Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Electronic Data Interchange E

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Electronic Data Interchange Every Thing You Ever Wanted to Know About EDI By Brian Harris December 1, 1998 ISDS 4800 Sec. 001 Introduction First of all what is EDI? Well EDI, or Electronic Data Interchange, is the transfer of business documents such as sales invoices, purchase orders, price quotations, etc. using a pre-established format in a paperless electronic environment. Usually this transfer occurs over VANs, Value Added Networks, but it is becoming increasingly popular over the Internet because of cost savings and ease of use. EDI has been around for approximately 30 years. The true genesis of EDI occurred in the mid-1960s, as an early attempt at implementing the fictional paperless office by companies in transportation, grocery and retail industry segments. Although EDI never eliminated paper documents, it decreased the number of times such documents were handled by people. Reduced handling resulted in fewer errors and faster transfers (Millman, 83). EDI technology is rapidly changing the way business is conducted throughout the world. Firms that use EDI are more efficient and responsive to the needs of customers and partners and in many cases have jumped out ahead of the competition. Many businesses are already using EDI with suppliers and customers, and if your firm wants to do business with companies involved in Government Dealings EDI must be part of your business no later than January 1, 1999. In May of this year, the major industrial groups in charge of standards setting for EDI, have united behind a set of standards that will allow for seamless web-based forms using extensible markup language, similar to HTML, thereby increasing the accessibility of EDI for small businesses on the Internet (Campbell, 28). An example of an application for EDI is filing tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS offers several options for filing your tax return, one of which is filing electronically and receiving your refund by electronic funds transfer or direct deposit. The forms used are available in tax preparation software, which can be downloaded off the Internet or purchased by retail. The forms are filled out directly on a PC then transmitted to another computer, which acts as a midpoint to the IRS. The IRS receives your forms and can issue a refund without ever having to reprocess the data. By using this method you save yourself and the IRS time and money (Campbell, 28). How EDI Works Table came from Information Technology for Management by Turban, McLean and Wetherbe page 244. Information, such as purchase orders for medical supplies, flows from the hospital's information system into an EDI station, which consist of a PC, an EDI translator and a modem. From there, the information moves to a VAN (Value Added Network). The Van transfers the formatted information to the vendor, where the vendor side EDI translator converts it to a desired format (Turban, 244). An EDI translator does the conversion of data into standard format. An example of such formatting is shown below. Table came from Information Technology for Management by Turban, McLean and Wetherbe page 243. An average hospital generates about 15,000 purchase orders each year at a processing cost of about $70 per order. The health Industry Business Communication Council estimates that EDI can reduce this cost to $4 per order, potential yearly savings of $840,000 per hospital. The required investment ranges between $8,000 and $15,000. This includes the purchase of a PC with an EDI translator, a modem, and a link to the mainframe-based information system. The hospital can have two or three ordering points. These are connected to a value-added network (VAN), which connects the hospitals to its suppliers. (See figure on previous page) The system can also connect to other hospitals, or to centralized joint purchasing agencies. (Turban, 244). Benefits of EDI There are numerous benefits associated with the adoption of EDI. Probably the most important and largest benefit is efficiency. By utilizing EDI businesses are able to streamline their whole supply chain process. Whether it is upstream to suppliers or downstream to customers, EDI eliminates repetitive tasks such as entering data multiple times and cuts costs of printing hard copies and transportation costs. EDI also allows you to send and receive large amounts of data quickly to or from anywhere in the

Amy Lee Essays

Amy Lee Essays Amy Lee Essay Amy Lee Essay Amy Lee Amy Lynn Lee, singer-songwriter and classically-trained pianist, is co-founder and lead singer of the alternative metal band Evanescence. Inspired by her mother, Lee spent nine years of her life practicing piano. Lee was born to parents John Lee, radio personality, and Sara Cargill. Living in Florida and California, they finally settled in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the band Evanescence began. Hearing Lee’s beautiful voice and heartfelt words, tears fall from the cheeks of some listening. Her words resonate in the soul of the receiver. At a summer youth camp, Ben Moody noticed Lee on the piano playing the song, â€Å"I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),† by Meatloaf. A month later, the two began writing songs, eventually producing Evanescence EP in 1998, Sound Asleep EP in 1999, and the full length demo, Origin, in 2000. Signing with Wind-Up Records, Evanescence released Fallen in 2003, selling six point six million copies and spending 43 weeks in the Billboard top ten. Evanescence’s major label debut single, â€Å"Bring Me to Life,† was a major hit for the band and reached number five on the American Billboard Hot 100, while the equally popular â€Å"My Immortal† peaked at number seven in the United States. Their inclusion in the soundtrack for the action movie, â€Å"Daredevil,† helped propel both songs into widespread popularity and firmly cemented Evanescence within the music scene. â€Å"Bring Me to Life† gained recognition for the band at the Grammy Awards of 2004, where the band was given the Best Hard Rock Performance award. At the same time, Evanescence was awarded Best New Artist. Lead-guitarist Ben Moody abruptly left the band during the middle of their European tour. Relieved of an abusive relationship with Moody, Lee states, â€Å"Before, I wasn’t allowed to play any organ because Ben didn’t like it. This time I could do whatever I wanted, and there’s lots of organ. It’s all over. † (Lee) Moody was replaced by Terry Balsamo, the former Limp Bizkit guitarist. Meanwhile, the band went through numerous obstacles: Balsamo suffered from a stroke, Lee sued her manager, claiming sexual assault, and Lee broke ties with her boyfriend, Seether’s Shaun Morgan. Lee and Morgan produced a duet, â€Å"Broken,† which appears in the soundtrack to â€Å"The Punisher. † After three years absence, Evanescence’s second album, The Open Door, was released. The Open Door debuted at the top of the Billboard charts, selling more than 447,000 units in its first week and reached platinum status in just over a month. The album is defined by Lee’s beautiful melodies, compelling lyrics, deeply moving piano and amazing vocals, blended with Terry Balsamo’s urgent yet intricate guitar to form a seamless, delicate mixture that perfectly channels the band’s hard rock and classical sensibilities. The album’s first single, â€Å"Call Me When You’re Sober,† bashes Morgan for his drug addiction. Lee began writing at the tender age of eleven. She remains true to herself through life’s trials, writing and singing from the heart, captivating audiences worldwide. When Lee and Moody, co-founders of Evanescence, began singing, Lee was only sixteen. Lee has matured over the years, as is reflected in the album The Open Door. As Alen Meltzer, CEO of Wind-Up Records, states, â€Å"She is the female voice of her generation. She’s come into her own as a writer and a singer. She made this record with no label involvement. It was all her. † (Meltzer). Some may find the lyrics of Evanescence offensive, yet others may find them soothing, finally having someone put words to their pain and anger.