IBM has announced its second electronic trading package, Retail5, launched only a few months after the PS/1-based NHS5, designed for National and Regional Health Service Authorities and suppliers (CI No 1,571). Retail5 is being targeted at companies which supply goods to retailers using electronic trading, and IBM claims that since the new package conforms to ADA Tradacoms standards, described as the dominant electronic data interchange standards in the UK retail community, it should be suitable for most operators. Retail5 handles the electronic messages to receive orders and send invoices, and it also sends and receives electronic mail. It connects to the IBM Electronic Data Interchange Services, the Information Exchange, and to the ICL Plc-General Electric Information Services joint venture International Network Services’ Tradanet. The package comprises electronic data interchange software, electronic mail and data interchange software from Entity Software Ltd, communications software and modem, as well as initial registration and one year’s usage of the Information Network. Unlike the NHS5 offering, this retail package does not include a PS/1, which IBM UK is treating as its cheapest repository of computer power, although it runs on the PS/1, PS/2 and other MS-DOS-based computers. Available from IBM’s dealers, Retail5 costs UKP3,500 including a PS/1, or UKP2,500 without the hardware, emphasising the fact that even a single package can often cost more than the hardware for which it is written these days.
