[ebxml-mktg-sc] FW: XML Europe abstract

[Monica Martin <mmartin@certivo.net>]

FYI

-----Original Message-----
From: Pim van der Eijk [mailto:pim.vandereijk@OASIS-OPEN.ORG]
Sent: Sunday, February 02, 2003 2:49 AM
To: PILOT-PROJECT-1@LISTSERV.CENORM.BE
Subject: XML Europe abstract


Dear all,

The following abstract was submitted to XML Europe, at which we
intend to present and promote our project.  Let's hope it gets
accepted ..

Apart from this presentation, I know some of the vendors were
considering submitting abstracts describing their products that
may also reference the project.

I also wrote an article on ebXML messaging for the XML.com
developer site that has a paragraph on the project.  I'll forward
the URL once it is published.

Pim van der Eijk

////////


Presentation title

"Overview of the European ebXML interoperability pilot project"

Authors

Pim van der Eijk (OASIS / Sonnenglanz), Jef Vanbockryck (XT-i), Anders
Tholén (Ferrologic), Francesco Fedele (Effedue)

Abstract

The European ebXML interoperability pilot project is an initiative of
the CEN ISSS electronic business (eBES) workshop, started in September
2002 and executed in close collaboration with OASIS. The project's
initial aim was to mobilize vendor involvement in the standardization
process, the awareness and the implementation of ebXML in Europe.  The
scope was rapidly expanded to include work on business case scenarios
for ebXML, with significant input of user organizations. Two working
groups were created.

The Business Case Working Group was formed to write a business scenario
on how to use ebXML in the real world. The participants of this working
group include participants from industry and user organizations and
consultants. Key requirements identified are:
-  EbXML messaging as infrastructure for ERP-to-ERP interconnection
-  need to support mixed point-to-point and intermediary
(marketplace)-based  connectivity.
-  Web forms for message creation, particularly for SMEs
-  Intertranslation of EDI and (multiple) XML vocabularies
-  Ease of integration due to use of interoperable ebXML software,
deployment guidelines etc.

The BCWG came up with a business scenario illustrating these
requirements based on an existing marketplace in the steel industry,
Steel24-7. Steel24-7 has customers in a.o. the steel and automotive
industries. The scenario is an conceptual extension of Steel24-7's
production system that already:
- uses an ebXML messaging v1 implementation for messaging
- offers intertranslation between EDIFACT and ESIDEL (Eurofer's
European Steel Industry Data Exchange Language XML vocabulary) for a
number of business processes and messages, including Order and Order
Response.
- offers ERP-to-ERP connections and Web-based access
The conceptual extension adds intertranslation of ESIDEL and UBL
payloads and demonstrates interoperable messaging using different ebMS
v2 implementations.

The Technical Working Group was formed by a number of software vendors
to test ebXML MS2.0 interoperability between their ebXML Message
Handler implementations. This group started by defining and testing a
collection of test cases and is now moving to work on exchanging real
EDI and XML data from the business scenario, such as Delivery
Forecasts from an Automotive 1-tier manufacturer to a number of Steel
Suppliers, all using ebXML software from different vendors.

The presentation will introduce the project, present the business case,
report on the interoperability testing and on implementation of the
scenario, and discuss the benefits and feasibility of using ebXML for
the case.