The Emergence of Standards
An enormous amount of work has been done behind the scenes to ensure there is compatibility between different systems so that they can be linked to each other (either directly or via a communications network) in order to exchange data. This work has been carried out on a whole range of levels, right from the mechanics of putting the cables and wires together to providing standard applications interfaces in software packages- This standardisation process is called Open Systems Integration (OSI) - which is not to be confused with the ISO (International Standards Organisation) which ratifies these standards.
Internet Pointer
More information on the International Standards Organisation (ISO) and other world standards can be found at http://www.iso.ch/ and http://www.wssn.net/
Most of the results of this work are invisible to companies using computers. Nowadays you can be fairly sure in purchasing hardware that there is a high level of compatibility with other systems. This is not always the case with software products, although popular products have spawned de facto standards that are now being used widely. Examples include Word, the word processing program from Microsoft which has been adopted to such a wide degree by both business and home computer users that it is now acknowledged as a de facto standard.
Hand in hand with standardisation comes simplification. In the 1970s and early 1980s a single container shipment might have required up to 80 different import/export documents to go with it. Much of the information on these forms was common to all of them. In the UK, the Simpler Trade Procedures Board (SITPRO), worked to simplify all of these forms and as a result produced the Single Administrative Document (SAD)
Now the common data only had to be filled in once and the form could be used for a wide range of purposes. Effectively it was a large and more complicated form but it was simpler to understand and use. Much the same sort of processes went in to creating EDI messages, such as invoices (a message could be said to be an electronic version of the information in the form).
Pioneers
Initially the growth of E-comnierce practices was bound to be slow. A number of forward-thinking companies pioneered various techniques for transferring data in formats that enabled it to be processed on receipt. In a sense, it was an act of blind faith, and much of the work that was done laid the foundations for other companies.
At this time the terms E-commerce or ED! did not exist, but that is what companies were trying to achieve. The most important realisation was that common data formats were needed for such transfers to work between communities of traders. This led to the creation of standards bodies in Europe and the US, and saw the co-operation of industry groups in defining message requirements.
A number of pilots were set up, not all of which were successful in trading terms, but which helped to elevate the subject in public awareness. Two of the better known ones were in the shipping industry and were known as DISH and SHIPNET. A number of port community systems were created across Europe. Felixstowe, Southampton, Rotterdam and Amsterdam all set up import/export systems which are still in use.
During the 1980s, a number of communications companies introduced Value Added Network Services (YANs) to provide secure communications channels for business visage. The VANs' awareness raising activities, alongside work being done by the standards bodies, helped to start build communities of users in a variety of business sectors, such as the retail industry.
These particular communities could grow rapidly as the main ones, such as major supermarkets and shopping chains, could make EDI capability (specifically the ability to receive electronic orders) a prerequisite of selecting a supplier. The suppliers needed the business and had to comply.
Smaller VANs have emerged to cater for the requirements of specific sectors, such as education. The airline industry freight forwarding community and shipping community have all, at some stage, created networks for transmission of EDI and E-mail data.
Offtopic: Check out this interesting blog about web design and development if you like.
An enormous amount of work has been done behind the scenes to ensure there is compatibility between different systems so that they can be linked to each other (either directly or via a communications network) in order to exchange data. This work has been carried out on a whole range of levels, right from the mechanics of putting the cables and wires together to providing standard applications interfaces in software packages- This standardisation process is called Open Systems Integration (OSI) - which is not to be confused with the ISO (International Standards Organisation) which ratifies these standards.
Internet Pointer
More information on the International Standards Organisation (ISO) and other world standards can be found at http://www.iso.ch/ and http://www.wssn.net/
Most of the results of this work are invisible to companies using computers. Nowadays you can be fairly sure in purchasing hardware that there is a high level of compatibility with other systems. This is not always the case with software products, although popular products have spawned de facto standards that are now being used widely. Examples include Word, the word processing program from Microsoft which has been adopted to such a wide degree by both business and home computer users that it is now acknowledged as a de facto standard.
Hand in hand with standardisation comes simplification. In the 1970s and early 1980s a single container shipment might have required up to 80 different import/export documents to go with it. Much of the information on these forms was common to all of them. In the UK, the Simpler Trade Procedures Board (SITPRO), worked to simplify all of these forms and as a result produced the Single Administrative Document (SAD)
Now the common data only had to be filled in once and the form could be used for a wide range of purposes. Effectively it was a large and more complicated form but it was simpler to understand and use. Much the same sort of processes went in to creating EDI messages, such as invoices (a message could be said to be an electronic version of the information in the form).
Pioneers
Initially the growth of E-comnierce practices was bound to be slow. A number of forward-thinking companies pioneered various techniques for transferring data in formats that enabled it to be processed on receipt. In a sense, it was an act of blind faith, and much of the work that was done laid the foundations for other companies.
At this time the terms E-commerce or ED! did not exist, but that is what companies were trying to achieve. The most important realisation was that common data formats were needed for such transfers to work between communities of traders. This led to the creation of standards bodies in Europe and the US, and saw the co-operation of industry groups in defining message requirements.
A number of pilots were set up, not all of which were successful in trading terms, but which helped to elevate the subject in public awareness. Two of the better known ones were in the shipping industry and were known as DISH and SHIPNET. A number of port community systems were created across Europe. Felixstowe, Southampton, Rotterdam and Amsterdam all set up import/export systems which are still in use.
During the 1980s, a number of communications companies introduced Value Added Network Services (YANs) to provide secure communications channels for business visage. The VANs' awareness raising activities, alongside work being done by the standards bodies, helped to start build communities of users in a variety of business sectors, such as the retail industry.
These particular communities could grow rapidly as the main ones, such as major supermarkets and shopping chains, could make EDI capability (specifically the ability to receive electronic orders) a prerequisite of selecting a supplier. The suppliers needed the business and had to comply.
Smaller VANs have emerged to cater for the requirements of specific sectors, such as education. The airline industry freight forwarding community and shipping community have all, at some stage, created networks for transmission of EDI and E-mail data.
Offtopic: Check out this interesting blog about web design and development if you like.
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