Boston, MA — April 28, 2003 — The OASIS interoperability consortium is setting up an e-procurement standards committee to provide a forum for government agencies, organizations and companies to guide the coordinated development of global standards.
OASIS — the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards — is a not-for-profit consortium working on the development, convergence and adoption of e-business standards.
The group said its Electronic Procurement Standardization (EPS) Technical Committee would work to analyze requirements for electronic procurement processes, identify gaps and recommend new standards as needed.
"Our first priority will be to develop a comprehensive framework for electronic procurement standards, relating existing specifications to those in development," said Terri Tracey, vice president of technology at the Institute for Supply Management and chair of the OASIS EPS Technical Committee. "It is vital that we reach consensus on how these standards fit together. Once we establish our framework and priorities, we will create technical committees within OASIS to advance the necessary standards and implementation processes."
To facilitate the adoption of its work, the OASIS EPS Technical Committee has secured representation from across the supply chain. Participants include the Institute for Supply Management, Information Society Standardization System of the European Standards Committee (CEN/ISSS), U.S. National Institute for Governmental Purchasing (NIGP), U.S. National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO), RosettaNet, solution provider SeeBeyond and others.
"Input from government and industry on the direction of the OASIS EPS activity is essential to ensure credible, effective and neutral specifications," said Patrick Gannon, OASIS president and CEO. "OASIS is pleased to provide a common ground where e-procurement stakeholders of every type can collaborate amongst themselves and with related efforts, such as the OASIS Universal Business Language (UBL) and the OASIS e-Government Technical Committees."
"CEN/ISSS will participate to ensure the maximum synergies between the emerging global consensus and regional requirements in Europe," said John Ketchell, CEN/ISSS director. "CEN/ISSS plans to start an e-procurement project to complement European legislative initiatives to develop and harmonize public e-procurement across EU member states by analyzing standards requirements. Our results will be contributed to the OASIS EPS Technical Committee."
