HDMA RELEASES NEW 852 ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE GUIDELINES

New Voluntary Guidelines Will Enable Distributors to More Efficiently Communicate Product Activity Data

ARLINGTON, VA – May 7, 2007 –HDMA is pleased to announce the release of 852 Product Activity Data Guidelines for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). Developed by the HDMA e-Commerce Task Force, these voluntary implementation guidelines are designed to help distributors more efficiently provide inventory, sales and other product information to manufacturers as part of service agreements or inventory management agreements.

The HDMA 852 Product Activity Guidelines can enable trading partners to efficiently communicate current inventory levels, drop ship quantities, quantities sold, forecasted demand, out-of-stock products and more. The HDMA 852 Product Activity Guidelines also can help manufacturers better plan, ship or propose inventory to distributors based on near real-time changes in supply quantities.  The transaction set also can support a more consistent understanding of product activity data, and more accurately reflect current business requirements.

“Encouraging the use of EDI transaction sets is one element of HDMA’s goal to optimize supply chain efficiencies, streamline business processes and increase communications between trading partners,” said Perry Fri, HDMA Senior Vice President of Industry Relations. “HDMA is committed to continually improving business relationships through the innovative use of current and emerging technologies, and these voluntary guidelines will be a valuable tool used to help distributors communicate accurate supply levels to their manufacturer partners. In doing so, manufacturers can work to further ensure that distributors are efficiently re-supplied with the products they need to serve retail pharmacies, nursing homes, clinics, physician offices and other providers, in all 50 states.” 

“The automated exchange of product activity information among supply chain partners helps companies better satisfy customer demand and drive out unnecessary cost,” said Jeff Denton, AmerisourceBergen Corporation’s Director of Supply Chain Management and member of the HDMA e-Commerce Task Force. “Using these guidelines will enable greater levels of cooperation and transparency between trading partners in the healthcare supply chain, effectively enhancing companies’ ability to deliver value.”

The creation of the 852 Product Activity Guidelines was supported by a grant from Axway. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.ShopHDMA.org.

About HDMA
The Healthcare Distribution Management Association (HDMA) is the national association representing primary, full-service healthcare distributors. Each business day, the member companies of HDMA are responsible for ensuring that more than eight million prescription medicines and healthcare products are safely delivered to 145,000 pharmacies, hospitals, nursing homes, physician offices, clinics, government and other providers in all 50 states. This essential public health function is provided with tremendous efficiency, saving the nation’s healthcare system nearly $32 billion each year. HDMA and its members are the vital link in the healthcare system, working daily to provide value, remove costs and develop innovative solutions to deliver care safely and effectively.