GLOBAL EXCHANGE & VERISIGN ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP TO ENHANCE GXS TRADING GRID WITH ELECTRONIC PRODUCT CODES
10 December 2004 - Global Exchange Services (GXS)

VeriSign, the provider of intelligent infrastructure services for the Internet and telecommunications networks, and Global Exchange Services, a provider of business-to-business (B2B) integration services, has announced a partnership that extends the GXS Trading Grid to support the use of Electronic Product Codes (EPC) and integration with the EPCglobal Network. The EPC is the next generation of product identification that was uniquely designed and built to allow companies to share dynamic product information over a distributed network infrastructure.

The agreement will assist GXS to enhance the Trading Grid with Object Naming Services (ONS) from VeriSign, the exclusive provider of ONS services to EPCglobal. The ONS is a key component of the EPCglobal Network that helps companies quickly discover information such as the condition and location of products that move in a globally distributed supply chain. Access to this information assists manufacturers and retailers to improve their execution of high value processes that impact operating performance and customer relationships.

'With the emergence of RFID and EPC technology as a new standard in tracking key inventory, we have strategically aligned our Trading Grid services with a capable partner to deliver the best product for our customers,' said Bobby Patrick, senior vice president of marketing at GXS. 'VeriSign's leadership in the provisioning of EPC infrastructure and proven ability to deliver highly reliable services on a massive scale are a perfect match for the Trading Grid and we are truly excited to be working together to make the EPCglobal Network more accessible to our customers.'

As companies increasingly pursue real-time inventory visibility and government agencies require product traceability, highly accessible reference information is critical to business processes. Containing product information for more than 60 million items as well as shipment order, and invoice information for millions of transactions annually, the GXS Trading Grid is positioned to leverage the EPCglobal Network's ability to track RFID tagged items. Integrating ONS into the Trading Grid will help enhance the ability of hosted applications to locate and utilise product information that is distributed across trading partner systems.

'GXS is a recognised leader in B2B information exchange and VeriSign is pleased to be supporting integration to the EPCglobal Network through the GXS Trading Grid,' said Brian Matthews, vice president of directory services at VeriSign. 'The power of the EPCglobal Network depends on each company's ability to access information linked to EPCs, and our work with GXS will help enable this access for their customers.'

Long known for its role in operating the critical infrastructure underlying the Domain Name System (DNS), telecommunications networks, and security and payment networks, VeriSign is directing its expertise to support the EPCglobal Network and RFID infrastructure. In addition to operating the root server for the Object Naming Service (ONS) of the EPCglobal Network, VeriSign is also providing managed services to help companies explore the network without requiring extensive investments as standards evolve.

VeriSign (http://www.verisign.com) delivers intelligent infrastructure services that make the Internet and telecommunications networks more intelligent, reliable, and secure.

http://www.gxs.xom

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