Fujitsu has been contracted to construct a new Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) shared operating platform for the food distribution industry as part of an initiative led by the Japan Processed Foods Wholesalers Association and Japan Inforex, Inc.
The initiative aims to improve cooperation and collaboration in non-competitive areas in the food distribution industry.
Efficient communication with partners, customers and suppliers represents an important task for businesses in the food distribution industry. Previous attempts within the industry to develop EDI systems for data exchange with various companies in the ordering and supplying process of food products, however, often led to system complexity and increased development costs.
To address this issue, Fujitsu developed an EDI shared operating platform that enables food distributors to jointly use functions common to different food wholesalers, thereby supporting businesses in reducing costs and workloads related to system development and legal revisions.
As part of the initiative, Fujitsu constructed an EDI shared operating platform to support food distributors in standardising operations.
JII started implementing the new platform developed by Fujitsu with its food distribution companies based in Japan participating in the initiative in October.
The initiative was originally announced by the Japan Processed Foods Wholesalers Association on 26 May and was followed by a basic agreement between JII and food wholesalers affiliated with JII to promote the introduction of a standardised format based on an EDI shared operating platform.
This standardisation platform can help food distributors to reduce system development costs and respond faster to legal revisions.
Moving forward, Fujitsu will continue to introduce the new EDI platform to businesses in the food delivery industry, promote standardised formats and operations, and work together with the Japan Food Industry Association, JII, and food wholesalers to contribute to the solution of problems in the food distribution industry and promote DX.
