High-tech firms based in the Philippines can now seamlessly and directly transact with their suppliers and buyers around the globe through the Internet using a common e-business lingua franca being offered by the RosettaNet Philippines consortium.
RosettaNet Philippines adheres to the formation, adoption and implementation of a common electronic business language that will align business processes and facilitate understanding among cross-country trading partners. The local consortium is the latest addition to a broader Asia-wide initiative that already includes activities in Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan.
Like its counterparts in other countries in the region which are all dedicated to the implementation of RosettaNet’s B-to-B supply chain standards, RosettaNet Philippines is also empowered to address regional nuances in business practices and how they conform to or influence modifications in the global RosettaNet standards.
“By adopting the RosettaNet e-Business standards, we aim to promote Philippine companies as the preferred trading partners of global corporations,” said RosettaNet Philippines Executive Director, Lito Zulaybar, who stressed that the main objective of the organization is to serve as the prime mover in the adoption of RosettaNet standards as an e-business standards.
Apart from putting Philippine-based corporations on the map of global trade, RosettaNet is also expected to reduce cost and boost the efficiency of local organizations adopting the standards. Although there is no clear-cut figure that will quantify cost-savings derived from adopting the RosettaNet standards, the global consortium’s chief executive officer Jennifer Hamilton said as much as 75 per cent reduction in inventories has been experienced by member-company Seagate since it began using the standards.
“A lot of variables are involved, so the cost advantage varies for every organization. But certainly, companies that are seriously looking at reducing their inventories, improving time-to-market, and reducing transaction cost will find RosettaNet a potent tool for achieving their goals,” she said.
Formed in February 1998, RosettaNet is an independent, non-profit consortium dedicated to the collaborative development and rapid deployment of open Internet-based business standards.
Globally, more than 450 companies – representing over US$1 trillion in annual information technology, electronic components, and semiconductor manufacturing – participate in RosettaNet’s standards development, strategy and implementation activities.
In the Philippines, key industry players, including the Semiconductors and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI), Motorola Communications Philippines, Intel Technology Philippines, Bayan Trade, and Ayala Port Makati spearheaded the establishment of the local consortium.
By introducing a common language — or standard processes for the electronic sharing of business information, RosettaNet opens the lines of communications as well as the opportunities to companies wishing to participate in global trade, according to Bayan Trade president and chief operating officer Dante Briones.
Companies that adopt the RosettaNet standards, he added, are not only empowered to forge dynamic and flexible trading partner relationships, but to reduce cost and boost their productivity as well. Furthermore, they get to enjoy speed and uniformity in their trading practices. Electronic marketplace Bayan Trade, for instance, can enable its customers to trade electronically with their business partners all over the world as soon as the trading portal adopts the RosettaNet standards in its operations.
Embodied in what it calls the Resolution, Integration, Standardization and Education (RISE) strategy, RosettaNet Philippines’ thrusts include: showcasing RosettaNet’s interoperability and cost competitive implementations; pushing the adoption of RosettaNet standards in the country and accelerating local implementation; and enhancing local B-to-B competencies through seminars, training courses, symposia and workshops.
To be able to do all these, Zulaybar admitted that a critical mass of (members) is necessary. Thus, foremost in RosettaNet Philippines’ agenda is spreading the word about the organization and recruiting member-organizations. At the moment, 38 companies, almost half of which are in the semiconductors and electronics industries, have already pledged to join the consortium.
“Any company, regardless of industry affiliation, is welcome to join RosettaNet Philippines,” Zulaybar said.
