MENLO PARK, Calif. & NEWARK, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AgriWorld Exchange, the first live online agri-trading marketplace, has entered into an agreement with the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) to use ASAP Produce in its online exchange. Under terms of the agreement, AgriWorld Exchange traders will be able to select a commodity from the PMA's ASAP Produce pre-loaded catalog, ensuring uniformity of product identification. The AgriWorld Exchange platform has been built to move seamlessly from ASAP Produce to the GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) system as it becomes increasingly adopted in the industry.
"Agri-trading is more and more a global undertaking," explains Dr. Arlin Torbett, Chairman and CEO of AgriWorld Exchange. "In order to avoid mistakes and ensure expectations are met, it is imperative that we use a common 'language' to define and describe produce items. PMA's ASAP and GTIN provide just what the market needs, and we have built our platform to be able to accommodate both."
The agreement permits AgriWorld Exchange to display ASAP Produce codes when users select products to buy or sell. With product names based on the ASAP Produce uniform product identification code, buyers and sellers around the world will be assured that they are dealing with the exact products they expect.
The PMA's ASAP Produce is a database of standardized attributes and values for ordering, shipping and invoicing products. The rich database of produce items assists buyers and sellers in managing and maintaining visibility into the produce supply chain for purposes of investigation, category management and efficiency. The incorporation of ASAP Produce by AgriWorld Exchange assists in the worldwide effort to standardize on how buyers and sellers categorize and group products and provides a much-needed first step toward eventual adoption and use of GTIN.
The coming GTIN system will build on the attributes already in place, expanding the range of information out to enable users to mine and sort by grower shipper. This will enable buyers to easily determine which specific grower's products meet their customers demands, and will enable sellers to prove that their products are moving better than their competitors.
"The agribusiness world is increasingly turning to the Internet for speed and cost savings, and ASAP Produce and GTIN are key factors in the standardization movement required by e-commerce," comments Gary Fleming, vice president of Industry Technologies and Standards for the PMA. "An online exchange like AgriWorld Exchange that is built to support both today's ASAP Produce and tomorrow's GTIN will definitely help the industry move to use of supply chain technologies such as RFID, bar-coding and the like. That's the big win here."
AgriWorld Exchange is the first online agri-trading marketplace designed specifically to enable buyers and sellers worldwide to connect online in an innovative open market for fresh produce. AgriWorld Exchange gives trading members a powerful and secure e-commerce platform to conduct agribusiness efficiently, driving greater profitability and expanded market reach for member businesses.
For sellers, AgriWorld Exchange's online trading system links trading members to an ever-expanding worldwide network of qualified buyers, providing the tools to negotiate the best available price and sales terms. Automated features simplify common transaction processes, improving sales productivity and reducing the cost of generating new business.
For buyers, AgriWorld Exchange is a real-time buying assistant, locating the products they need, when they need them. They can quickly search for the new products and convenient packages that customers want, in a streamlined purchasing process that makes it easy to complete more transactions every day.
