http://blogs.gxs.com/keifers Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:39:28 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In my last post I outlined the five primary forces that I think are fundamentally changing the way corporations approach back office finance functions and their banking partners.  However, one of the dynamics I did not explore is the dependency of the business model changes on technology.  Changes to accounting ... http://blogs.gxs.com/keifers/2008/07/24/the-five-forces-transforming-corporate-banking-connectivity/ More bad news for the banking sector this week as five of the largest US financial institutions (Wachovia, SunTrust, Fifth Third, Regions Financial and Washington Mutual) announced a total of $11 billion in quarterly losses.  Just when you think the worst is over, the financial services industry finds a way ... http://blogs.gxs.com/keifers/2008/07/23/the-five-forces-transforming-corporate-banking-relationships/ IndyMac, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mae…government seizures, government bailouts, government regulations…can the banking crisis get any worse?  And this was just the last two weeks!   Earlier this year, we witnessed the collapse of Bear Stearns in the US and the nationalization of Northern Rock in the UK.   For each bank who ... http://blogs.gxs.com/keifers/2008/07/20/sepa-%e2%80%93-the-other-history-making-phenomenon-in-banking-this-year/ In my last post I discussed the issues surrounding labor negotiations at the US West Coast ports.  This potential work stoppage at critical California ports could not come at a worse time.  Suppose, for example, that a work stoppage occurred August 1st.    Record Energy Prices  What are the alternative means of ... http://blogs.gxs.com/keifers/2008/07/15/the-logistics-of-back-to-school-season-2008/ Bank failures, record oil prices, potential automotive bankruptcies…what next?  How about a major port strike in the West Coast of the United States?  Believe it or not, a strike could happen at any minute now.  The dockworkers who manage the California, Oregon and Washington state ports have been operating without ... http://blogs.gxs.com/keifers/2008/07/15/west-coast-port-strikes-still-loom-on-the-horizon/ I was not able to post any blog entries in June as it was an unusually busy month for me.  In some respects I expected to be busy as I had planned some vacation time.  However, I also had a few unexpected events that kept me out of the office.  ... http://blogs.gxs.com/keifers/2008/07/02/can-b2b-e-commerce-save-us-from-salmonella-outbreaks/ As I stated in my last post on the Green Coffee Association’s XML standard offers an excellent example of the Long Tail of B2B Standards.  The standard automates a highly specialized set of business processes within a niche industry subsector.  Tremendous benefits can be derived from market participants as a ... http://blogs.gxs.com/keifers/2008/05/30/green-coffee-xml-and-the-long-tail/ The Long Tail gets Longer  I was visiting a US consumer products brand leader a few weeks ago to present GXS view of market trends and best practices.  Of course, one of the concepts I introduced was my theory on the Long Tail of B2B Standards.  The chart actually initiated a ... http://blogs.gxs.com/keifers/2008/05/22/green-coffee-xml/ SAP recently introduced a new application specifically designed to simplify electronic communications between companies and their financial institutions.  The new application has not received much attention by the press or analyst community, but it should have!   If anyone is well positioned to break down the barriers of straight through processing ... http://blogs.gxs.com/keifers/2008/05/20/can-sap-solve-the-bank-connectivity-challenge/ It is hard to believe that the middle of May has arrived already.  There are only a few weeks remaining before schools let out for summer vacation.  In the coming weeks, many universities and high schools throughout the US will celebrate graduation or commencement exercises.   I was in a greeting ... http://blogs.gxs.com/keifers/2008/05/18/gift-cards-and-graduation-season/