NEW ORLEANS -- Behind the flashy curtain of real-time reports and seamless business-to-business data transfers hums the unsung, underappreciated job of forging technical standards.
As the Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards (PCATS) held a week-long series of winter meetings in New Orleans, members applauded the strides with state lottery efforts, endured the tedium of defining invoice processes and recounted the frustration of working with European standards bodies.
While more than 150 retailers and suppliers [image-nocss] attended the four-day summit, some retailers lamented the need for even greater participation. Real business decisions are being made here, said Avsha Klachuk of Dallas-based ALON USA. And more [retailers] need to be here.
Angela Clinard of Clinard Oil Co. Inc., Thomasville, N.C., a six-store retailer, said the very reason she came was to give companies of her size a voice. "I want to make sure that whatever people decide, I can afford it."
Organizers with the Alexandria, Va.-based PCATS orchestrated committee meetings that updated people on members' progress and facilitated work on standards covering everything from loyalty programs to purchase orders.
Jim Wenner of Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz Inc., whose session developed standardized steps for transactions such as purchase orders and invoices, said, "It's not a simple thing to define what we do every day."
In a working session on electronic payment systems, Sharon Scace of London-based BP updated the group on her committee's work with an international standards-making body, noting how they've struggled but are progressing with adjustments to current international standards that will make for a better fit to the business environment here in the United States.
Patrick Lewis of Oasis Stop N Go, Twin Falls, Idaho, also updated members on scenarios for loyalty standards, which progressed to the point of having stages base, moderate and high but encountered concerns about the processes bogging down the transaction. Lewis also expressed a need for additional participation form vendors and retailers going forward.
"We want the [standards we're working on] to be adopted," Lewis said, "but it's difficult to know what retailers and suppliers want if they're not here."
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