RosettaNet Press Release
RosettaNet Achieves Record Number High Technology B2B Production Implementations On A Global Scale

As Partner Connections Increase Worldwide, RosettaNet Garners Broad Industry Support of Internet-Based, E-Business Standards

For Release February 22, 2002

Santa Ana, CA --

RosettaNet, the high technology industry’s leading e-business process consortium, today announced significant production implementations by major information technology (IT), electronic components (EC), semiconductor manufacturing (SM) and solution provider (SP) companies in conjunction with RosettaNet’s 2001 Milestone Program initiatives.

RosettaNet’s Milestone activities, formally launched in May 2001, yielded over 450 documented Partner connections worldwide, with the actual number of touch points estimated at well over 1000.  This record achievement represents aggressive growth in the industry as it relates to XML and e-business standardization across the global trading network. 

Milestones Programs are supply chain board-driven goals that are focused on strategic e-business processes, such as supply and demand management and B2B integration with mid-tier partners.  Historically, these Programs have served as unifying forces within the industry –- driving collaboration to solve critical supply chain challenges, aligning priorities within the high technology trading partner and solution provider communities and speeding development and production implementation of RosettaNet Partner Interface Processes™ (PIPs®).

"The significant strides made by Board members help sets the pace in the industry and underscores RosettaNet’s role as the leader in e-business standards development and implementation," said Jennifer Hamilton, CEO of RosettaNet.  "Our 2001 Milestone Program strategy and related activities has proven to be an effective means of engaging global stakeholders on multiple levels, while driving sound business solutions that address challenges in the high technology supply chain.  We are pleased to acknowledge the many RosettaNet implementers who have contributed to the ongoing success of RosettaNet by promoting widespread adoption and deployment of the standard."

The results of the 2001 Milestone Programs were reported during a news conference and Partner event held today at the Marriott Hotel in Santa Clara, CA.  Attendees included key press, industry analysts and executives representing RosettaNet’s supply chain partners and solution provider community.  Colin Evans, Director of Distributed Systems at Intel Labs and Chairman of RosettaNet, and Jennifer Hamilton, CEO of RosettaNet, delivered keynote speeches.  Executive presenters included Paul Katz, Vice President of Digital Supply Chain Solutions, Arrow Electronics; Janelle Harris, Vice President and Director of Global Sales, Semiconductor Product Sector at Motorola; Vinnie Tiru, Senior Vice President, Information Systems at Sony; Charles Goodwin, Director of Intel's Private E-Market Office; Franklin Grosvenor, Director, Manufacturing of Global Supply Management at Cisco Systems; Giovanni Seghezzo, Vice President, Business Administration at STMicroelectronics; Bill White, Senior Vice President of ICS at Amkor Technology; Akira Numagami, Chief Manager, IT Division at NEC; and Craig Brown, Vice President of Technology and Manufacturing Group and Director of Materials, Strategic Program Operations at Intel.

The production achievements announced by RosettaNet represent a massive industry movement to implement standardized, Internet-based business processes across the trading network.  Moving forward, it is anticipated that RosettaNet implementations will multiply exponentially, reaching a critical mass worldwide as this dramatic trend continues in 2002.

"RosettaNet provides the critical step to automating supply chain processes, enabling faster access to more accurate forecasting data and eliminating routine administrative functions," said Colin Evans, Director of Distributed Systems at Intel Labs and Chairman of RosettaNet. "Intel is committed to supporting the RosettaNet consortium to accelerate the global adoption of e-business by implementing RosettaNet connections with our trading partners, leading milestone programs and driving key underlying technologies."

RosettaNet’s 2001 Milestone Programs, established by the consortium’s global Supply Chain Boards, were clustered into four areas of focus, including: Order Management; Product Discovery and Distribution; Semiconductor Manufacturing; and Supply Chain Information Management.

Order Management
IT, EC and SM Board members and their trading partners implemented multiple Order Management PIPs, referred to as "business scenarios."  RosettaNet EC companies in Japan, sponsored by Sony with technical consulting by NTT Communications, led the deployment of global RosettaNet order management standards to address specific regional requirements, accelerating RosettaNet implementations among Japan-based companies and trading partners.  The RosettaNet Basics Program, led by Intel, and the RosettaNet Express Program, sponsored by the Institute for Information Industry (III), achieved the "network effect" for mid-tier trading partner B2B implementations based on RosettaNet standards. This initiative actively involved multiple solution providers, leading to the introduction of various mid-sized gateway solutions and services offerings.  The SM Order Management Program, led by Motorola, allowed semiconductor manufacturers, foundries and service providers to realize SM order management process improvements that enhanced overall order processing and turn-around times.

Product Discovery/Distribution
Three separate Milestone Programs facilitated the implementation of RosettaNet e-business standards for processes associated with product life cycle management.  Lucent Technologies was responsible for driving the automation of product information acquisition processes, improving product selection efficiency, eliminating manual data collection/ conversion processes, and improving accuracy and timeliness of product information.  Sponsored by Motorola, RosettaNet Design Win standards improved channel efficiency, automated and expedited data collection and sharing, and increased data-reporting accuracy and timeliness.  The RosettaNet Ship From Stock Program, led by Arrow Electronics, allowed companies to improve the financial management of distribution orders, which resulted in productivity improvements and better cash flow. 

Semiconductor Manufacturing
In addition to the SM Order Management Milestone, two separate programs focused on the materials and manufacturing e-business processes.  Led by NEC, SM Materials suppliers extended RosettaNet Standards into unique SM manufacturing processes, which resulted in reduced IT and ordering costs and improved customer service for the SM supply chain.  A second group of SM manufacturers, led by TSMC, implemented the RosettaNet Work-in-Process Program, which achieved the automation of inquiries and responses related to Work-in-Process (WIP) on the factory floor, allowing for flexibility of operations through improved visibility into supplier WIP. 

Supply Chain Information Management
The Collaborative Forecasting Program, led by STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments, and the iHub initiative, sponsored by Cisco Systems, focused on automating the forecasting process and synchronizing supply and demand.  As a result of these Milestone Programs, trading partners improved the management of inventories, product turns and on-time delivery during the implementation of multiple PIPs in a production environment.

In addition to the Milestone Program activity in 2001, RosettaNet also focused its efforts on a global expansion strategy with the official launch of RosettaNet Malaysia.  Other key highlights included the formation of the RosettaNet Solution Provider Board (SP) and formal roll-out of the RosettaNet Ready™ software compliance program.

To learn more about RosettaNet's Milestone Programs or to participate in ongoing consortium initiatives, visit the RosettaNet Web site at www.rosettanet.org.

About RosettaNet
RosettaNet is an independent, non-profit consortium dedicated to the collaborative development and rapid deployment of open Internet-based business standards that align processes within the global high-technology trading network.

More than 400 companies representing over $1 trillion in annual information technology, electronic components and semiconductor manufacturing revenues currently participate in RosettaNet’s Standards development, strategy and implementation activities. A complete list of member companies and more information on RosettaNet is available at www.rosettanet.org.