Global Manufacturers and Retailers Adopt ebXML

[Carol Geyer <cgeyer7@home.com>]

Global Manufacturers and Retailers Adopt ebXML

850,000 Companies Select ebXML for New Global Commerce Internet Protocol

Boston, MA and Geneva, Switzerland; September 11, 2000—Members of the Global
Commerce Initiative (GCI) announced plans to use ebXML as the backbone of
their new data exchange standard for business-to-business trade in the
consumer goods industry. ebXML, an initiative of the United Nations CEFACT
and OASIS, will provide the technical infrastructure for the Global Commerce
Internet Protocol, a set of recommendations governing the management of data
for Internet communication and other B2B interactions. GCI members include
40 major manufacturers and retailers as well as eight trade associations,
which in total represent 850,000 companies around the world. Exchanges such
as Transora, the WorldWide Retail Exchange, GlobalNetXchange, and
CPGmarket.com are taking active roles in the GCI development.

“It is clear to us that ebXML will soon become the standard for all global
trade,” said Peter Jordan, director of European systems for Kraft Foods and
member of the GCI Board of Directors. “By implementing ebXML as part of our
infrastructure, GCI takes advantage of the excellent development work that’s
being accomplished to streamline many EDI processes and remove waste and
redundancy from supply chains.”

“The adoption of ebXML by the world’s largest manufacturers and retailers is
a significant sign that the ebXML initiative is moving forward from
development to deliverables,” said Klaus-Dieter Naujok of NextERA
Interactive, Chair of ebXML and member of the UN/CEFACT Steering Committee.
“Although we have much work ahead of us, ebXML specifications are robust and
usable today.”

“The Global Commerce Internet Protocol is a fine example of how ebXML fits
in the B2B arena,” added Robert S. Sutor, Ph.D. of IBM, Vice Chair of ebXML
and Chair of the OASIS Board of Directors. “ebXML defines a common set of
standards that can be used across all vertical industries. It provides the
infrastructure for e-business using XML and Internet-based technologies.”

EAN and the UCC have made a major contribution to GCI's effort to quickly
standardize Internet trading in the consumer products industry with the
first in a series of electronic commerce standards. In order to support the
GCI Internet Protocol, the UCC and EAN undertook an ambitious effort to
provide GCI with a series of electronic commerce standards for the following
processes: Item Synchronization, Party, Simple Purchase Order and Dispatch
(Advance Ship Notice). This project encompassed the creation of business
models, global data dictionaries, and XML schemas.  GCI proof-of-concept
trials are underway and the organization plans to demonstrate its protocol
at the upcoming ebXML meeting in Tokyo, November 6, 2000.

About GCI
Founded in October 1999, the Global Commerce Initiative is the result of
joint industry efforts in North and South America, Europe and Asia where,
since the early-nineties, strategic collaborations have been developing
between stakeholders of all sizes across the complex supply chain for
consumer goods.  Made possible by some of the world's best-known companies,
they include the Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) movements in Europe,
North and South America and Asia, together with the Voluntary Interindustry
Commerce Standards Association (VICS) in North America, EAN International
and UCC, CIES, The Food Business Forum, FMI, AIM, the European Brands
Association, and GMA.

About ebXML
ebXML (www.ebXML.org) is an International Initiative established by
UN/CEFACT and OASIS in late 1999 with a mandate to undertake an 18-month
program of work to research and identify the technical basis upon which the
global implementation of XML (Extensible Markup Language) can be
standardized. The goal of ebXML is to facilitate open trade between
organizations regardless of size by enabling XML to be used in a consistent
manner to exchange electronic business data.

About UN/CEFACT
UN/CEFACT (www.uncefact.org) is the United Nations body whose mandate covers
worldwide policy and technical development in the area of trade facilitation
and electronic business. Headquartered in Geneva, it has developed and
promoted many tools for the facilitation of global business processes
including UN/EDIFACT, the international EDI standard. Its current work
programme includes such topics as Simpl-edi and Object Oriented EDI and it
strongly supports the development and implementation of open, interoperable
global standards and specifications for electronic business.

About OASIS
OASIS (http://www.oasis-open.org) is the world’s largest independent,
non-profit organization dedicated to the standardization of XML
applications. OASIS sponsors include Adobe Systems, Aerospatiale, AND Data
Solutions, Arbortext, B-Bop Associates, BEA Systems, Boeing, Bowstreet,
Bridge, BroadVision, Chrystal Software, Cohesia, Commerce One, Corel,
DataChannel, Dataloom, DMSi, Documentum, Dun & Bradstreet, eCredit.com,
Enigma, eXcelon, Extensibility, Extricity Software, First Call, IBM,
InformIT, Informix, InterCAP, Interwoven, ISOGEN, ITEDO, JetForm, Keyfile,
Logistics Management Institute, Mercator Software, Microsoft, NextPage, NII
Enterprise Promotion Association, Nimble Technology, NIST, Oracle
Corporation, Pick Systems, ProNet Technology, Reuters, Sabre, SAP, Sequoia
Software, SoftQuad, Software AG, STEP, StreamServe, Sun Microsystems,
Synth-Bank, Visa, Wavo, Webb Interactive Services, Whitehill Technologies,
Xerox, XMLSolutions and XyEnterprise.#

For more information:
Carol Geyer
Media Relations Consultant
OASIS
carol.geyer@oasis-open.org
+1.941.926.2322