BMEcat - Leading companies agree on a standard for electronic trade
The Bundesverband Materialwirtschaft, Einkauf und Logistik e. V. (BME) [Federal Association for Material Management, Purchasing and Logistics] in Frankfurt/Main has started an initiative for the development of a standard for electronic data transfer for electronic catalogues. Many renowned companies have taken a very active part in this initiative. These include Alcatel, American Express, Audi, Bayer, BMW, C@Content, DaimlerChrysler, Deutsche Bahn [German Rail], Deutsche Telekom [German Telecom], DLR, e-pro solutions, Flughafen Frankfurt [Frankfurt Airport], GZS, InfraServ Höchst, Lufthansa, Mannesmann, Philips, PreussenElektra, Ruhrgas, Siemens, VEBA and VISA.
Version 1.0 of the standard carrying the name "BMEcat" was approved in Frankfurt in November 1999. The specialised developments were carried out by the Fraunhofer Institute IAO, Stuttgart and the universities of Essen and Linz. The standard BMEcat closes a gap which has become an urgent problem for all companies wishing to remain internationally competitive and which is caused by the continued digitalisation of the markets without any generally accepted standard being available. On the Internet alone there are more than 160 different catalogue languages circulating. A company such as the Siemens Group with 220,000 suppliers reaches its limits here just like a supplier who, on the other hand, is required to compile his catalogue in a different format for each customer. Thus BMEcat will considerably reduce the costs for companies on both sides.
With its simple process of taking over catalogue data from a wide range of different formats, BMEcat creates in particular a factor which is required in order to be able to expand inter-company trade on the Internet in Germany. The XML-based standard BMEcat has already been successfully implemented in pilot projects. The market introduction is being supported by the software companies Oracle and JBA Germany as official technology partners.
The majority of companies involved in the development have agreed to use BMEcat in their companies from now on and to exchange data with their suppliers in this new standardised format in future. In view of this powerful support, BME's chief manager Dr. Holger Hildebrandt estimates that the standard will be able to make its mark quickly - not only in Germany but in Europe too, and maybe even world-wide.
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