The benefits of standards
A standard is a commonly agreed way of doing something. Standards not only make life simpler but are hugely important in increasing the interoperability, effectiveness and efficiency of any repeated interaction. Standards can be published documents containing technical specifications, rules, guidelines or definitions. They are an important part of life in every industry. Standards save money and drive efficiency.
Standards are usually developed through consensus by experts and interested parties within an industry. They evolve to meet the continuing needs of an industry and in most cases, as with DDEX standards, are adopted voluntarily. In some environments such as health or construction, standards are mandated by a government or supra-governmental organisation.
Using a standardised method if expressing information and a standardised way of delivering it cuts out the need to adapt your systems for every organisation you intend to do business with. If everyone is using the same standards, communicating data becomes easier and cheaper, ultimately meaning there is more revenue to be distributed across the whole digital supply chain.
As the digital supply chain increasingly relies on high volume, low value transactions, only the use of standards can deliver the crucial operating efficiency required. Similarly, as margins are squeezed only an automated global transaction processing infrastructure based on these standards will provide the savings needed to reverse that trend.