16:23 Fri 24 Sep 2004 REF:1UCACCS5 TO: Duane NICKULL cc OIC Management Committee Vice-Chair UN/CEFACT HIN Consultants UNITED NATIONS ISSUE: S34 - INTEROPERABILITY WITH PAPER TRADE Duane - further to your e-mail 10 Sep 2004 here are some suggestions for s34 Core Components - Interoperability with Paper Trade: section (C) Core Components: Level (g) Interoperability with Paper Trade n 34 New Slide Core Components - "Interoperability with Paper Trade Manual Processing" The issues in this e-mail are: A Bar-Code Production - Issue, Printers & Readers B Manual Back-up Methodology C Global Registries/Country Peak Bodies Membership Codes A BAR-CODE PRODUCTION - ISSUE, PRINTERS & READERS I note that the section "Interoperability with Paper Trade" proposes bar-code printers and readers. Bar-codes have really improved logistics processes in the developed countries but there are several issues that have to be considered for the developing Countries As far as I can recall from working the Article Numbering Association [ANA] UK some of the problems with Bar-codes are: 1 Bar-Codes for different document types have not been agreed yet eg Purchase Order, Invoice 2 the EAN has to issue a bar code merchant number similar to a Credit Card Merchant Number 3 Bar-Codes are not currently used to produce classifications ie the code is non-significant Ref ANA UK 4 The cost of Bar-Code Printers and Readers may be excessive for developing country SMEs 5 Bar-Code Printers and Readers require fairly clean environments to work effectively - that may not be the case in many developing Countries B MANUAL BACK-UP METHODOLOGY One of the key issues that we have been working on is that each document has a Reference Code which can be created from the key-board. We have developed a manual back-up in case the bar-code readers have not been installed or do not work There is a "button" to represent every key on a computer keyboard Each button is in 8 colours so that it can be used for different processes The ASCII notation is also include as a reference with the button Some of the buttons can be clustered to reduce data entry time and errors C GLOBAL REGISTRIES/PEAK BODIES It is envisaged that possibly Industry Peak Bodies will issue a membership code for each member - this may be in conjunction with the Global Registries in slide 21. That membership number can be represented on each paper document and keyed into the Computer System. NEXT STEPS This issue of Interoperability with Paper Trade is very important for not only Developing Countries but also for SMEs in developed countries Please contact me if your require further comment or information Duane - Thanks again for sharing the UN/CEFACT Vision 2005 for Global Trade Facilitation And providing the opportunity to channel the ideas and comments of both OIC and Halisa members through to you. I know there are many, many EDI and E-commerce Consultants that are extremely frustrated by the amount of time it has taken to realise the benefits of Electronic Information Interchange We all look forward to working with you to assist the UN/CEFACT Strategy achieve its objectives Regards Stephen GOULD Chair - Management Committee XML & E-COMMERCE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP OPEN INTERCHANGE CONSORTIUM 18:18 F 2004/09/24 Syd 2089 Time and date has to be linked to a universal location code or GPS so that the time differences can be automatically calculated for e-commerce transactions E: sggould@oic.org W: Ecommerce Standards > I think that the UN is better equipped to deal with this issue. I have > been working with UN/CEFACT for a while and recently got elected > as vice chair. Attached is a "DRAFT" PPT explaining our vision. > > Please also consider that these are DRAFT slides and are not approved > by the UN yet. The comments are most welcome however as we go > forward to develop the slides. > > I'll send out a later draft copy next week.