Definition. The relation of electronic commerce and business in the context of trade and transport facilitation can be broadly defined as facilitation of business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-administration (B2A) operations in the course of commercial transactions by optimally using ICT for issuing, submitting, accepting and processing electronic documents between the involved parties.

Overview. The integration of business processes along the supply chain is an essential part of today's trade facilitation process. It comprises of modernization, strengthening and alignment of the national, regional and international legislative and institutional framework; standard setting efforts;  and the development of value added services to business, especially small and medium sized enterprises (SME).

Legislative and policy approaches

The legislative approaches target a wide are of national policies such as the regulation pertaining to the acceptance of electronic documents and signatures by authorities, the interoperability and recognition of foreign digital signatures, fostering the user confidence and cyber security, etc. These measures are increasingly integrated on a regional basis (an example is EU's eEurope program), as well as in the framework of interregional partnerships (such as ASEM). A variety of international conventions provide for global alignment of such legislation and institutions.

Another important aspect is creating capacity within the responsible authorities for optimal performance using the emerging new technologies and conforming to new international standards. This is often accomplished in a public-private partnership (see the Links section below for links to such organizations).

Creating open global standards

This is a business driven process that started with the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and the development of the unified digital message system EDIFACT by UN/CEFACT. It aims at reducing the costs, time and processing failures inherent in the exchange of paper documents by systematically introducing interoperable IT solutions with all parties involved in commercial exchange and enabling them to switch from paper based to paperless trade. To facilitate B2A processes, the WCO Customs Data Model was developed by G-7 experts in compliance with EDIFACT. In the area of B2A/B2B process facilitation, a major international standard is provided by the Harmonized System for unified goods classification used by customs administrations worldwide. Work is underway in APEC countries also to create electronic document handling systems for other types of control, such as E-Cert in New Zealand for phytosanitary control.

The facilitation of trade and transport through electronic commerce has greatly benefited from the development of Internet and the introduction of the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) - two technologies that help drastically reduce start up and transaction costs as compared to traditional EDI systems. Basing on XML and web technology, a variety of standards emerged on a more general or sectoral basis aiming at ensuring automated recognition of supported business transactions, negotiation, contracting and processing of the deal, creating online dispute resolution mechanisms, signing and encrypting the contents transmitted using the Web, and more general issues such as Internet governance. The first UN set of standards in this area was ebXML released by OASIS and UN/CEFACT. A positive development in aligning standards to create a global interoperable environment is to be witnessed presently (an example is the ongoing UNECE/OASIS work on releasing UBL 2.0 as a CEFACT standard).

Paper documents with signature and stamp are still mandatory in most countries. The automated transition between paper and electronic documents is currently possible by using barcodes developed by GS1 (formerly EAN International). As a more advanced option, the set of electronic documents UNeDocs developed by UNECE, in the pilot phases in the United Kingdom and considered for implementation also in other countries, will allow to create PDF formatted trade documents out of the XML files, and vice versa. UPU has introduced a digitally signed contracting mechanism complementing these efforts. To close the circle, payment operations (including letters of credit) are electronic and even more sophisticated documents related to ownership title (such as bills of lading) go paperless.

New technologies allow affordable solutions to an increasing number of small and meduim sized businesses and thus facilitate their integration in global supply chains. This opens a new range of possibilities for tracing product origin along the supply chain to improve logistics, ensure product security and reduce health, safety and security threats. To further facilitate the process, technologies such as Radio Frequency Identifier tags (RFID) were created.

Facilitation of eCommerce as a service

In the course of various standardization efforts, industry wide solutions (such as the digital bill of lading Bolero or the RosettaNet set of standards) were adopted by their respective stakeholders and implemented as partner finding and trade services. National and regional solutions, on the other hand, seek to apply the Single Window approach by combining (sometimes in joint public-private efforts) a range of Government services. In the subtopics to this topic, you also will find presentations of the technologies for automated acceptance and processing by Government of electronic trade documents.

GFP and GFP Partners Activities. UNCTAD: ASYCUDA; UNECE: International Trade and Business Processes Group, Techniques and Methodologies Group, UNeDocs, ebXML (with OASIS); ICC: E-Business, IT and Telecoms.

Others' Activities. The World Wide Web Consortium: XML, XML Encryption, XML Signature (with IETF); OASIS: Business Tranasctions, LegalXML, UBL; The UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL): Working Group IV Electronic commerce; EAN International: EAN.UCC XML Schemas and Business Message Standards.

Where to Start. ICC compendium on ICT and E-Business policy and practice, Organizations involved in technical coordination of the Internet, UNCTAD ICT and e-business website (and especially "Information Society Measurements: the Case of e-Business"), International e-Commerce Benchmarking Experimental Statistics - a publication of the Office for national statistics, UNCITRAL: Model Law on Electronic Signatures;Model Law on Electronic Commerce with Guide to Enactment (1996), with additional article 5 bis as adopted in 1998; Recommendation on the Value of Computer Records (1985). The WTO members have also made a number of proposals at the ongoing WTO negotiations that relate to electronic documents.

Join the effort! The GFP welcomes feedback/additions/tools/documents from practitioners, that would respond to this topic. The GFP web team is particularly interested in collecting and assembling all the methodologies, survey instruments and results developed and used by its Partners. Please e-mail those to and suggest the topic(s) under which they could be included.

Pictures in this topic courtesy of www.morguefile.com