IN AN ATTEMPT to pave the way for post-EDI global commerce standards, major global retailers reached agreement this week in Paris on XML-based standards for business-to-business commerce in the consumer goods industry.

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Barely five months after these standards were first considered, the members of the Global Commerce Initiative (GCI) have put forth the Global Commerce Internet Protocol, a set of recommendations governing the management of data for Internet-based trading exchanges and other b-to-b interactions.

The GCI's technical infrastructure standards -- the transport/routing standards in particular -- have been developed by the Electronic Business XML (ebXML) group, an initiative of the United Nations body for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) to provide a framework for XML-based business data standards. The GSI Protocol covers data access and security, basic data content, and basic information flow.

On Aug. 1, draft standards for the GCI protocol became available for proof-of-concept testing, and as will other GCI members, Proctor & Gamble will embark upon tests, said Ralph Drayer, vice president of efficient consumer response at Proctor & Gamble, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The GCI counts as members 40 major manufacturers and retailers as well as eight trade associations which, in total, represent 850,000 companies

"We will be actively involved in the prototyping," Drayer said. "This is a very exciting development for Proctor & Gamble. It's a tremendous opportunity to remove waste from supply chains...Today, we have 14 different EDI standards to do a purchase order." There are also different product numbers and different bar code standards just to name a few, he said. The GCI Protocol is intended to streamline these processes.

With this effort, the GCI members are attempting to avoid the widespread usage of nonstandardized data conventions that may result from online trading exchanges developing them on their own, Drayer said.

"I think everyone recognizes that if it's not done quickly there will be a mess," Drayer said. This is not an anti-exchange movement, he said, adding that Transora, the WorldWide Retail Exchange, GlobalNetXchange, and CPGmarket.com have taken active roles in the effort. Many exchanges "through their member companies have been active and have committed resources," he said.

After the proof-of-concept trials are completed, draft recommendations-endorsed by the GCI-will be published as standards by the international standards bodies, said GCI officials.

The GCI, founded in October 1999, consists of consumer products retailers, manufacturers and international standards bodies. Some of the corporate members of the GCI board are Carrefour, Federated Department Stores, The Home Depot, Sears Roebuck, Wal-Mart, and Johnson & Johnson. The GCI has members from organizations in Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia.