webMethods has unveiled B2B for Trading Networks, a software package that provides graphical views into the trading network, its participants, and the information they exchange. These graphical tools are designed to manage thousands of transactions and trading partners, and a complementary industrial-strength trading engine is able to monitor and manage the critical business documents exchanged among participants.

webMethods B2B for Trading Networks includes:

* Trading Engine. Business documents can be stored, authenticated, validated, tracked, and delivered during their movement through the trading network. Documents can be visibly tracked and managed via a graphical interface throughout the transaction lifetime. Users have the ability to digitally sign and verify transactions to provide necessary levels of authentication and non-repudiation.

* Trading Partner Management. Trading hubs can effectively manage thousands of trading partners through a graphical interface that provides information about transactions and trading partner ‘health’. Reporting capabilities are included, which allow third-party tools to be used to interpret and understand data.

* Web-based Transaction Management. Any customer with a Web browser can easily send, receive, and manage business documents within a trading network. Trading partners can accomplish a variety of transaction management tasks, such as registering on the network; editing their trading partner profile; viewing and creating transactions; and applying simple filters to transactions, all without the need for a proprietary application.

“This innovative business solution is a direct result of us listening to the business experience of our more than 150 customers,” said Phillip Merrick, president and CEO of webMethods. “We are taking their best practices and architectures and packaging them in an easy-to-use solution to help remove the complexities involved in B2B e-commerce and drive forward complete B2B lifecycles.”