Small Company Spooks Mills

by Nancy Lowther

Ediwise, a 20-person division of Abitibi-Price Corp. located in Mississauga, Ontario, has sent chills through some sectors of the newsprint industry. At issue is whether Ediwise Link, an electronic communications service that connects newsprint suppliers with newspapers, could give Abitibi unfair access to sensitive data from its competitors.

Ediwise describes its Link service, launched in early 1995, as an "electronic-communications system, linking all aspects of the paper industry and providing EDI, mailboxing, discussion forums and more." Some of the traffic on Ediwise Link includes purchase orders and invoices that contain sensitive pricing and quantity-purchased information.

At least one Abitibi competitor, Bowater Inc., may be considering legal action to slow the growth of Ediwise Link. A Bowater spokesman says only, "It's with our legal department."

Ediwise appears to be doing everything in its power to keep Abitibi at arm's length. "We offer three to four layers of protection," says Eric Wee, Ediwise's director of electronic commerce. "Abitibi-Price does not have a direct link to Ediwise and will no not have access to information in our database. Furthermore, whenever we get a new customer for Ediwise Link, the customer will sign confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements with Abitibi, Ediwise and the other suppliers."

Among the newsprint buyers examining Ediwise Link is Scripps Howard Supply. President and General Manager Sharon Hite cites its ease of use.

The subscriber keys in a personal identification number and the password to an electronic mailbox. "When retrieving a communication, the customer doesn't have to rekey information," says Wee. "Link accepts both TAPPI and North American Roll Identifier specifications."

Ediwise also markets Abitrol, Abitsite and Abicorp paper-management software packages for newspapers. Later this year, it plans to release a new system called Paper Quality Management.

"We would like to be a key player in the newspaper industry," Wee says. The question is whether potential legal challenges will let them.

Nancy Lowther is president of Lowther Training and Development in Scarborough, Ontario. Phone is (416) 282-1890.