RosettaNet Press Release
RosettaNet Reaches Critical Milestone - Releases First 10 XML PIP Specifications

For Release December 1, 1999

Santa Ana -- Furthering one of the most ambitious standards implementation efforts in history, RosettaNet, an independent consortium dedicated to the development and deployment of supply chain eBusiness standards, today announced the release of its first 10 XML Partner Interface Processes (PIPs). Cooperatively developed by RosettaNet member companies, the PIPs are designed to align the electronic business processes of trading partners within the information technology (IT) supply chain.

RosettaNet's PIPs are specialized system-to-system XML-based dialogs that define how business processes are conducted between IT manufacturers, software publishers, distributors, resellers and corporate end users. RosettaNet PIPs are essential to enabling the standardization of eBusiness processes among buyers and sellers in the supply chain. The PIPs were developed by analyzing supply chain processes, identifying mis-alignments, and designing a standard solution that enables global-scaled deployment. With the completion of these 10 PIPs, RosettaNet takes a step closer to achieving its goal of global deployment on February 2, 2000.

"PIPs are the result of the mandate delivered to RosettaNet more than a year ago to develop the first set of standards for partner-to-partner eBusiness, and their historical significance is further reflected in the commitment and consensus of an industry at the executive, operations and technical levels," said RosettaNet CEO Fadi Chehad é . "In a larger sense, the standardized business interface processes could well be the foundation of how companies do business in the digital economy."

RosettaNet is unusual to industry standards-setting efforts in that it is designed to go beyond data interchange to align business processes.

Like the earlier release of RosettaNet's technical and business dictionaries and set of eBusiness protocols, the 10 PIPs enable supply chain trading partners to create standard message documents for use in conducting eBusiness via the Internet. The first 10, of an eventual 100 PIPs, support catalog updating and purchasing. They define common XML dialogs for:

• Managing product subscriptions
• Distributing new product information
• Querying product information
• Querying technical information
• Distributing SKUs
• Querying price and availability
• Transferring shopping carts
• Managing purchase orders
• Querying order status
• Distributing order status

Learning From Pilot Tests

The initial release of 10 PIPs is an outcome of RosettaNet's continuing EConcert phase in which member companies are conducting pilot tests of process implementations. "The completed PIPs were the first to be tested and modifications recommended by EConcert participants were incorporated in the published standards," Chehad é said. "We learned a great deal about implementation requirements during the pilots, and they are further evidence of collaboration and consensus that characterize the RosettaNet initiative."

Catalog Update PIP implementations have been successfully implemented by Ingram Micro and Solectron, supported by solution provider Extricity Software; Marshall Industries with solution provider webMethods; and Inacom with solution provider Vitria Technology.

Additional Catalog Update pilots are currently underway by American Express and MicroAge with solution providers Sun-Netscape Alliance and KPMG. Nortel Networks and Ingram Micro are also conducting testing with solution providers Bow Street Software and Extricity Software.

Intel and Arrow Electronics have completed a Purchasing PIP implementation with solution providers Sterling Commerce and GE Information Services. And, several other pilot tests will be completed over the next few months.

According to Chehad é , the objectives of the pilots are threefold:

1. Obtain a measure of how close trading partners are to incorporating these network components into an interoperable e-business process;
2. Obtain a measure of how close trading partners are to linking their enterprise systems as measured by the EConcert readiness objectives; and
3. Obtain a measure of how close solution providers are to delivering interoperable RosettaNet-compliant network components.

"The progress demonstrated by the pilots provides overwhelming proof of the success that can be achieved when supply chain members collaborate together for the good of the industry," Chehad é said. "The release of these first 10 PIPs is keeping our members on schedule for rolling out full production systems on 2.2.2000."