RANDALL EVANS
is a director of e-commerce for Weyerhaeuser Co.

This article is excerpted from Mr. Evans' presentation at AF&PA's Paper Week, March 2001.

With many of the dot com's recently closing their doors, some people question the future of e-business.

By RANDALL EVANS

Evolving e-commerce standards

I believe most leaders realize that e-business is here to stay. Computers are almost as common as telephones, high speed Internet access (broadband) is a reality, e-mail is as common as phone mail, and some administrative paperwork is already being replaced by more efficient digital processes. These changes demonstrate shifts in the way we do business. These shifts have occurred quietly and are subtle examples of e-business. They also lay the groundwork for more significant change.

Many people question what e-business will look like in the future: Will it be some form of a marketplace or a direct connection? Whether you believe that you will be transacting business through an industry-backed marketplace like ForestExpress, a dot com, or connecting directly to your customers and suppliers, standardization (documents, nomenclature, XML language, and transport) will be essential to utilize the power and efficiency of e-business.

WHY ARE STANDARDS IMPORTANT? Standards facilitate participation in marketplaces, globally enabling forest products standards within the context of other industries. The end goal is to establish standards that are interoperable both across the industry and through the value chain. A focused, global effort provides earlier implementation, and, therefore, earlier benefits to the industry. E-commerce standards will become a critical part of the future industry infrastructure. Standards will impact all players, large and small, adding efficiency while improving the reach and richness of communication. Fully implemented standards allow us to conduct business with synchronized data throughout the supply chain.

Also, a significant amount of the savings from e-business is expected to come from standardization. Standardization enables the use of one-touch processes (processes with no manual re-entry), thereby reducing error rates and invoice deductions. This, in turn, results in more accurate and timely financial analysis while reducing the cost of transactions. Cost savings will also come from utilizing existing standards efforts and leveraging the expertise of technology and service providers to speed the process of developing standards.

HISTORY OF PAPINET. In 1999, the papiNet standards effort was formed by a group of European forest products manufacturers. Concurrently, the Graphics Communications Association (GCA) was developing e-commerce standards. In mid-2000, they united their efforts, realizing that the standards would need to be global in order to maximize benefits.

In November 2000, AF&PA began working with the leadership of papiNet to participate in existing standards-development efforts and to work towards the development of a broader scope, as well as a revised charter and business plan. In May 2001, AF&PA and GCA announced that they were jointly coordinating the establishment of a North American standards effort (papiNet NA).

Some of the key goals of papiNet NA are to organize the North American industry's standards as part of papiNet and to provide representation in papiNet at the global level. The combined effort of North America and Europe will bring together hundreds of companies and is the most significant standards effort in the forest products industry worldwide.

PapiNet is a neutral, open industry effort to establish e-commerce standards for the industry. Suppliers and customers will work on a broad scale and in a unified fashion—a milestone for our industry.

The current scope of papiNet standards includes fine papers, publication papers, packaging, and pulp. With a focus on document standards, five have been completed, with three more in development. The effort is non-profit and exists only for the development of standards. It is not about standardizing products or about developing software.

Once the North American/European papiNet effort is formalized, the plan is to begin working with leaders in Asia and South America to broaden the effort to those areas. Also, other industry groups representing trading partners (buyers and sellers) throughout the value chain will be included, as well as other forest products segments, including building materials, lumber, and timber. Efforts to insure interoperability will be emphasized as well.

E-business is coming. It's only a matter of time, and being late or not being there at all could impede your ability to compete and be profitable. If this seems overwhelming, take the "e" off, because in a few years this will just be "business." Or, think of it as "e" = economic opportunity.