[This document is to provide general references for resources relevant to e-procurement standards and processes. Under construction 2003-04-04.]

Contents

• BASDA eBIS-XML Standard
• CEN/ISSS Workshop on Electronic Procurement (CEN/ISSS WS/ePRO)
• Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS)
• IDA eProcurement XML Schemas Initiative
• Global Procurement Standards Organization (GPSO)
• Institute for Supply Management (ISM)
• International Federation of Purchasing and Materials Management (IFPMM)
• International Purchasing and Supply Education and Research Association (IPSERA)
• OASIS Electronic Procurement Standardization Technical Committee (EPS)
• RosettaNet
• SIMAP e-Procurement Europe
• Universal Business Language (UBL)

BASDA eBIS-XML Standard

"eBIS-XML is BASDA's electronic business interchange standard in XML. The standard was first developed in 1999 and has been widely implemented since. eBIS-XML is the only standard to have demonstrated and deployed interoperable eCommerce between standard software packages... The successful development of the BASDA interface is due to the XML technology through which it operates. The standard messages are designed in the form of 'schemas' which allow large corporate accounting systems, like SAP, to communicate with small business systems such as TAS Books. Furthermore, if the messages are received by systems which are not eBIS-XML enabled or the organisation does not have accounting software, they can simply be displayed and printed out as documents. This means that a company does not need to know if its supplier or customer is eBIS-XML enabled before it sends an eBIS-XML order or invoice. It is very easy for software developers to enable their software for eBIS-XML and up to 100 software suppliers are already working on making their software capable of sending, receiving, reading and posting eBIS-XML messages. The schemas for purchase orders and invoices are available for downloading, free of charge.." [adapted from the Introduction to eBIS-XML]

[June 19, 2003]   UK Office of Government Commerce and BASDA Conduct eProcurement Assessment Trials.    An announcement from the UK Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and the Business Applications Software Developers Association (BASDA) describes a new testing program designed to discover how different purchasing software packages may best interoperate, based upon common IT standards for eProcurement. BASDA Members taking part in the trial include Agresso, Capita Education Services, Microsoft Business Solutions, Oracle, Sage, and SAP. The project uses an implementation of the BASDA eBIS-XML Data Suite standard which "has already been proved commercially across Europe; it enables software to generate and read the standard XML based documents which cuts costs and eliminates re-keying." The technical objective of the Proof of Concept trials is for a version of eBIS-XML Order and Invoice schemas to become compliant with the eGovernment Interoperability Framework (e-GIF). UK e-GIF sets out the policy and standards for interoperability across the public sector and is effectively the Government's standard system requirement, with which any 'cross government' system would need to comply. The XML Schemas must also conform to OGC's eProcurement Functional Requirements Specification. The goal of the project is to enable easier access to the government marketplace for smaller suppliers (SMEs)."

References:

• Introduction to BASDA eBIS-XML
• Core eBIS-XML home page
• Subsets of the eBIS-XML standard
• eBIS-XML Developer Community
• eBIS-XML Test Service
• BASDA website
• "BASDA eBIS-XML" - Main reference page.

Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS)

"CIPS is an international organisation, based in the UK, serving the purchasing and supply profession. Dedicated to promoting best practice, CIPS provides a wide range of services for the benefit of members and the wider business community... The CIPS website now has comprehensive detail of the Purchasing and Supply Model. The CIPS model generically represents an organisation and where purchasing and supply management fits into that, at both strategic and operational levels..." [homepage]

References:

• CIPS website
• CIPS Purchasing & Supply Management (P&SM) Model
• CIPS conferences

Global Procurement Standards Organization (GPSO)

Interim description from the GPSO website: "GPSO, the Global Procurement Standards Organization, and OASIS, the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards, have initiated a cooperative effort to begin development of global electronic procurement standardization. These activities will be conducted under the auspices of a proposed Electronic Procurement Standardization Technical Committee (EPS TC) that will operate under OASIS bylaws. Initial work will focus on developing requirements and a comprehensive framework for electronic procurement standards, identifying existing and in-development standards, coordinating liaison activity with other groups developing these components, and identifying new activities to be pursued. The input of business and government agencies that have previously responded to the GPSO call to standardize e-procurement have provided invaluable direction. Continued broad global representation from a cross section of governments and industries will enable the OASIS EPS TC to provide the most credible and effective representation in pursuing development of e-Procurement standards and processes..." [from the 'Statement of Activities: January 30, 2003']

Note: In the document edited 11-Feb-2003 (or later) GPSO said it would "disband its organization and related Internet sites on or before May 1st, 2003."

References:

• GPSO website
• Contact: Michael Hoggard (GPSO Chairman, Coordinating Founder of OASIS EPS TC). Tel: +1 (314) 422-8833.
• See below: OASIS Electronic Procurement Standardization Technical Committee (EPS)

Institute for Supply Management (ISM)

Founded in 1915, the Institute for Supply Management exists "to educate, develop, and advance the purchasing and supply management profession... ISM is a communication link with more than 45,000 purchasing and supply management professionals. ISM is a progressive association with a mission to provide national and international leadership in purchasing and supply management, particularly in the areas of education, research and standards of excellence. Through various resources and a network of 179 affiliated organizations, ISM provides opportunities for expansion of professional skills and knowledge. A not-for-profit association, ISM offers a wide range of educational products and programs..." [homepage]

References:

• ISM website
• The Journal of Supply Chain Management -- A Global Review of Purchasing and Supply.

International Federation of Purchasing and Materials Management (IFPMM)

"The International Federation of Purchasing and Materials Management is the union of 42 National Purchasing Associations worldwide. Within this circle, about 200,000 Purchasing Professionals can be reached. IFPMM is a non-political, independent and non-profit oriented International Organisation, registered in Aarau, Switzerland. IFPMM facilitates the development and distribution of knowledge to elevate and advance the procurement profession, thus favourably impacting the standard of living of citizens worldwide through improved business practices. The term procurement is taken to embrace purchasing, materials management, logistics, supply chain management and strategic sourcing..." [homepage]

References:

• IFPMM website
• IFPMM World Congress 2003. June 15-17, 2003. Luzern, Switzerland.

International Purchasing and Supply Education and Research Association (IPSERA)

IPSERA is "an active network of academics and practitioners dedicated to the development of understanding of matters concerning Purchasing and Supply Management."

References:

• IPSERA website

OASIS Electronic Procurement Standardization Technical Committee (EPS)

"The purpose of the OASIS Electronic Procurement Standardization (EPS) Technical Committee is to guide the coordinated development of global e-procurement standards and processes."

[April 04, 2003]   OASIS Forms Electronic Procurement Standardization Technical Committee.    OASIS members have created a new Electronic Procurement Standardization (EPS) Technical Committee to guide the coordinated development of global e-procurement standards and processes. The TC will seek to "establish broad global representation from a cross section of governments and industries to enable the most credible and effective representation in the development of EP standards and processes. EPS TC work will focus on: (1) Developing requirements and a comprehensive framework for electronic procurement standards, (2) dentifying existing and in-development standards within this framework, (3) Coordinating liaison activity with other groups developing these components, (4) Identifying new activities to be pursued. (5) Performing a gap analysis to highlight where major electronic procurement standards are required to fulfill market needs and prioritize those with the most promising results." The first meeting of the EPS TC will be held as a teleconference on May 19, 2003.

Key references:

• Announcement 2003-04-04: OASIS TC Call For Participation: Electronic Procurement.
• "OASIS Guides Development of Global Electronic Procurement Standardization." Announcement 2003-04-28.
• Electronic Procurement Standardization TC website
• EPS TC Charter
• TC Mailing list archive
• Contact: Terri Tracey (TC Chair, Institute for Supply Management).

Provisional contacts [TC Proponents] include:

• Terri Tracey, Institute for Supply Management (ISM)
• Rick Grimm, National Institute for Governmental Purchasing (NIGP)
• Michelle Sisler, Association Management Resources, Inc.
• Karen Cox, RosettaNet
• Michael Hoggard, Global Procurement Standards Organization

RosettaNet

RosettaNet supports a Product Catalog Information program which "seeks to exchange product information to enable buyers to manage the procurement of a specific item from a seller, thereby reducing costs throughout the supply chain by reducing key strokes, errors and the effort to publish and maintain product sales information. The program will also provide the capability to automate the push of product sales information to partners. Program Participants include Aankhen Inc. Arrow Electronics, Cisco Systems, Intel, Pioneer Electronics, TIBCO Software, Xilinx." In particular, PIP 2A1: "Distribute Product Catalogue Information" is used. See the program description.

RosettaNet Partner Interface Processes (PIPs) "define business processes between trading partners. PIPs fit into seven Clusters, or groups of core business processes, that represent the backbone of the trading network. Each Cluster is broken down into Segments - cross-enterprise processes involving more than one type of trading partner. Within each Segment are individual PIPs. PIPs are specialized system-to-system XML-based dialogs. Each PIP specification includes a business document with the vocabulary, and a business process with the choreography of the message dialog... Product Information PIPs enable distribution and periodic update of product and detailed design information, including product change notices and product technical specifications. Order Management PIPs support full order management business area from price and delivery quoting through purchase order initiation, status reporting, and management. Order invoicing, payment and discrepancy notification also managed using this Cluster of processes. Inventory Management PIPs enable inventory management, including collaboration, replenishment, price protection, reporting and allocation of constrained product... RosettaNet dictionaries provide a common platform for conducting business within the supply chain, eliminate overlapping efforts by individual companies and reduce confusion in the procurement process due to each company's uniquely defined terminology.

References:

• RosettaNet website
• "RosettaNet" - Local reference page.

SIMAP e-Procurement Europe

SIMAP is a project launched by The European Commission. "The SIMAP project has as its objective the development of the information systems infrastructure needed to support the delivery of an effective public procurement policy in Europe, by providing contracting entities and suppliers with the information they need to manage the procurement process effectively... [SIMAP will] encourage best practice in the use of modern information technology for public procurement. Initially the project aims to improve the quality of information about the EU procurement opportunities and ensure that information is made known to all potentially interested suppliers. In the longer term it will address the whole procurement process, including bids, award of contracts, delivery, invoicing and payment..." [homepage]

References:

• SIMAP website