[July 11, 2001] "The UCC XML Program is part of the UCC Electronic Commerce (EC) Strategy. The goal of the program is to execute XML Strategy that will result in implementation of the XML standards for Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) electronic commerce. The XML Strategy has been developed and is being implemented with active user participation. UCC has formed XML Steering Commitee consisting of representatives from many industries. The XML Steering Committee is responsible for setting, accepting and reviewing the overall direction of the XML Program." Contact: Ted Osinski, Vice President, Electronic Commerce.
[June 25, 2001] The Uniform Code Council, Inc. (UCC) has announced the development of an initial set of EAN-UCC XML schemas which constitutes "first steps in a global solution that will reduce costs and bring greater clarity and functionality to Internet-based e-business processes. The UCC and EAN International will make XML the cornerstone of an open, global electronic commerce standard that bridges legacy EDI systems with Internet-based users and enables all companies to maximize their e-business opportunities." The XML schemas have been developed together with EAN International based upon input from some of the world's largest companies. This first suite of XML standards is "based on a core set of schemas that are shared across all industries. The standards include Item, Party, Purchase Order, Despatch Advice, Invoice, Charges, and Payments. Their development was based on Simple e-Business (Simpl-eb), a growing global business practice that involves a common definition of e-Business data and processes across the value chain. Each XML schema has an extensible, modular design to enable multi-industry adoption and implementation, as well as industry-specific customization. When fully implemented, these standards will expand the global user base for electronic commerce and enable companies of any industry, size, or geography to streamline their e-business processes via improved interoperability and efficient data transmission. The EAN-UCC System is recognized as one of the most important innovations in the history of commerce, enabling nearly one million member companies in 23 major industries to conduct efficient business in more than 141 countries around the world. Both organizations share a history that is user-driven and consensus based, ensuring that standards and solutions seamlessly cross over industries and national borders."
References:
[August 21, 2003] "The Uniform Code Council Solution Partner Program Launched. Solution Partners Drive Business Opportunities by Providing Integrated Solutions for UCC Member Companies." - "The Uniform Code Council, Inc. (UCC), leaders in facilitating efficient international business, recently announced the official launch of its UCC Solution Partner Program. The UCC Solution Partner Program increases awareness, adoption, and implementation of UCC standards by facilitating a partnership between the UCC and solution providers to produce standards-compliant, 'off-the-shelf' implementation solutions for the expanding UCC community. The program benefits the UCC community by providing member companies with UCC-certified resources where they can find software, hardware, and consultants for implementation services. By utilizing standardized and compliant solutions, companies will be able to minimize implementation costs, maximize supply chain cost savings, and raise productivity. UCC standards include the EAN.UCC System and RosettaNet standards. EAN.UCC System standards provide companies in 23 major industry verticals with a global language of business to uniquely identify products, assets, locations and logistics units across the global supply chain, as well as enable corresponding electronic information to be communicated in a consistent fashion. RosettaNet uses open Internet-based business standards that align processes within the global high technology and telecommunications trading networks. The new UCC Solution Partner Program serves as an umbrella program for all of the divisions of the UCC. It will support implementation of Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) and Electronic Commerce standards of the EAN.UCC System as well as UCCnet, RosettaNet, and the newly formed AutoID U.S., LLC. The UCC is currently migrating UCCnet Alliance Partners to the new UCC Solution Partner Program. The UCC Solution Partner Program will then be expanded to embrace AIDC and Electronic Commerce certification programs later in 2003, with support for the RosettaNet and AutoID U.S., LLC communities in 2004. According to UCC Senior Vice President and President of EAN.UCC Dennis Harrison, the UCC Solution Partner Program has generated significant interest from companies around the world eager to become certified UCC Solution Partners. 'This is a tremendous program that delivers cost effective solutions for our member companies and their trading partners, while driving correct implementation of Uniform Code Council standards,' said Mr. Harrison. Since the program's inception in early July 2003, the following companies have signed as UCC Solution Partners: bTrade, EDS, FullTilt Solutions, HAHT Commerce, Integrated Software Systems (ISS), iWay Software, Inc., LANSA, Ontuet Technologies, Sterling Commerce, TR2 Consulting, Thomas Smith (AGSA.US), Trigo Technologies, Inc., Velosel Corporation, and webMethods..."
[July 31, 2003] "UCCnet Deploys Data Synchronization Services Release 2.2. New Version Complies to EAN.UCC System Standards by introducing XML Schemas as Standard Messaging for the Global Data Synchronization Network." - "UCCnet, a not-for-profit organization that provides product registry, validation and synchronization services, today announced the recent deployment of its Data Synchronization Services release 2.2. This new version incorporates technology which will allow UCCnet subscribers to exchange and synchronize data with their trading partners on a global scale, and across many new industry vertical markets. UCCnet Data Synchronization Services now uses Extensible Markup Language (XML) schemas for standard messaging. The new schema-based technology complies with the new Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) standards, which govern the communication and data synchronization between the UCCnet GLOBALregistry service (a global registry or index of product and company information) and individual company catalogs of product information. This technology standard establishes a common electronic communication architecture for companies around the world to do business with each other more efficiently and effectively. Additionally, this new release introduces several of the EAN.UCC System (a global standards system co-managed and administered by the Uniform Code Council) schemas used to achieve data synchronization in, and between, industry verticals such as hardlines, apparel, and fast moving consumer goods. The standards of the EAN.UCC System provide companies in 23 major industry verticals with a global language of business to uniquely identify products, assets, locations and logistics units, and the corresponding electronic information, across the global supply chain. The EAN.UCC System is currently used by nearly one million member companies worldwide. 'With the deployment of UCCnet Data Synchronization Services release 2.2, UCCnet positions its synchronization service to support the EAN.UCC System and GDSN standards,: said Fred Geiger, Senior Vice President for UCCnet. 'This means that more companies in more industries can do business on a global scale, seamlessly exchanging data between multiple partners, while maintaining data integrity. Also, our new architecture is scalable and extensible which will facilitate the fast integration of new business solutions and new functionality as standards evolve in the coming years. UCCnet Data Synchronization Services offer true interoperability, without having to sacrifice the industry specific nuances that have made data synchronization problematic in the past.' UCCnet delivered Data Synchronization Services release 2.2 for beta testing in mid May 2003 to select UCCnet solution partners certified on the previous 2.1 release. Solution partners who have completed beta testing are eligible to participate in a six-month FASTstart Early Adopter Program that allows them to build and test their partners' applications using the new 2.2 release prior to moving to final production. The beta test included a hardlines industry vertical component that used the EAN.UCC hardlines XML schema to test the system. Several new key business processes, such as tiered Distributor/Broker/DSD, wholesaler, and multi-sourced private label, were also tested. These business processes are supported through the GDSN model. The UCCnet GLOBALregistry service has earned strong global support, with endorsements by EAN International, the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Standards Association (VICS), the Global Commerce Initiative (GCI), The Food Marketing Institute (FMI), the American Hardware Manufacturers Association (AHMA), the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA), and other industry user groups and trade associations. It is acknowledged worldwide as the multi-industry source where trading partners can locate product, location, and partner information regardless of where subscribing manufacturers have published it..."
[May 21, 2003] "UCC Finalizes Agreement with MIT. Forms Joint Venture with EAN International to Drive Standards for Electronic Product Code (EPC) Network." - "The Uniform Code Council, Inc. (UCC) and EAN International, leaders in facilitating efficient international business, announced today at the UCC's annual U Connect Conference, the intention to establish AutoID, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that will develop and oversee commercial and technical standards for the Electronic Product Code (EPC) Network. The EPC Network, based on research conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), uses radio frequency in combination with a network system to allow items or products to be identified. This technology will enable companies to have true visibility of their supply chains in real time, in any industry, anywhere in the world. AutoID, Inc. is an initiative between the UCC and EAN International. Both organizations have more than 25 years developing standards for the Universal Product Code (U.P.C.) and EAN13, now incorporated in the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN). Through the global standards of the EANUCC System, nearly one million member companies in more than 140 countries worldwide conduct business every day using bar codes and related electronic communications... The EPC Network was developed by the Auto-ID Center, a not-for-profit global research project headquartered at MIT. In addition to a research lab at MIT, the Center has established research facilities at Cambridge University in England, Adelaide University in Australia, University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, Keio University in Japan, and Fudan University in China. 'We knew that our research would one day migrate from the lab to real world applications,' said Sanjay Sarma, co-founder and chairman of research at the Auto-ID Center and professor in the department of mechanical engineering at MIT. 'That day has come, and we are pleased to work with the UCC and EAN International not only to bring this technology to market, but to continue to refine it in the future.' AutoID, Inc. will continue to work closely with Professor Sarma and lead researchers at the Center's sister labs around the world..."
[May 13, 2003] "GXS' Global Product Catalogue Service Achieves Certification for UCCnet Foundation Services 2.1. GXS to Provide Global Synchronization of Detailed Product Attributes through Automatic Registration of Vendor Products with UCCnet's GLOBALregistry." - "Global eXchange Services (GXS) today announced that its Global Product Catalogue (GPC), www.gpcatalogue.com, a multi-industry data repository of product attributes and synchronization service with more than 65 million line items and over 17,000 trading partners, is the first service of its scope to be certified for UCCnet Foundation Services 2.1. UCCnet's GLOBALregistry provides a global product directory, through which independent data repositories interface to achieve seamless, accurate, consistent data synchronization for global, multi-industry supply chain partners. This inter-operability certification enables GPC clients to extend their data synchronization needs by having GXS promote needed information to UCCnet while continuing to provide the value of a centralized database for multiple users to access in a variety of ways (Web, EDI, XML, Batch, and or real-time)... GPC certification provides subscribers with these UCCnet capabilities: (1) Register products with UCCnet's GLOBALregistry; (2) Ensure product and attribute compliance with standardized UCCnet validations and business rules; (3) Publish products to specific UCCnet retailers; (4) Handle bi-directional XML Internet messaging and reporting; (5) Send and receive UCCnet and other product attributes using X12 and EDIFACT, with minimal user internal upgrades; (6) Support all 62 UCCnet-defined attributes per product, in addition to the 550 GPC already supports. 'In addition to the GPC certification, GXS has also received certification for its AS2 transport services and plans to certify its Enterprise and Application Integrator offerings. By providing an end-to-end suite of UCCnet-enabling services, we can help our customers to leverage their B2B e-commerce investments and infrastructures into even greater supply chain optimization,' stated Jim Rogers, GXS VP of Integration Solutions. Within its single hosted service environment, GPC operates active data synchronization communities in 3 major countries -- U.S. Retail, ECCnet (Canada), and EANnet (Australia). GPC uniquely provides features to 'community owners' like ECCC and EAN Australia, enabling them to provide their member companies with additional value-added services. 'GXS' Global Product Catalogue is the engine that powers ECCnet, Canada's National Product Registry. The GXS and ECCnet partnership has been helping to drive country-wide standards-based data synchronization in every retail sector for over four years,' said Art Smith, president of the Electronic Commerce Council of Canada (ECCC). 'GPC already allows cross-community data synchronization between its U.S. and Canadian communities, eliminating the need for suppliers to subscribe to multiple catalogue services for each country in which they do business. As strategic business partners, GXS and ECCC plan to continue to coordinate their respective areas of expertise to bring even greater value to retail supply chain partners worldwide'..."
[January 23, 2003] "eBusinessReady Program Certifies 35 Software Products in First Year. Program Launches Certification Seal and Website." - "eBusinessReady, an industry-neutral software compliance and interoperability testing program under joint partnership of the Uniform Code Council, Inc. (UCC) and Drummond Group, Inc. (DGI), announced today it has certified 35 products since its launch in November 2001. The products were certified to support AS1 and AS2 EDI/XML messaging over the Internet, VICS Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR), or ebXML messaging V2.0 standards. The UCC, a not-for-profit standards organization, is the founding sponsor of eBusinessReady, which provides the foundation for driving interoperability testing of multiple, standard compliant software products. DGI facilitates and manages the software testing for the eBusinessReady program. Enterprises and supply chains are increasingly demanding tested software solutions and the eBusinessReady program delivers a neutral third party to assess global interoperability. 'eBusinessReady has received an overwhelming response within the industry during its launch year,' said Michael Di Yeso, executive vice president and COO of the UCC. 'A certified product enables companies to more easily interface with the systems of their customers and partners and save the costs associated with implementing incompatible supply chain solutions. eBusinessReady helps software users simplify the procurement process and provides them with a selection of interoperable software products that meet their needs for price point and feature sets'... The program also unveiled the eBusinessReady certification seal and its website. The eBusinessReady seal informs software buyers that a solution has been tested and certified to ensure seamless interoperability across industries on a global scale. The program's website, located at www.ebusinessready.org, provides a comprehensive resource for software vendors and buyers, and features updated reports about the program and certification. An eBusinessReady certified product enables multiple software solutions to interact seamlessly for improved supply chain performance. The program brings together software vendors, exchanges, vertical industries and the standards community in a neutral, standards-based testing environment that simulates real-world operating conditions..." See: (1) "Electronic Business XML Initiative (ebXML)"; (2) "VICS CPFR XML Messaging Standard."
[January 13, 2003] "Global eXchange Services Signs 'Preferred Partners in Sync' Agreement with UCCnet. GXS and UCCnet Will Enable Suppliers and Retailers to Save Costs and Speed Time to Market by Synchronizing Product Data in Accordance With UCC.EAN Guidelines." - UCCnet, a tax exempt industry-endorsed utility that provides standards-based item registration and data synchronization, and Global eXchange Services, Inc. (GXS) today announced that GXS has entered UCCnet's 'Preferred Partners In Sync' Alliance Program. GXS will interoperate with the UCCnet registry to provide trading partners with data synchronization services that allow them to save costs and speed time to market. The announcement was made at the NRF (National Retail Federation) 92nd Annual Convention and Exposition. Successful data synchronization between buyers and suppliers ensures that the right information for the right products is always available to a trading community in a secure environment. By registering data in the UCCnet registry through GXS's Global Product Catalogue service (comprising more than 60 million line items), buyers and suppliers will enhance their ability to maintain accurate and timely product information - leading to significantly improved efficiency and profit throughout their supply chain. As part of its new relationship with UCCnet, GXS will soon offer a UCCnet adapter for its Enterprise System integration broker and Application Integrator data transformation and mapping tool. 'Global data synchronization is the foundation for any collaborative e-commerce strategy that a retailer and supplier might want to implement,' said Steven Scala, vice president of marketing for GXS. 'We are excited to team with UCCnet to expand our delivery of tangible business benefits to the global retail industry.' GXS provides transaction management services to more than 60,000 retail trading partners, including 50% of Fortune 100 retailers. In addition, both GXS and UCCnet have broad experience in international data pool interoperability -- currently providing infrastructure to countrywide data pools in Australia (EANnet Australia) and Canada (ECCnet)... Partners In Sync enables alliance partners to provide integrated collaborative commerce solutions to the expanding UCCnet community. The program certifies partners to provide best-in-class knowledge, resources and tools that enable UCCnet subscribers to implement item registry and data synchronization quickly, efficiently and cost effectively..."
[January 08, 2003] "Uniform Code Council's U Connect Conference to Educate Supply Chain Professionals May 21-23, 2003. Humor Columnist Dave Barry to Speak." - "The Uniform Code Council (UCC), leaders in facilitating efficient international business, announced today that the organization will hold its annual U Connect Conference May 21-23, 2003, at Walt Disney World's Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Fla. The conference, which provides sessions aimed at supply chain technology users across a variety of industries, will also feature nationally syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry, as the keynote speaker. The three-day education and networking event will bring together a global audience of more than 1,000 supply chain professionals, including consultants, solution providers and technology executives. The conference, which was developed by the UCC and users of the EAN.UCC System of standards to educate supply chain technology users, focuses on how companies can employ the latest standards-based solutions, technologies, and business processes to manage their supply chain more efficiently. Sessions will deliver insight from industry professionals about practical applications and case studies on using the EAN.UCC System to improve business practices and solve supply chain challenges. The U Connect Conference will offer more than 70 informative sessions that cover business-critical topics such as electronic data interchange (EDI); how standards are developed through the Global Standards Management Process (GSMP); extensible markup language (XML) standards; collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR); data carrier updates including bar codes, RFID and RSS (Reduced Space Symbology); 2005 Sunrise initiative; and registry and data synchronization with UCCnet. This year, attendees will have the chance to network with solution providers on the U Connect exhibit floor. Two special pavilions will be featured next to the general exhibit area, the eBusinessReady Pavilion and the UCCnet Alliance Partner Pavilion for UCCnet. U Connect 2003 will also host a new, specialized track for the Alcohol Beverage Industry Electronic Commerce (ABI EC) Group..."
[November 25, 2002] "Coca-Cola, UCCnet Revamping Supply Chain." By Ted Kemp. In InternetWeek (November 25, 2002). "UCCnet, a product registry and subsidiary of the Uniform Code Council standards organization, said this month that Coke will begin implementing UCCnet's services in 2003. The beverage giant, which claims to have the world's largest distribution system, said it will use internal IT resources to integrate with retailers using UCCnet, first in North America and then globally. The announcement is a serious endorsement of UCCnet. The world's largest beverage company, Coca-Cola sells drinks in almost 200 countries at a rate of more than 1 billion servings a day. The agreement marks the latest in a string of endorsements for UCCnet. The Uniform Code Council and EAN International, its international counterpart, agreed in October to make UCCnet the central product data registry for international commerce. That followed endorsements from the Grocery Manufacturers of America and Food Marketing Institute, both major trade organizations. In August, UCC merged with RosettaNet, a developer of standards for e-business transactions... UCCnet currently stores information on only about 25,000 products, up from 15,000 in April. UCCnet's Monaghan said an upload from Procter & Gamble comprised a good portion of the growth. But he added that the 25,000 figure comes mostly from companies signed in the early part of this year and doesn't include the large number of companies signed since..."
[August 13, 2002] "Seven Vendors Achieve CPFR Data Interoperability in UCC-sponsored Test. First Interoperability Test of CPFR Standards to Drive Adoption in Business Community." - "The Uniform Code Council, Inc. (UCC), leaders in facilitating efficient international business, and the Drummond Group Inc. (DGI), a vendor-neutral interoperability consultancy, today announced the results of the first interoperability test for software products supporting the VICS CPFR (Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment) initiative. The test was sponsored by the Uniform Code Council and used EAN.UCC CPFR XML standard schemas and EDI-INT AS2 technology for message transport. The initial round of CPFR testing put in place transactions and data transfer from different databases. During the three-month test, seven participating software companies successfully achieved data interoperability for sales forecasts, sales forecast revisions and product activity. These vendors included i2 Technologies, Inc, IPNet Solutions, Inc., JDA Software Group, Inc., Logility, Inc., Manugistics Group, Inc., SAP, and Syncra Systems, Inc. The test, recognized as the first of its kind worldwide, was designed and managed by DGI, using the DGI Interoperability Compliance Testing Processes. Additional support was provided by the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Standards (VICS) Association and VICS member companies, which provided sample data... Participating Companies in the UCC/Drummond Group CPFR Interoperability Validation Test: i2 Technologies, Inc. [i2 Supply Chain Collaboration 6.0]; IPNet Solutions, Inc. [BizCollaborate v2.2]; JDA Software Group, Inc. [Marketplace Collaborative Planner v2003.1.0]; Logility, Inc. [Voyager Collaborate 6.5.04]; Manugistics [Manugistics NetWORKS Collaborate v7.0]; SAP America, Inc. [SAP Advanced Planner and Optimizer (APO) v3.0, a component of mySAP Supply Chain Management]; Syncra Systems, Inc. [Syncra Xt v4.0]... The UCC and Drummond Group Inc. (DGI) announced that future interoperability tests will be conducted to address additional functionality within the CPFR schemas. Future test rounds will include error handling, bulk data, and message choreography. The next CPFR interoperability test is scheduled to begin in November 2002." See also "VICS CPFR XML Messaging Standard"
[June 04, 2002] "Wal-Mart Leads Charge For Supply Chain Standard." By Ephraim Schwartz. In InfoWorld (June 04, 2002). "Major retail chains, including Wal-Mart, have been quietly working behind the scenes to implement a single data synchronization standard between trading partners for product definitions and item data. The standard, based on XML-messaging, was created and is being developed by UCCnet, a division of UCC, the Uniform Code Council, a global standards organization responsible for among other things designing and managing the UPC code used by all retailers. UCC is based in Lawrenceville, NJ. Wal-Mart notified all of its suppliers in a letter sent last April that it would like its suppliers to implement the UCCnet SYNCtrack product... Other major retailers sending out similar letters include Ahold USA, Shaw's Supermarkets, Star Market, and Food Lion. The letter to suppliers from Ahold USA, a company that boasts 7,000 supermarkets worldwide with 30 million customers, was a bit more direct and demanding... The data exchanged between any two trading partners has always been paper intensive, according to Gene Alvarez, vice president for the Electronic Business Strategies division, at Meta Group in Stamford, Conn. The goal of the retail giants is to reduce paperwork and the human errors that invariably go along with paper-based processes. The SYNCtrack product will enable a supplier to post product data, making it available to retailers electronically rather than manually. 'It's similar to RosettaNet but with UCC, the standard was in existence so both retailers and manufacturers are used to dealing with it while with RosettaNet the industry is still dealing with collaboration issues,' said Alvarez. Beyond lowering the cost of doing business by making the order and billing process less error prone, a reduction in time to market is also forecast by the UCCnet proponents... while the industry is driving toward consolidation in the standards arena the possibility of a single standard is unlikely said Alvarez..."
- UCC XML Strategy Presentation, October 1999. [cache]
- EAN.UCC XML Schemas [cache]
- "How To Use the EAN.UCC XML Schemas."
- Schema Reference Document 1.0
- Download EAN.UCC Standards
- Announcement: "New XML Standards Provide Global Gateway to Efficient B2B Internet Trade. EAN International, Uniform Code Council, and Global Commerce Initiative Produce World's First Full and Open International Standards for e-Business."
- XML The Business Case
- UCC XML Strategy
- Uniform Code Council (UCC) Announces Modular EAN-UCC XML Schemas for Global E-commerce
- Announcement: "Uniform Code Council Releases First XML Schemas Based on EAN-UCC Standards. Globally Developed and Endorsed, New Schemas to Bring a Global Language of e-Business to the Internet for Streamlined Business-to-Business Transactions."
- Announcement January 4, 2001. "Uniform Code Council and EAN International Report Rapid Progress of Global XML Pilots. Global Commerce Initiative Stands Behind Effort for B2B e-Commerce Standard."
- Announcement January 13, 2000. "Uniform Code Council Announces XML Strategy for Electronic Commerce." [cache]
- See also: EAN International
