. The Internet has created a tremendous opportunity to connect computers all over the world and allow them to communicate with each other. But in most cases, the information is one way. You may go to the vendor's Web site for generic information such as MSDS sheets or product sheets, but most of the time there is very little two-way communication. XML is the tool that facilitates two-way communication.

With XML, two trading partners (you and your vendor) agree to send and receive a request for specific information in a very clearly defined format. In other words, if you send an electronic request to your vendor, they will know exactly what you are asking for. When the vendor sends the requested information back to you, you will be able to easily interpret the data. The crucial part here is the clearly defined format or standard, and that is where GAWDA comes in.

Scott Ernschwender and the Management Information Committee at GAWDA have developed a set of standards for communicating with your vendors electronically using XML. Each of the major software vendors serving the GAWDA membership participated in the development of the standards. As a result, the solutions being discussed should be available to a large majority of the industry. One of the first standards developed is for checking pricing and availability. This transaction has the potential to save you, your customer and your vendor a great deal of time.

Saving Time and Money
The first step in saving time involves being able to initiate the price check from your computer terminal without having to call the vendor. Instead of dialing the number for the vendor, you will be able to tell the program you are using that you want to go ask Vendor ABC if they have this item in stock, and if so what is the price. The program initiates the XML request and sends it off to the vendor through that magical medium known as the Internet. You eliminate the phone call. You eliminate the time spent talking to the inside salesperson. And you eliminate the dreaded game of phone tag.

The next step involves the vendor's computer receiving your request. The vendor's computers are constantly checking to see if you have seen any requests for pricing and availability. As soon as it sees your request, it is processed. The XML standard allows the vendor's computer to know exactly what you are asking for and the format in which you expect it to be returned to you.

The vendor's computers determine that the item is in stock and calculate your special price for the item. The information you requested is sent back through the Internet to your computer. Just like the vendor's computer, yours is constantly checking to see if any information has come back from a vendor. As soon as the information is received, it is relayed to the program that originally requested it and displayed it on the screen for your inside salesperson.

Your salesperson has the information he needs to respond to your customer. He can tell them that the item is available and how much it will cost them. All of this takes place in five or ten seconds. By the time your salesperson has asked the customer how their family is doing or how they like that new motorcycle they just bought, the information is back on their screen. Your customer never even realizes that you had to talk to your vendor. All they know is that they had a question and you answered it quickly, which saves them time and money.

In a Fall 2002 article, GAWDA Technology Consultant Scott Ehrnschwender described XML as an up and coming technology deserving member attention. A year later, he explained in more detail about the benefits of XML for distributors. Read these two articles here: Four Digital Technologies Deserving Member Attention Extensible Markup Language

So how much can XML and the GAWDA standard save you? The answer to that depends upon the number of times each day you have to call your vendors. Then you have to think about how much time is spent talking to the vendor's salesperson about the family or the football game this weekend. Then you have to factor in the wait time for your customer. Are they frustrated because you always have to call them back? Are they going someplace else for the item while you are playing phone tag with your vendor? Are you losing profitable business because you could not deliver the requested information fast enough?

Getting Started
Make sure your software supplier is familiar with XML and has a plan for incorporating it into their software. Contact your vendors and make sure they are also working on incorporating XML into their software. Remind them how much it benefits you and them.

The capabilities of XML, combined with the standards developed by GAWDA's Management Information Committee, offer a huge potential for improving productivity and customer service. Your salespeople can increase sales by spending less time on the phone with vendors and more time on the phone talking to customers. Your vendor benefits by having to take fewer phone calls and by freeing up their inside salespeople for other tasks. Your customer benefits by getting the information they need in a much more timely fashion. It is truly a technology where everybody wins.