LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J., Aug 13, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- RosettaNet, a not-for-profit consortium dedicated to the development of business process standards for global trade networks, today announced the creation of a new electronic Certificate of Analysis (eCofA) standard.

When suppliers sell materials to manufacturers, they are required to make declarations about the material's quality and purity. These declarations are made by submitting an electronic Certificate of Analysis and are particularly important when dealing with materials like restricted chemicals that may represent a risk due to toxicity, abuse and potential misapplication.

Recently, the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), a 9,000-member voluntary supply chain security program led by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, recommended that businesses improve the security of their supply chain communications. RosettaNet's new electronic Certificate of Analysis standard meets recent government recommendations, like C-TPAT's, for secure communications.

Development of the new electronic Certificate of Analysis standard was led by the RosettaNet Semiconductor Manufacturing Council which includes representatives from Air Products and Chemicals, IBM, InSync Software, Intel, Linde Electronics and ATMI.

"There are many electronic Certificate of Analysis standards published, but none are as robust as the RosettaNet PIP (Partner Interface Process). Air Products was not able to use any of the existing Certificate of Analysis standards without major modifications, which made any possible economies of scale impossible." Kate Russell, E-Business Manager, Electronics Division, Air Products, and the Program Director for the RosettaNet eCofA Milestone Program said. "The RosettaNet PIP for eCofA provides the full data set required by our customers with no additional modifications. The RosettaNet PIP also uses a reference table which lists the characteristic parameter codes to be used when implementing the PIP--allowing the trading partners to maintain a single reference table in their enterprise systems and eliminating maintenance costs. No other Certificate of Analysis standard incorporates this approach."

"This RosettaNet electronic Certificate of Analysis program is just another example of the power of collaboration. RosettaNet provided the environment for this diverse team of companies to come together and create an innovative solution to a common business challenge. We now have a solution that is standardized, cost efficient and has improved the supply chain communication between business partners," said Larren Olsen, chair of the RosettaNet Semiconductor Manufacturer Council and Director of Materials Business Solutions for Intel. "Everyone shares in these benefits, and as this new standard is proliferated - the savings will be exponential across the industry."

"Our member companies create and implement streamlined business processes to operate the most efficient supply chains in the high-tech industry. The electronic Certificate of Analysis standard is a direct result of this expertise," said Clement D. Erhardt, III, President of RosettaNet. "The electronic certificate of analysis can be used by any industry that needs a secure, standard way to transmit information on material contents and their purity to another trading partner."

RosettaNet provides a secure communication framework, RosettaNet Implementation Framework(R) (RNIF(R)) and standardized process choreography through a common language of RosettaNet Partner Interface Processes(R) (PIPs(R)) to simplify and automate secure end-to-end e-business processes. RosettaNet's new eCofA PIP eliminates the need for many of the proprietary formats and manual activities performed today, so customers and suppliers can be more confident about the quality of their data and the security of the transmission. Additionally, RosettaNet's eCofA standard requires the use of an industry standard characteristic parameter reference list--instead of proprietary open text fields--to further minimize error and rework. When used in combination with the RosettaNet Shipment Notification PIP, the entire business process can be automated.

About RosettaNet

RosettaNet, a subsidiary of GS1 US(TM), is a not-for-profit consortium dedicated to the collaborative development and rapid deployment of open, business process standards that align processes within global trading networks. RosettaNet standards and services provide a common language for business transactions and the foundation for integrating critical processes among partners within the global supply chain. Companies that use RosettaNet's proven standards benefit from added cost-savings throughout supply chain processes, improved ebusiness communications with trading partners, enhanced product life cycle management capabilities and added customer satisfaction. For more information about RosettaNet, visit www.rosettanet.org.

SOURCE: RosettaNet

GS1 US
Varsha Anand
+1 312.463.4018, vanand@gs1us.org