RosettaNet Says It Has Passed Milestone

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October 10, 2000 (4:34 PM EDT)

The RosettaNet consortium on Tuesday said the organization had reached a milestone with 37 members having implemented the group's XML-based standards for online supply chain functions, such as distributing product information and processing purchase orders.

During a San Francisco news conference, RosettaNet chief executive Jennifer Hamilton said the production implementation of the standards placed the group ahead of other bodies working on similar efforts.

"RosettaNet implementation, or getting to production implementations, is really a cornerstone, a commitment, that all of our board members have made, and really sets us apart from any of the other standards efforts we've seen, or are out there today," Hamilton said.

RosettaNet, Santa Ana, Calif., wasn't about press releases or marketing events, but was "true e-business in action," Hamilton said, noting that 18 other members of the RosettaNet board planned to have Partner Interface Processes (PIPs) in production by the end of the year.

Since 1998, RosettaNet has been developing PIPs, which provide XML-based definitions for different types of business processes.

The areas in which PIPs are currently in production include distributing new product information, order management, and sharing product design information.

Frank Gillett, senior analyst for Forrester Research Inc., Cambridge, Mass., said RosettaNet's work was "interesting and important," but was not directly comparable to the XML-based frameworks for electronic commerce that were under development by several groups.

Those organizations include OASIS, an international standards group; and BizTalk.org, an industry initiative led by Microsoft Corp. (stock: MSFT).

The RosettaNet PIPs define the business documents to be exchanged, the terminology used in negotiating transactions and steps making up a business process, Gillett said. Therefore, PIPs can be used in any of the other groups' frameworks.

RosettaNet is not expected to compete with the other organizations, but to build off one or more of the existing frameworks, Gillett said.

"What's significant about what RosettaNet is announcing, demonstrating, and talking about is that they are saying, 'Look it really can be done. We can automate transactions between servers over the Internet,'" Gillett said.

"There's a bit of self interest in doing it because it's the IT industry that's demonstrating this capability and of course they are hoping that by showing it can be done, they'll sell more electronic components and computers," he continued.

RosettaNet's production implementations have occurred among IT and electronic companies, which make up the organization's base.

However, RosettaNet officials said the group will develop PIPs for auto retailers, a move that extends the organization beyond its traditional base.

Companies at the news conference announcing PIP implementations included Intel Corp. (stock: INTC); Compaq Computer Corp. (stock: CPQ); NEC Corp. (stock: NIPNY); Cisco Systems Inc. (stock: CSCO); and Motorola Inc. (stock: MOT).

None of the companies were able to give figures on the actual savings associated with bringing supply chain processes online using PIPs.

However, costs were expected to be reduced through more efficient order management and less dependence on the more expensive private networks using Electronic Data Interchange standards.

"Some of these details on savings will become available as more PIPs come into production," Hamilton said.