Mr. Nicol poses the question:
Is seamless catalog interoperability technically achievable?
In my opinion we cannot yet provide a generic, across all product lines,
catalogue structure. However, within a limited scoped it is certainly
feasible. The obvious successes of Amazon.com and eBay illustrate the
feasibility of these ventures.
As is immediately obvious from perusing both sets of catalogues, the defined
structure in describing the goods limits the choices. Hence, for books,
where the choices are author, title, etc. and then a full text search makes
it easy to implement such a catalogue. This same catalogue cannot be used
to configure your computer purchases, nor can it be used to pick options on
the phone lines.
So, yes, you can set up catalogue structures by vertical industry (one for
books, one for computers, one for phone line services). I do not think we
know enough about cross industry product taxonomy.
However, given the full text search capabilities we have today, a catalogue
with full text descriptions, amenable to text searching is highly desirable
and useful. This capability is part of the business driver for the Internet
search engines. For negotiated, governmental pricing environments, this
could be very useful. The challenge of the vocabulary of the description
fields is omnipresent, but even this is overcome by minimal effort.
Dan Kazzaz
PaperFree Systems, Inc.
I am seeking comments regarding seamless catalog interoperability, ie. the
notion of a solution whereby a single action enables the discovery of, and
subsequent purchase of, an item from dissimilar and commercially unconnected
catalogs.
To describe "catalog interoperability" another way: An open environment
where
the buyer has a relationship with one service provider or trading community
and
therefore has access to suppliers "belonging" to that service provider, AND
also
has access to suppliers who "belong" to another service provider, AND to
suppliers who operate their own supply system.
Specifically I am interested in opinions on -
Is seamless catalog interoperability technically achievable? (I'm aware
of
the work being done by the GSA/CommerceNet pilot and the eCo Framework),
and
(More particularly) Is it commercially achievable? What are the business
drivers for catalog service providers to help create and participate in
such
an open trading environment?
My interest is from a Government "buy" side.
Ray Nicol
Project Manager, Government Online
Multimedia Victoria
Department of State & Regional Development
Level 10, 55 Collins Street
Melbourne Australia 3000
www.mmv.vic.gov.au
Phone: (61 3) 9651 9118
Fax: (61 3) 9651 9039
Mobile: 0409 338 958
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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