UN/CEFACT and OASIS announced the approval of ebXML specifications, which form the basis for global XML standards for the electronic economy. These specifications enable enterprises to conduct business over the internet.
In May 2001, UN/CEFACT and OASIS announced the approval of ebXML specifications, forming the basis for global XML standards for the electronic economy. These specifications enable enterprises to conduct business over the internet. In July 2001, EAN Int. and UCC published a set of XML message schemas compliant with both ebXML specifications and other EAN.UCC system standards.
Version 1.0 of standard business messages was developed as a voluntary global standard for the electronic exchange of business documents using XML within the EAN.UCC system. The published messages fulfill the following business functions: data matching, order, advance shipping notice, and payment request.
The construction of the messages utilizes a core and extension methodology. Core documents contain (static) information, such as trading partner identification, detailed company information and its function in the exchange, name and address, product identification number, item description, unit of measure, product item classification, price, payment terms, etc. Extensions fulfill functions specific to a given business scenario. In version 1.0, extensions were developed for the exchange of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and for the exchange of simplified electronic business messages (the simpl-eb scenario). The organization of the schemas ensures the development of their functionality. In future editions, additional schemas will be available to be attached to existing layers to extend schema functionality.
The EAN.UCC message architecture combines business documents into a single transaction message, allowing the sender to pack one or more documents into a single transmission. This reduces transmission and reconciliation costs necessary when transmitting multiple individual documents. It also provides greater flexibility in sending one or more documents in a single transmission, allowing the sender to mix and match the set of documents sent according to the needs of an individual transaction.
EAN.UCC XML electronic message schemas are available from the Uniform Code Council
Information on electronic data interchange in the EAN.UCC standard can also be found on the EAN Poland website.
Stanisław Wałcerz