papiNet

papiNet, the Paper Industry Network, was created by a global coalition of forest product companies.  The network is made up of both European and North American paper companies.  Europeans are represented by the group of 23 member companies of the Confederation of European Paper Industry (CEPI).  North America is represented by the B2B Standards Committee of the Graphic Communications Association.  In July of 2000, these organizations agreed to work together toward a common goal and so formed papiNet.

The mission of papiNet is to develop, maintain and support the implementation of global electronic business transaction standards for parties engaged in the buying, selling, and distribution of forest and paper products. The aim is to improve the reach and richness of communication throughout the supply chain, increase efficiencies, and support interoperability among trading partners.

papiNet began its work by defining five common transactions in XML.  Transactions included the Purchase Order, Order Confirmation, Call Off, Delivery Message, and Invoice within the papiNet specification V1.0 in June 2001.  The second phase of papiNet development, will include Request for Quote and Receipt Advise messages. In addition, the Working Group is analyzing the business processes for Vendor Managed Inventory and will identify appropriate transactions to include, such as Forecasts and Usage Reports. Additional messages such as Quality Reports, Product Catalog, and Debit/Credit messages are also being considered.

papiNet is an example of one of an IDEAlliance standards alliance.  You can find out more about papiNet by going to their Web site at www.papinet.org.