XForms Standard Update
May 31, 2004
XML/PrintTalk®: An Update
BY DENNIS MCGARRY, CDC
If you've attended a recent DMIA meeting, chances are you've heard about the XML/PrintTalk® project that's underway at DMIA. I wanted to provide background on the situation and an update on the group's accomplishments.
Each week, three or four distributorships may ask a manufacturer to connect to their business operating systems. The distributorships may use mainstream software packages or custom applications created in house. Manufacturers would like to fulfill each of these requests, but they usually don't have the resources to build individual custom applications for each of their distributor customers.
Distributors use a wide range of solutions to run their businesses. Some use traditional distributor software packages, some use stock PC packages such as QuickBooks®, and some use manual accounting systems. To add to the confusion, many manufacturers don't know what types of software their distributor customers use.
As a result, manufacturers face a major IT dilemma and a number of questions: Which customers should we link to first? Is Customer A more important than Customer B? Which mainstream software package would be easiest to link to? How can we take on a project like this with no IT personnel on staff? How can we devote resources to all of this and keep our own computer system running? How can we afford to spend thousands of dollars on each of these custom solutions? How can we continue to have a state-of-the-art prepress system while dealing with these distractions?
Distributors' continued requests remain unanswered, and manufacturers are in a difficult position. Many manufacturers feel they're being forced to spend funds on IT programming that may or may not pay off. While they want to facilitate communications between their plants and their customers, manufacturers don't have the IT personnel and resources to build custom solutions for even a few of their best distributor customers.
A Solution in the Making
The most economically feasible solution probably is to build one bridge that would link all manufacturers and distributors. This common platform would be written in an open code that processes transactions the same way. Manufacturers and distributor software vendors, however, would still need to tailor their own packages to work with the new code and connect with each other.
Several manufacturers, suppliers and software vendors began meeting in 2001 to work toward this goal. Calling itself "The Vendor Group," the group asked DMIA to participate in its meetings. It decided early on that the PrintTalk standard accomplishes most of its needs. PrintTalk, a community of print management and e-commerce providers that seeks a common communication standard for its members' products, embraces the use of Job Definition Format (JDF) and Commerce eXtensible Markup Language (cXML) for seamless end-to-end e-commerce in the printing industry. But effectively using the PrintTalk standard would require customizing of some specific items. The PrintTalk specification seeks to provide a standard mechanism for transacting business within the broad print market. The Vendor Group felt it was important not to reinvent standards that existed previously, and eventually formally endorsed the PrintTalk standard.
At that point, DMIA became a PrintTalk member. PrintTalk was impressed with the way DMIA and The Vendor Group were approaching the subject, so it asked DMIA to take a position on the PrintTalk board of directors. After accepting the position, DMIA asked Nic Greco, vice president of e-commerce at Peachtree City, Ga.-based manufacturer Printegra, to represent DMIA on the PrintTalk board. He has been instrumental in the project's development since The Vendor Group's initial meetings. Other members of The Vendor Group have volunteered to speak about the group's efforts, holding discussions about the project at every national DMIA meeting since 2001.
The Progress We've Made
At DMIA's May 2003 Spring Management Conference in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M., The Vendor Group met to discuss the progress it had made and its next actions. DMIA and 11 members of the group agreed to split the cost of creating the Print Distribution XML Interface Standards Implementation Guide. They also agreed to hire Sword Microsystems Inc., an operations software supplier in Huntsville, Ala., to develop the guide.
In September 2003, Sword Microsystems produced the Print Distribution XML Interface Standards Implementation Guide, which aims to provide guidance for implementing standard electronic business transactions across the print-for-distribution industry. It also focuses on using the PrintTalk XML-based standard and presents the results of the initial phase of the DMIA initiative. As a starting point, the guide focuses on the implementation of an exact repeat purchase order, an order acknowledgement, a shipping notification and an invoice. It also provides an outline for other transactions, which will be included in future guides as directed by DMIA and sponsoring member organizations.
Fast Forward to October 2003
DMIA invited its members to learn about The Vendor Group's progress during a session at its Print Solutions 2003 Conference & Expo, held Oct. 21-24 in Las Vegas. More than 90 members crowded into the session, led by Greco and Steve Wakefield, president/CEO of Sword Microsystems. For the first time, most DMIA members attending an XML standards meeting asked questions about the project and began to realize its importance for the document industry.
The Vendor Group also met during the conference in Las Vegas. The group invited several DMIA Board members to attend the meeting, which included discussion on how users were implementing the Print Distribution XML Interface Standards Implementation Guide, and what actions the group should take next.
During the meeting, software vendors stated that their programming personnel already were working with the new transaction code, but lacked a utility to test transactions. The primary consensus of the meeting was to create a proposal for the development of a test web site, to which software vendors and manufacturers could send test transactions. The site would act to "certify" participants' transactions, i.e., determine if the data they send are read correctly by the receiving party. The Vendor Group selected Sword Microsystems to write the proposal.
The proposed effort will establish a central, web-based system that will allow distributors and manufacturers implementing the DMIA-PrintTalk Interoperability Standard to test XML document transactions. Companies could post test documents to the certification site to test both generating and receiving business transactions. When an organization completes testing and the document structures are certified, the organization will be able to transact business with other certified organizations industry-wide.
The DMIA Board of Directors is behind the project and encourages the industry's implementation of electronic transactions between distributors and manufacturers. The Board believes that redundancies and inefficiencies need to be eliminated from the sales channel if it's to remain competitive. To that end, the Board has authorized development of a business plan, which will detail the steps necessary to bring XML-based transactions to the next level. This includes establishing a web-based test facility to ensure transaction data is coded and read correctly. DMIA's staff will work with the Vendor Group to write the plan. It will be submitted to the Board at its May 2004 meeting so the effort can move forward quickly.
DMIA members interested in the project are invited to attend the next Vendor Group meeting, which will be held at DMIA's Spring Management Conference in Asheville, N.C. For more information about the event, visit www.dmia.org.
Dennis McGarry, CDC, is vice president of manufacturer and technical programs at DMIA. Email him your comments at .
XML Interface Standards, Guided by a Dozen
Below are the 12 sponsors that contributed to the Print Distribution XML Interface Standards Implementation Guide, which aims to provide guidance for implementing standard electronic business transactions across the print-for-distribution industry. It focuses on using the XML-based standard from PrintTalk, a community of print management and e-commerce providers that seeks a common communication standard for its members' products. As a starting point, the guide focuses on the implementation of an exact repeat purchase order, an order acknowledgement, a shipping notification and an invoice.
DMIA, Alexandria, Va.
Ennis Business Forms Inc., DeSoto, Texas
Forms Management Data Systems Inc., Reno, Nev.
Four51 Inc., Eden Prairie, Minn.
Kramer-Smilko Inc., Bel Air, Md.
Printegra, Peachtree City, Ga.
PrintXcelSM, Englewood, Colo.
Superior Business Solutions, Kalamazoo, Mich.
TopForm® Software Inc., Norcross, Ga.
Ward/Kraft Inc., Fort Scott, Kan.
Wise Business Forms Inc., Alpharetta, Ga.
Xetex Business Systems Inc., West Lawn, Pa.
Additionally, these companies have expressed interest in supporting the XML/PrintTalk® standard project: BFE Systems, Denton, Texas; BFI Print and Promotion Solutions, London, Ontario; Block Graphics Inc., Portland, Ore.; Crabar/GBF, Dayton, Ohio; DISPATCH (including Dispatch Printing, Kim Kraft Business Forms, Dispatch Digital, Fulfillment Plus and The Front End), Erie, Pa.; The Flesh Company, St. Louis; FormsPro Inc., Madison, Wis.; Galaxy Solutions LLC, Shrewsbury, N.J.; Integrated Graphics Data Systems, Aromas, Calif.; MAR Graphics, Valmeyer, Ill.; Plantrol Systems Ltd., Westfield, N.Y.; Tailored Solutions Inc., Milwaukee; Tully-Wihr Company, Colfax, Calif.; and Workflow, Norfolk, Va.
For more information on supporting the project, call Dennis McGarry at (800) 336-4641, ext. 120, or send email to .
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