In 2015 Foundational began an effort to improve the technology underlying its managed B2B e-commerce services.  Earlier this year that effort resulted in the hire of Mark Duffy as Lead Developer.  This week, the results are starting to show as the first phase of Foundational’s newly redesigned web-based customer portal was released.

The easy to understand interface has been well received by Foundational users.  Amie Meeken of JT Eaton says “the new portal has proven invaluable when I need to review transmissions for any number of reasons. It is incredibly quick to sort by partner and find the information I need. Clear and concise and easy to use. It saves so much time!!”

The functionality is similar to the prior portal – giving the end user insight to their EDI activity on Foundational’s Managed EDI Service.   The next phase of the portal is expected to be released later this summer and will include transaction resend capabilities.  By year’s end the portal will support transaction creation and correction, and will offer an API that end users can use to tighten integration with their business systems and mine valuable information about their e-business traffic.

Beyond the feature set, the more far reaching improvement is under the hood.   The new Foundational Portal is built entirely upon REST web services.  The decision to base all external facing technology, including the Foundational Portal, on web services will enable Foundational to create the systems that will enable real time collaboration across the supply chain.  Already, several users of Foundational’s Managed EDI Service use APIs and web services to interface their ERP systems with the Service.  As these real time communications methods become more prevalent the Foundational Service will be well positioned to enable real time collaboration across business systems with little to no effort on the part of the end user.

About Foundational e-Business

Foundational e-Business is a Pittsburgh based division of Paragon Consulting specializing in managed EDI and e-business services.  We offer a cost effective and easy to implement managed EDI service, where we act as the outsourced EDI department for our customers.  Foundational staff has decades of experience with EDI in various industries, including steel processing, manufacturing, distribution, and logistics.  Foundational can be reached by email via info@getfoundational.com or by phone at 888-657-2345.