The BTE Clearing Center was migrated to a new technical platform on July 1st. PIM Service GmbH has taken over the operation and further development of the central infrastructure for electronic data exchange between retailers and suppliers.
The clearing center connects companies in the textile, footwear, and leather goods trade with brands, merchandise management systems, and technical service providers. The platform facilitates the exchange of data including product master data, orders, order confirmations, delivery notes, invoices, and sales and inventory data.
According to the BTE, almost all affiliated retailers have completed the switch to the new platform. Currently, around 4.000 stores use the system and exchange approximately 25 million EDI messages annually with around 600 brands. More retailers and suppliers are expected to be connected soon.
“The launch on July 1, 2026, was a complete success. The considerable efforts of the past ten months have paid off,” explains Lars Voss, Managing Director of PIM Service GmbH. Together with the participating companies, a stable solution has been created that is geared towards the future requirements of the retail sector.
PIM Service GmbH was founded by a group of retail companies. The consulting firm Hachmeister + Partner also participated in the platform's technical development. Shareholders from the fashion retail sector include Stackmann, L+T, and Hagemeyer.
The focus of the realignment is on higher data quality and availability. Information at the article, color, and size level is gaining importance for areas such as inventory management, reporting, automated replenishment, forecasting, dynamic pricing, and AI-supported applications. Particularly in multi-brand retail, standardized data formats should enable faster and more accurate management of product ranges, inventory levels, and goods flows.
“Our aim from the outset was to develop a sustainable infrastructure together with practitioners and not to impose a top-down solution,” says BTE Managing Director Sönke Padberg. The largely smooth transition is the result of collaboration with retailers, suppliers, inventory management providers, and technical partners.
Next steps include improved monitoring of data flows, greater transparency regarding the message formats used, and additional services for connected companies. Further message types and measures to improve data quality are also being examined. The BTE Clearing Center has been in operation since 2001.
