Hub Alliance to implement Twist standards

Both the Hub Alliance and TWIST aim to close the gaps for automation in the physical and financial supply chain and to release the enormous value locked up in disjointed paper-based processes.

The Hub Alliance members, actively participate and are represented in the working groups for the development and maintenance of TWIST standards. The members will ensure that the TWIST standards can be kept in line with those currently used for the inter-connectivity for the thousands of documents already passing between buyers and sellers that use different service providers that are part of the consortium.

"One of the main aims of interoperability is to remove the barriers to adoption and to encourage the use of electronic data" said Neil Baker on behalf of the Hub Alliance, "In that respect, openness and ease of use are key ingredients, and we are pleased to support and endorse the TWIST standards as a means of making electronic trading easier for all their customers, thereby extending the marketplace. Open trading is then achieved at lower cost and in a shorter time."

Tom Buschman, Chairman of TWIST, commented: "The members of the Hub Alliance have already provided a significant contribution to the supply chain standards for ordering, invoicing and dispute management that were recently incorporated in the 3.0 release of TWIST. We welcome the continued commitment of the four consortium members. We are encouraged by the public commitment of the consortium members to apply the TWIST standards as the basis for interoperability between their platforms and their pro-active support for electronic communication with their customers based on our standards. This is a significant step towards the integration of wholesale electronic invoicing with electronic payments based on the XML standards developed by IFX, OAGi, SWIFT and TWIST under the ISO 20022 umbrella."