Our next event!
NEECOM Fall
Event Thursday,
October 22nd, 2026
8:30 - 4PM EST
Join us!
NEECOM Fall Conference 2026
Location:
Hilton Garden Inn Boston/Waltham
450 Totten Pond Rd, Waltham MA 02451
Date: October 22nd, 2026
Event Topics:
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X12 and JSON - Complimentary Use Cases
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Using AI to Amp Up Your Retail Analytics Game
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From Portals to Prompts: What MCP Means for B2B & AI
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AI for EDI: What's Changed, What Works, and What's Still Hard
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Prompt Engineering for the Rest of Us
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AI Risks, Rewards, Remedies, and (sorry, AI only gave me three words to use)
Thank you to our Spring 2026 Sponsors!
October 22nd, 2026 Agenda
NEECOM President, Ira Keltz, Mass General Brigham
Andrew Fitzpatrick, X12
WPC, X12’s publisher, will present 3 high-level use cases related to the use of X12’s JSON schemas related to EDI transactions: APIs to create/consume EDI transactions, opportunities to accelerate analytics, sending/receiving JSON transactions based on X12 standards. Additionally, this session will provide an update on recent X12 developments related to federal mandates, education, outreach, and AI usage.
Jim Lewis, Founder & CEO, Enhanced Retail Solutions LLC
Many companies know they should be doing something with AI but really don’t know what to do. They don’t want to waste time and money for something that may end up being a “nice to have”. In this presentation, Jim will walk through 5 real-world use cases where AI has provided a significant improvement in decision making capability. From improved forecasting accuracy to creating an AI Chat agent for designers, the advantages of integrating AI are abundantly clear. While the examples are in the retail-wholesale arena, the approach is applicable to just about any business.
Michelle Jacobson - Vice President, Product Management at Loren Data Corp.
AI assistants have changed how people work everywhere. Now they can connect directly to B2B networks. A new open standard, MCP, lets AI assistants query live operational data directly and interactively. This session explores MCP and what it means for operations teams, platform builders, and integrators who can now interact with B2B communications right in their AI chat.
Andrew Bell, PhD, Founder & CEO L2 Labs
AI has gone through multiple waves of excitement before, but why is today’s wave different? Advances in the science of AI plus access to massive amounts of data and computing power have made it possible to apply AI to complex workflows in ways that were not practical even a few years ago. For EDI professionals, the key questions are: where AI is useful, what is “hype”, where human expertise still matters, and what it takes to build capable AI systems that can actually be trusted in production.
In this session, Andrew Bell will draw on both AI research and real-world deployments to explore how AI is changing core EDI workflows, including onboarding, mapping, testing, proactive monitoring, troubleshooting, and even trading partner communication. He’ll share lessons from deploying AI-assisted mapping and testing technology with TrueCommerce, where the technology reduced mapping setup time by 74.5%. He will show how AI systems, traditional software, and human expertise work together inside production systems.
A central lesson from this work is that AI is both automating technical work like mapping and testing, and simultaneously increasing the value of human expertise. Rather than removing the EDI professional from the process, AI can make experienced practitioners far more leveraged: AI handles predictable technical work, while humans remain responsible for governance, orchestration, and the difficult “last mile.”
Talk Takeaways
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A clearer mental model of what modern AI actually is, why this wave is different from previous AI cycles, and how to think about AI in the next generation of EDI
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Where AI is useful in EDI today (and what is likely hype) with lessons from deploying AI-assisted mapping and testing technology in production
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How production AI systems combine multiple AI techniques with traditional software, validation, testing, and human oversight rather than relying on a single model
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What human-AI collaboration looks like in EDI: which tasks AI can increasingly handle, where experienced practitioners remain essential, and how responsibility shifts toward governance, orchestration, and the difficult “last mile”
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Eric Bloom, Executive Director, IT Management and Leadership Institute
AI text generation tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini, Grok, and others make it easy to ask a question and get an answer, but the real power comes from knowing how to ask the right question in the right way.
In this practical, non-technical talk, Prompt Engineering for the Rest of Us illustrates how to dramatically improve the quality, accuracy, creativity, and usefulness of AI-generated responses by using clear structure, relevant context, thoughtful constraints, and proven prompting techniques.
Attendees will learn key prompt engineering concepts, formats, tips, tricks, and tactics they can immediately apply to write better prompts, save time, improve results, and turn everyday AI interactions into higher-value business outcomes.
Did I use AI prompts to help write this description you ask! Ha, I’ll never tell!
Talk takeaways:
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How to improve AI outputs by specifying the audience, purpose, background information, tone, length, and desired response format
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Techniques that save time, improve content quality, increase creativity, and support better workplace outcomes
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How to refine, redirect, and improve AI responses through follow-up prompts rather than expecting perfect answers on the first try
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How to make your work and life easier through the wonders of AI (ok, that’s a bit much, sorry)
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Eric Bloom, Executive Director, IT Management and Leadership Institute
Topic Description: On the one hand, AI is an extraordinary technology that has the ability, now or in the near future, to transform the workplace, change career trajectories, and enhance organizational productivity and innovation. On the other hand, the Terminator movies aside, comes with its professional and organizational risks. Yes, the rewards are vast, but the organizational risks are many. These risks can be financial, reputational, legal, regulatory, security, ethical, and many more.
In this practical, business and project manager oriented talk, AI Risks, Rewards, Remedies, and maybe a fourth word if AI can think of one, outlines of risks, risk reduction techniques, and process to successfully implement AI-based technologies within your organization.
Talk takeaways:
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How AI risk can show up financially, legally, reputationally, ethically, operationally, and from a cybersecurity and regulatory perspective
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Insight into governance, policy, oversight, data protection, change management, and project management practices that help organizations use AI responsibly
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A practical understanding of how to evaluate, plan, and implement AI-based technologies in ways that support business goals while keeping risk under control
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Raffle, Cheers, Chats & See-You-Laters
Wind down with prizes and one last chance to connect
How to Attend
Attend in Person
Attending in-person offers the opportunity to network face-to-face, engage in hands-on discussions, and experience the event's full energy.
Attend Online
Attend our 'Virtual Events' online. We generally hold these Zoom events once a year. At this time, our in-person events do NOT have
a remote attendance option.
Sponsor
Sponsoring the NEECOM Fall Conference 2026 provides a unique opportunity to showcase your brand to industry professionals, gain visibility, and connect with a targeted audience.
ABOUT
New England
Electronic Commerce
The New England Electronic Commerce Users' Group (NEECOM), established in 1990, is a nonprofit organization with members from diverse industries, including manufacturing, retail, healthcare, insurance, and more. We focus on EC/EDI and related technologies, welcoming companies at any stage of implementation. NEECOM hosts two to three annual conferences in May and October each year:
In-person conferences at the
Hilton Garden Inn Boston/Waltham
450 Totten Pond Rd, Waltham MA 02451
and occasionally a Virtual Event via Zoom.
What we offer
To provide a forum for technical and business presentations
To provide a dynamic platform for engaging technical and business presentations, fostering knowledge-sharing and innovation.
What we deliver
To inform and educate the business community
To inform and educate the business community by offering in-depth knowledge on industry trends, emerging technologies, and proven strategies.
What we make happen
To increase the opportunity for personal contacts
To expand opportunities for personal connections and networking, facilitating interactions that foster collaboration, partnerships growth within the industry.
What we strive for
To expand the regional scope of Electronic Commerce/EDI.
To broaden the regional reach of Electronic Commerce and EDI, promoting awareness, adoption, and best practices that drive innovation.