May 9, 2018

PortX: The Evolution in B2B Integration

by Kent Brown in Announcements , B2B/EDI , Digital Transformation 0 comments

by Kent Brown, CTO

Today we are excited to announce the launch of the PortX B2B platform – the cloud-native B2B automation platform that revolutionizes the way businesses communicate with their trading partners. This release is a culmination of our deep experience deploying our current tools which help many large and small customers with their B2B, EDI and partner automation challenges.

At a time when technology is developing at a dizzying pace, and cool, world-changing technologies like AI and Blockchain, bots and robots, and self-driving cars are all the rage, why develop a product in one of the oldest, stodgiest areas?

First, B2B is a massive part of the economy. In fact, using a new economic metric called Gross Output, or GO, we’ve found that B2B spending is roughly double the most often tracked GDP figure.

Second, Digital Transformation is currently the hottest paradigm for how to apply technology in all areas of a business. Digital transformations make organizational improvements possible and more efficient by adapting to changes and delivering innovative value to customers. Since B2B is such a large part of the economy, it is imperative that it be addressed when applying the latest digital transformation technology advancements to business operations and transactions.

Until now, B2B technology has stagnated and seen limited innovation in the last 10 years. Much of what exists today is costly, requires much manual input and is still prone to human error. The most elite companies in the supply chain field such as Walmart and Amazon, have built their own elaborate trading partner management tools to create competitive advantage by optimizing supply chains.

As an example, Walmart’s Vendor Inventory Management system includes a supplier self-service portal that allows upstream partners to view and manage their own inventory, greatly increasing the reliability of their inventory data in a scalable way. Amazon’s partner management system has the ability to automatically test B2B transactions from newly onboarding partners. This testing covers more than just format compliance, but adherence to Amazon’s business rules for specific scenarios which they require of their trading partners. This testing results in a smooth and error-free go-live, instead of scrambling to fix issues once in production.

Most small and mid-sized businesses don’t have the resources to effectively compete with the technology advantages of these powerhouses. With PortX, ModusBox is providing leading-edge B2B solutions for organizations of any size.

PortX provides a value-priced solution for companies looking to improve the onboarding and management of their trading partners, and increase operational efficiencies with B2B automation. Further, the PortX platform offers self-service options for multiple users – from IT to line-of-business analysts, to partners themselves – offering power, visibility, agility, and collaboration throughout the B2B transaction workflow.

We are pleased to present this new platform to you and look forward to feedback as we drive next-generation innovation through B2B automation.

Companies looking to improve their trading partner management and communications should contact the team at PortX. ModusBox is also offering a limited number of early adopters special pricing and early access to the platform.