Bochum. On Tuesday, leading representatives of the German petroleum industry came together for the 14th IFLEXX meeting in Bochum. Organized by Hamburg-based IT and consulting company Implico, the all-day meeting was attended by a total of 14 companies from the refinery, tank terminal, trade, service station, software and consulting sectors.
Together the attendees looked back on the 10-year success story of IFLEXX. What began as a shared idea in 2008 is now regarded nationwide as the de facto standard for data communication in the oil and gas industry. The delegates of the attending companies also assessed the benefits offered by IFLEXX and discussed the challenges ahead. In a segment entitled “Compartment Handling”, they exchanged ideas on what the ideal data transfer between freight forwarders and tank terminals should look like in practice. Another key point of discussion was the synchronization of the IFLEXX standard, which is mainly used in German-speaking countries, with the widely used international PIDX standard.
IFLEXX (which stands for International File Exchange XML) is a standardized open source format for exchanging data between oil and gas companies. This format offers its users significant advantages, for example when transmitting detailed data records or sending loading data in different directions. The IFLEXX community meets once or twice a year to discuss the application, extension and adaptation of the XML-based standard.
“In regard to data communication, the German petroleum industry is very well positioned – not least because of the open IFLEXX format and the many possibilities it offers,” says Stephan Buhre, Managing Director at Implico GmbH and IFLEXX specialist. “The 14th community meeting was a full success. On the one hand, the strong participation and the active exchange show the great importance IFLEXX has achieved within the oil and gas industry in the last ten years. And on the other hand, we also managed to discuss key points to render cross-company data exchange even more effective in the future.”
For more information on the IFLEXX standard and the IFLEXX community, please see the official website at www.iflexx.org.
About IFLEXX (International FiLe EXchange XML)
IFLEXX is a non-proprietary, open and free-of-charge standard for data exchange in the petroleum industry. The IFLEXX community now numbers 19 member companies. IFLEXX is the successor to MPKS (“Mineral oil Partner Communications System”), introduced over 30 years ago. Data exchange using IFLEXX offers the petroleum industry many advantages. Not only does XML permit the transfer of large volumes of standardized data, but IFLEXX also enables the bi-directional exchange of loading data: both to the tank truck’s onboard computer and to the petroleum company’s accounting system.
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About Implico
The Implico Group optimizes logistics and business processes for oil and gas downstream companies. The international consulting and software company with its headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, has subsidiaries in Malaysia, Romania and the USA. Founded in 1983, the company today employs around 200 staff.
Implico provides consulting services, data services and software solutions for the entire supply chain – from forecasting, order entry, dispatching and tour optimization to data collation and invoicing. Leading oil and gas companies all over the world trust in Implico’s industry expertise and high-performance IT solutions including OpenTAS, iGOS, and the SAP downstream solutions SAP SDM and SAP RFNO (both available as Business Suite or S/4HANA version).
OpenTAS automates the storage and transportation of hydrocarbons for refineries, tank farms, and service station networks. iGOS (Implico Global Operation Services) offers innovative downstream solutions out of the Cloud. SAP SDM (Secondary Distribution Management) steers and optimizes the complete order-to-cash process. SAP RFNO (Retail Fuel Network Operations) automates all payment and quantity flows of service station networks.
Implico is a Microsoft Gold Partner, a Software Development Partner of SAP and a member of the Oracle PartnerNetwork. In the field of Terminal Automation Systems, Implico is market leader in Europe, Middle East and Africa (ARC market study, July 2016). The company has been recognized for its products and services on numerous occasions. It was named, for example, “Best Oil & Gas Software Specialists” in 2017 and received the Tank Storage Award as “Best Terminal Supplier” in 2018.
Press contact:
Daniel Seegers
Content Manager
Implico Group
+49 (0)40 / 27 09 36-0