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Baker & Taylor and epixtech Team Up to Offer Library Customers Electronic Ordering and Invoicing Baker & Taylor( 11/06/2000 ) Baker & Taylor library customers are now able to place orders and receive invoices directly over the Internet through EDIFACT (the international standard for electronic data interchange) using their Horizon acquisitions software. Horizon is a turnkey acquisitions software product of epixtech. Baker & Taylor and epixtech successfully completed testing orders and invoices with Horizon earlier this month. Both orders and invoices can be transmitted and received by the customer's Horizon system via Internet file transfer protocol (FTP). Baker & Taylor library customers who have the Horizon acquisitions system can now take advantage of electronic ordering and invoicing at no additional charge, eliminating the need for a modem and phone line to send orders. "This service is another example of our focus on enhancing customer service -- making it easier for customers to do business with us," said Michael Harris, director of information technology group at Baker & Taylor. "It also demonstrates our commitment to making the latest in technology work for us." Rob Walton, epixtech's director of product management and marketing, noted, "epixtech's Horizon library software has proved to be extremely versatile. Baker & Taylor has found a new and exciting way to use the Horizon acquisitions module of the system in connection with EDIFACT to aid their library customers with electronic invoicing. It is very gratifying for us to see our product used in a new way that will aid libraries and businesses." The Omaha Public Library in Nebraska was one of the first customers to begin electronic ordering/invoicing with Baker & Taylor using the Horizon system. Francis (Grant) Geiger, head of the ordering department for the Omaha Public Library, said, "Electronic invoicing is just terrific. It saves work and is easy to use. Right from the start the data was accurate. Both epixtech and Baker & Taylor should be commended for their cooperation in making electronic invoicing a reality." The invoicing method is known as EDI (electronic data interchange) - an intercompany computer-to-computer exchange of structured business documents in standard formats. Through EDI, invoices, purchase orders and other common business forms are transformed to a standard data format and transferred between trading partners via FTP across the Internet. The new EDI capability conforms to the EDIFACT EDI standard. Baker & Taylor's Interface EDI Liaison Sara Bate said, "Baker & Taylor is dedicated to the development of EDI for the exchange of business documents. We will continue to work with standards committees, automated library system developers and our customers to ensure that the EDI process is accurate and trouble-free." Baker & Taylor, Inc. is a global information and entertainment services company that offers books, videos, music and services to traditional and Internet retailers, libraries and educational institutions. It is based in Charlotte, N.C. For more information on Baker & Taylor, visit www.btol.com. epixtech is the leading provider of automation technologies, solutions and services for more than 7,600 libraries worldwide. epixtech's award-winning library automation solutions meet the needs of academic, research, public, corporate, consortia and K-12 school libraries. For more information, visit epixtech's Web site at www.epixtech.com.
For more information on how your company can take advantage of these new services, call Baker & Taylor at 1-800-775-3700.
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