Interchange, the electronic communication of commonly used documents between companies, and not sit back and wait for technical evolution, said a local management services director.

Mr. Peter Frese, director of management services at computer consultant Kempe & Whittle Consultancy, said the benefits of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) are clear.

The advantages he cites are cost savings, elimination of redundant work, reduction in paper and improvement in data quality and timeliness.

The technology exists for local companies to exploit EDI now, and they do not have to wait for the Telecommunications Commission's decision on licences before implementing the facility, according to Mr. Frese.

Kempe & Whittle Consulting began the process of installing EDI between food wholesalers and retailers in Bermuda in December.

The company uses TSI software, called Trading Partners, to transmit documents via modems linked to telephone lines.

Telco is introducing a message handling facility within the Bermuda telecommunications network, called BERnet on March 2, 1994. It will enable both Electronic-Mail and EDI transactions between computer systems.

Mr. Frese points out that Cable & Wireless has IDAS (transport mechanism) to international EDI networks, and several other companies have announced plans for competing services.

EDI transactions are reliable, legally binding and private, said Mr. Frese.

"EDI standards have evolved to verify receipt of transactions, fix legal liabilities and assure privacy,'' said Mr. Frese.

To prove the viability of EDI, Mr. Frese said that Kempe & Whittle Consulting will be demonstrating EDI at the computer fair "BITS `94'' on March 2 and 3.