Inovis, a leading provider of Business Community Management solutions, today celebrated 20 years of providing industry-leading multienterprise master data management and data synchronization services to thousands of the largest retailers and their vendors in North America.

The Inovis platform allows suppliers to provide information about all its products including up to 550 distinct products, supply chain or other attributes (i.e. size, color, style, product images, etc.) By entering this product information once into a cloud-based or hosted service, suppliers can make accurate and comprehensive data on entire, seasonal product collections available to all of their customers in a secure manner. The service provides highly-accurate information that serves as multienterprise master data across business communities that feed into retailers’ internal merchandising, ordering, supply chain, customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, accounting and other applications.

Inovis Data Sync has been the market leader in connecting apparel, accessory, cosmetic and other fashion manufacturers around the world with leading general merchandise and apparel retailers in North America. This year Inovis celebrated the expansion of its data synchronization platform in the UK and Europe with the signing of House of Fraser and the successful, early on-boarding of its community of suppliers. In addition, Inovis has seen a 5 fold increase in its support of the Global Data Synchronization Network service, now providing product data service to most of the leading fast moving consumer goods retailers and suppliers. Inovis now has opened the market for customers to seamlessly onboard data to retailers like Wal-Mart, Lowes, Best Buy, SUPERVALU, Sears and many others.

“We’re proud of our long history in data sync as we partnered with our customers to drive industry adoption, innovation and geographic expansion over our first 20 years in this industry,” said Sean Feeney, President and CEO of Inovis. “We look forward to accelerating our innovation and in transforming how companies manage the vast amounts of data between their organizations and their vast, global supplier communities during the next 20 years.

Later this month, Inovis will officially retire its legacy Data Sync platform to make way for the new, state-of-the art Data Sync 4.0 platform. The Inovis Data Sync 4.0 platform leverages technology and automation to enable suppliers and their channel partners (i.e.: retailers, distributors and brokers) to exchange, approve and manage accurate product, pricing and forecasting data.

Additionally, Inovis Data Sync now provides a variety of validation checks to improve data integrity, a fully operational ‘open’ Web Services API for realtime integration, and support for image and multi-media file formats. Customers gain efficiencies as suppliers only have to provide information once in order to reach all their key customers, without having to worry about how, when and what data each one of those key customers require.

Inovis Salutes Data Sync Pioneers — Our Customers

The first retailers to sign onto the Inovis Data Sync platform were Macys, Dillard’s and Hill Department Stores. These companies shared Inovis’ vision that there had to be a better way to manage the ordering, merchandising, assortment and planning processes in addition to order fulfillment and supply chain management.

The first apparel designer and manufacturer to go live on the Inovis Data Sync platform was Hart Schaffner Marx, and the company continues to be one of the largest data sync users with more than three millions SKUs on the platform alone. Other visionary suppliers that were early adopters of data synchronization were Haggar, Hanes, Levi, Maiden Form, Playtex and Vanity Fair.

"Dillard's has been focused on improving our company's responsiveness to customer demand and changing trends by developing better collaborative technologies and processes with our trading partners," said Bill Holder, Vice President & CIO of Dillard's. "Inovis has been active in supporting these initiatives, and the Inovis Data Sync platform has provided trusted supplier data to assist our systems to continue to achieve these goals."

“Well before customer mandates became the norm, Hartmarx clearly recognized the value that product data synchronization would bring – not just to companies like ours but also to our customers and the evolution of those critical business relationships,” said Shouvik Dutta, Vice President of Information Technology, Hart Schaffner Marx. “Data synchronization was a transformational development for companies in an industry that required all parties to manage so many relationships based on ever-changing information.”

Looking Back: Retrospective on Data Sync, Fashion, Pop-Culture & World Milestones

Having been deeply involved in the fashion and general merchandise and apparel industry for 20 years or more, Inovis has been in the trenches to see changing fashions as well as major cultural milestones.

2008

• Inovis retires legacy data sync platform, expands aggressively into UK with House of Fraser.
• Fortune tagged fashion-forward shoes, see-through clothing, a cool place to hang out, industrial fabrics and the scarf as the 5 fashion trends of 2008.
• Historic presidential election concludes in the United States.
• President-elect, Barack Obama, is the 2008 Time Person of the Year.

2006

• Inovis introduces Web Services for Data Sync.
• The miniskirt & minidress, skinny jeans, platform boot and wide belt were top fashion trends.
• Daniel Powter’s Bad Day ruled the charts and was everywhere. Other hot musical acts were James Blunt, Sean Paul, Nelly Furtado, Shakira and Natasha Bedingfield.
• The Departed wins Best Picture Oscar
• “You” were the Time Person of the Year

2004

• Inovis launches Data Sync 4.0 and multi-year migration effort for thousands of its retail customers and their suppliers.
• According to the Greg Morago of The Hartford Courant, this year in fashion was memorable for “bright colors, layering, embellishments, feminine skirts and feminine touches like flowery prints and sweet bows.”
• Usher had 2 offerings in the The Billboard Hot 100 followed by Alicia Keys, Maroon 5 and Outkast.
• Million Dollar Baby wins award for Best Picture at the 77^th Academy Awards
• President George W. Bush was the Time Person of the Year

2003

• Inovis breaks through 100 million SKU ceiling.
• According to the Marjorie Skinner of the Portland Mercury, the losing fashions of this year were mesh trucker hats, faux hawks and mullets, leg warmers and more!
• 50 Cent topped the charts with R. Kelly, Sean Paul, Beyonce/Jay Z and 3 Doors Down in hot pursuit.
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won the Oscar for Best Picture.
• The American Solider was the Time Person of the Year

  2001

• Data Sync 3.0 is launched to address new markets and Global Data Sync.
• Tanks, miniskirts, military chic, oversized flowers and more were the hot fashion trends this year
• Albums from Lifehouse, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, Train and Jennifer Lopez were tops in 2001.
• A Beautiful Mind won the Oscar for Best Picture.
• Rudy Giuliani was the Time Person of the Year

1998

• Inovis hits 50 million unique product items.
• Fashion trends included khaki pants, low rise jeans, spaghetti strap tank tops, Capri pants and the color pink.
• Albums from Next, Brandy/Monica, Shania Twain, Savage Garden and LeAnn Rhimes sat atop the Billboard Hot 100 Albums this year.
• Shakespeare in Love won Best Picture honors at the 71^st Academy Awards.
• Kenneth Starr & Bill Clinton were Time’s Men of the Year

1997

• Web-based User Interface is unveiled.
• Mary Jane Shoes, Punk and Goth and cargo pants were some of the fashion trends this year
• Elton John’s album, “Candle in the Wind,” itself a tribute to the late fashion, cultural and philanthropic icon, Princess Diana, topped the charts this year along with albums from Jewel, Puff Daddy and Toni Braxton
• Titanic was Picture of the Year.
• Andrew Grove was the Time Man of the Year

1994

• Data Sync Manager is released.
• Urban street wear, high shine fabrics, the Wonder Bra and other trends
• Ace of Base, All-4-One, Boyz 2 Men, Celine Dion and Mariah Carey topped the Billboard Hot 100 Albums
• Forrest Gump was Picture of the Year.
• Pope John Paul II was the Time Man of the Year

  1988

• Data Sync launched, first retailers and suppliers sign on to synchronize product item data.
• Shoulder pads in women’s apparel designs were fading, but power dressing continued to persist.
• George Michael’s album “Faith” topped the charts along with INXS, George Harrison, Rick Astely and Guns N’ Roses
• Rain Man was Picture of the Year.
• Mikhail Gorbachev was the Time Man of the Year

Inovis' Business Community Management (BCM) creates a comprehensive view of a supply chain by integrating the technology, business processes and communication of the entire business community. By standardizing the technology and business community communication, Inovis helps companies better manage the supply chains and create sustainable value through three key avenues: increasing end-to-end visibility, reducing business-to-business complexity and automating entire trading communities.

About Inovis

Inovis provides the most reliable software and services platform for managing business communities. We help buyers and sellers transact, synchronize data and manage exceptions with their business partners, reducing the complexity and cost of doing business electronically. Each day, over 20,000 companies across the globe rely on Inovis to reliably send and receive orders, lower supply chain costs and get products to customers faster. Founded in 1983, Inovis is based in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit www.inovis.com. Inovis is a trademark of Inovis, Inc.