UN/CEFACT

1. UN/CEFACT UN/CEFACT Overviewand its Future Strategy Kenji Itoh Vice-Chair, UN/CEFACT kenji41@attglobal.net UNITED NATIONS CENTRE FOR FACILITATION OF PROCEDURES AND PRACTICES FOR ADMINISTRATION, COMMERCE AND TRANSPORT

2. UN/CEFACT Overview • Purpose, Vision and Organisation • Trade Facilitation • Overview of the work programme & permanent groups • Electronic Business & UN/EDIFACT • New initiatives -ebXML-& the strategy towards e-business exchanges • UN/CEFACT’s contribution to world trade

3. UN/CEFACTThe UN Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business Its purpose is to provide a flexible and innovative global organisation for the development and dissemination of best practices and standards in trade facilitation and electronic business

4. UN/CEFACTThe UN Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business Its vision is to contribute to the growth of world trade through the development and promotion of: Simple, Transparent and Effective Processes for Global Commerce

5. UN/CEFACT - Guiding Principles • Equal commitment to trade facilitation and electronic business NB From the perspective of accelerating world trade, both are intimately linked. They also share a focus on processes, procedures, information flows and data • Global reach • Strong industry interface

6. UN/CEFACT - Guiding Principles • Commitment to work strategically rather than tactically - “top down not bottom-up”- starting at the process level • Flexible and empowered structures • No duplication of the work of other international organisations

7. UN/CEFACT- Organisation • Plenary is made up of delegations from UN member states, inter-governmental and recognised international organisations representing both the public and private sectors • The Chair and Vice Chairs and the members of the Steering Group are elected by the Plenary. The Steering group has management and coordination responsibilities • Empowered Working Groups are responsible for carrying out agreed parts of the work programme

8. UN/CEFACT- Organisation • A very special feature of the Plenary is that all delegations have the same rights e.g. An international organisation representing an industry sector has the same rights as a member state • This recognises the strong industry input into the work and the need, particularly in trade facilitation, for an open interface between public sector organisations and private businesses

9. UN/CEFACT - Organization

10. UN/CEFACT- Linkages: AFACT • Regional grouping of Asia Pacific countries with strong links to UN/CEFACT • Members include Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam. (Hong Kong, Mongoliaan observer)

11. UN/CEFACT – Trade Facilitation www.uncefact.org

12. UN/ECE Trade Facilitation • Quality work with significant achievements. For example, UNLK, UNTDED, and over 30 Recommendations to Governments • But of necessity, in response to business requirements, a tactical “bottom- up “ approach • The approach should now become more strategic

13. UN/CEFACT & Trade Facilitation • Work to increase the number of countries with effective trade facilitation structures • Wherever possible start with the process analysis being developed by the BPAWG (Trade facilitation covers the BUY, SHIP, PAY processes)

14. UN/CEFACT & Trade Facilitation • Continue the core trade facilitation approach of simplification, harmonisation, standardisation but recognise that Trade Facilitation is a multi - disciplinary technique which encourages horizontal integration across functions • Also use other best practice techniques such as value chain analysis to highlight constraints

15. UN/CEFACT & Trade Facilitation • However, Trade Facilitation is not just about analysis and simplification. Its also about getting practical steps taken on the ground • For example, harmonising the operating times of official offices at border crossings or getting public sector and private sector players to sit down and work together

16. UN/CEFACT & Trade Facilitation Our work must employ a structured approach and best practice techniques but also embrace the need to offer guidance through practical steps such as codes of conduct

17. UN/CEFACT - Work Programme • The detailed work programme includes the analysis and modelling of business processes, the rationalisation of international trade procedures, electronic business (UN/EDIFACT, Simpl-edi, ebXML, OO-edi) coding, and associated legal aspects • It is carried out through empowered permanent and ad hoc working groups and through joint ventures www.uncefact.org

18. UN/CEFACT- Permanent working groups • Business Process Analysis (BPAWG) • Techniques and Methodologies (TMWG) • International Trade Procedures (ITPWG) • UN/EDIFACT (EWG) • Codes (CDWG) • Legal (LWG)

19. The Work ProgrammeOverall Approach To highlight constraints and make effective proposals for change, the policy is to use modelling and best practice techniques to analyse and identify processes, activities, procedures, and their information flows

20. UN/CEFACT – Electronic Business www.uncefact.org

21. e-business or e-commerce?

22. e-commerce has come to be a very broad concept For example: “on-line sales to individual consumers”* *special e-c supplement of the International Herald Tribune 99-10-14 By contrast e-business is focussed sharply on business requirements

23. e-business:what is it? • It is the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to radically improve business and administrative processes and practices • But it is not just about technologies; it is equally about rationalisingand integratingthe underlying business processes - often applying techniques first developed in trade facilitation

24. e-business is already well established! Globally, EDI and Bar Coding are widely used in all sectors of industry and commerce. EDI is also extensively used in many government departments worldwide e.g. Customs, Health and Central Purchasing.

25. Today EDI and UN/EDIFACT are at the heart of e-business UN/EDIFACT is the international standard of choice for the exchange of commercial and administrative data across all sectors of business

26. But the very rapid development of ICT & the Web offers new opportunities to exchange business data UN/CEFACT needs to take full account of these developments and ensure that its tools maintain their relevance for all users

27. To meet these new opportunities UN/EDIFACT is being enhanced The enhancements are being driven by the need to simplify complex and diverse business processes and advances in technology

28. UN/EDIFACT - enhancements • These enhancements based on advances in technology and on business process and information modelling and other best practice techniques, have already led to significant work to develop: • Simpl –edi and OO –edi • For some time we have also been monitoring the development of XML -eXtensible Mark up Language- a powerful new web compatible syntax. This has led to our first joint venture.

29. UN/CEFACT – joint ventures Electronic Business XML - ebXML - our first joint venture, is with OASIS – the Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards

30. ebXML • OASIS is a not-for- profit industry association whose members include Fuji, IBM, Microsoft, NIST, SAP and Sun • Many of the members of OASIS have been directly involved in the development of XML www.oasis-open.org

31. ebXML • The objective of the ebXML initiative is to research and identify the technical basis upon which the global implementation of XML can be standardised • The deliverables will be open technical specifications to support electronic business exchanges

32. UN/CEFACT’s strategy for e-business exchanges www.uncefact.org

33. UN/CEFACT’s strategy recognises that its core expertise lies in understanding business processes and their data elements and codes No other organisation worldwide can claim the same level of expertise in attributing definitions to business data

34. UN/CEFACT’s strategy will use a range of data transfer echniques: • Conventional UN/EDIFACT • Simpl-edi • XML (ebXML) • OO-edi No one technique is pre-eminent; each has its place and special value

35. And, crucially, the core data definitions and concepts developed in UN/EDIFACT and UNTDED can use all of these techniques Therefore, the overall investment in data definitions can be preserved and the use of alternative methodologies supported

36. UN/CEFACT and International Standardisation. • Memorandum of Understanding • Standardisation Bodies - ISO, IEC, ITU, UN/ECE • Participating International User Groups - CALS, NATO CALS • High Level Management Group to co-ordinate work programmes and avoid duplication of effort. • UN/CEFACT represents UN/ECE

37. UN/CEFACT and World Trade

38. Together trade facilitation and e-business techniques are the key to delivering our vision of Simple, transparent, effective processes for global commerce

39. The short term benefits of such processes include: • simplified procedures • integrated supply chains • reduced cycle times • streamlined business • effective trading communities • lower costs

40. The longer term benefits are open, effective, legally certain, business and administrative processes and a substantial improvement in the efficiency of global commerce

41. A substantial improvement in the efficiency of global commerce will contribute significantly to accelerating the growth and scope of world trade

42. WTO OECD G8 EU/EC APEC World Bank WCO UNCITRAL UN/CEFACT UNCTAD UNESCO WIPO ISO ICC Some of the International Organisations working to accelerate World Trade

43. UN/CEFACT is the only organisation working on the analysis, simplification and harmonisation of business processes especially those in international trade. www.uncefact.org

44. The Future of e-Business in UN/CEFACT UNITED NATIONS CENTRE FOR TRADE FACILITATION AND ELECTRONIC BUSINESS

45. What has happened • Proposed new eBWG • Unforeseen issues delayed distribution of information • Tried to meet ambitious time lines • Created an ad hoc group until further consultation takes place • Posted FAQs to assist users ( www.ebtwg.org ) Should have been more inclusive

46. Created eBTWG • Ad hoc working group for 12 months or less • Serves as an interim bridge until eBWG approval • Progress ebXML-related work • 12 project proposals approved • First meeting October 2001

47. UN/CEFACT Realising the Vision • Ability to keep pace with market demand • Attract alternate sources of capital • Single source of global standards • Build on business expertise & attract additional expertise • Syntax neutral • Continue to support UN/EDIFACT • Business process information modeling • Data commonality • Augment available skill sets

48. UN/CEFACT The Vision • Leverage UN/CEFACT business • experience • Technology – neutral • organisation

49. Objective • Implement the eBusiness vision as approved by the Plenary • Fulfil commitments to advance ebXML • Create a unified world class standards organisation

50. Starting Principles • Process Driven – Top Down • Syntax neutral • Business partnerships • Solutions orientation • Change management • React to business needs • Address resource requirements