Global content management services for product … content management services for product providers and purchasers ... Non-Unified Catalog Firewall ... facilitate procurement, a process

Global content management services forproduct providers and purchasers

Amy J.C. Trappey*, Charles V. TrappeyDepartment of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan, ROC

Received 20 September 2002; accepted 23 May 2003

Abstract

This research defines a method for developing eXtended Markup Language (XML)-based content management services for

global product manufacturers and distributors. Content management services for multi-channel trades play an important role in

e-business because it enables the seamless flow of product information between suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and

customers. In today’s business world, transactions over the Internet are growing rapidly requiring constant and dynamic

information sharing and exchange among business partners. Thus, globally compatible content management services are

essential to serve the modern business community. This research defines, develops and integrates new technologies and

methodologies into a global content management (GCM) services platform. The platform provides a multi-functional system

architecture that defines XML schema as a neutral product content representation, proposes a suitable content search engine,

implements a Web user interface for a variety of content users, and provides Web tools for e-content creation, maintenance and

management. The GCM system links to other content management and transaction platforms so that end-users can use multi-

channel services to procure, market and sell products globally.

# 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Content management; E-commerce; E-catalog; E-channels; E-procurement; E-marketplace; eXtended Markup Language (XML)

1. Introduction

The world over, companies experience difficulties

finding products and product information because the

search takes too long or results in a non-ideal outcome.

The search can be further confounded by information

overload and disorganization. Buyers attempting to find

products with good price and high quality will spend a

great deal of time browsing traditional paper catalogs,

contacting suppliers, and surfing the Web for sources.

However, with the abundance of global suppliers and

time constraints, buyers may have to limit the search

and settle for higher prices and lower quality.

E-catalog applications are used to simplify and

automate the business processes for the benefit of

buyers and sellers. The automated process must be

consistent with business policies; otherwise, there is

the danger that buyers will covertly maintain tradition

while overtly patronizing automation. Obviously,

companies cannot avoid the use of Internet tools since

they help to eliminate inefficient business processes.

Electronic channels integrate communications into

well-connected, fast moving flows. Product informa-

tion can be rapidly and inexpensively moved between

channel partners but often the information flows

are too disorganized and in the wrong formats for

Computers in Industry 53 (2004) 39–58

* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ886-3-5742651.

Fax: þ886-3-5722685.

E-mail address: [email protected] (A.J.C. Trappey).

0166-3615/$ – see front matter # 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/S0166-3615(03)00125-8

other applications. Thus, global content management

(GCM) for multi-tier product providers and purchasers

are critical to efficiently fulfill constant demands for

e-catalog management, publishing and distribution.

GCM can enable real-time content integration between

supplier’s latest product information, purchaser’s pro-

curement systems and a variety of e-marketplace plat-

forms such as Covicint, an automotive supply hub, and

Exostar, an aerospace supply hub.

Content management requires the daily attention of

dedicated staff to create, maintain and distribute pro-

duct information. Product information is constantly

changing, making the updating of catalog content both

critical and difficult. If a company uses a content

management service approach, then it must handle

information effectively and satisfy a variety of e-chan-

nel members that are content providers as well as users.

From the perspective of managing many-to-many pro-

duct data requests where the requests stem from multi-

ple enterprise systems, there must be a universal or

global means to facilitate conversions between formats,

translations between languages, and rapid response to

data and document requests. Otherwise, a company’s

online content is only as effective as a fax or a paper

catalog since the information cannot be rapidly placed

in the format required by prospective customers that

intent to compare products and place orders online.

The characteristics of global content management

services are listed as follows. First, the e-catalog

content is created and maintained under a universal

repository and re-distributed to many platforms offer-

ing information consistency across the board for all

applications. Second, using an eXtended Markup

Language (XML) schema, the content can be quickly

converted for multiple channels including vertical and

horizontal marketplaces operated publicly or privately

(e.g. CommerceOne, Global eXchange Services, Cov-

incint and Exostar). Finally, a Web portal interface for

the GCM enables updates, access, and customization

of the content for a full range of market participants.

A GCM system applies a resource-sharing concept

that aggregates multiple suppliers’ catalogs according

to product taxonomies that facilitate the buying deci-

sions of end-users. In addition, the system decreases

telecommunication costs since end-users can acquire

product information in a variety of data formats. In

this manner, product information flows freely between

trade partners. GCM services are extremely rare for a

public exchange to offer without charging high fees,

which inhibit the content popularization to a critical

mass for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Thus,

this research focuses on solving the GCM enabling

issues for smaller enterprises engaged in marketplace

and trade exchanges. In Section 2, the background

knowledge and previous research are reviewed. Sec-

tion 3 describes the methodologies used to derive the

GCM functions. The GCM platform architecture is

defined, the prototype is implemented, and the appli-

cation case is introduced in Section 4. Finally, a

conclusion is drawn to summarize the research con-

tribution and the future directions.

2. Background

The Internet, as an important channel for business

transactions, continues to increase the speed of busi-

ness. Obviously, companies desire efficient channels

to complete their business transactions, and expect to

increase their revenue through savings derived from e-

channels embedded with e-procurement, e-sales and

e-marketplaces.

E-channel services mean that users can utilize online

channels to ensure efficient business activities. The

power of the Internet as an information transformation

tool is evident since so many businesses are taking

advantage of e-procurement [1]. The e-procurement

system is an electronic purchasing channel where users

can find, select, buy and return goods via the Internet.

Through the use of these systems, users can eliminate

inefficient operations in the procurement process.

E-sales are the means by which companies can

build an online store to sell products to customers

worldwide. The sales system often provides the seller

with a mechanism to post products or services infor-

mation on a Web site. Kobayashi and Takeda [2] report

that online sales are showing a 300% increase in sales

dollars and a 270% increase in the number of orders

placed. As such, e-sales systems from the manufac-

turer and distributor’s perspectives are an important

channel to use for corporate procurement.

The notion of an e-marketplace is derived from the

aggregation of integrated business services delivered

through the Internet. With the goal of introducing new

and efficient ways of selling and purchasing products

and services, e-marketplace services have been

40 A.J.C. Trappey, C.V. Trappey / Computers in Industry 53 (2004) 39–58

applied across various industries [3]. An e-market-

place is a cross-organizational system for bringing

sellers and buyers together online to exchange infor-

mation and conduct businesses. The mode of opera-

tion drastically reduces time and cost in product search

and enhances the efficiency of business transactions.

E-channel services are additions to a marketplace

and offer e-business transaction processes and admin-

istrative functions for suppliers and buyers. The sys-

tem provides users with the details of their products

and the ability to customize information to support

business decisions. E-channel services use current

technical capabilities offered by the Internet to pro-

vide cost saving to both suppliers and customers. The

basic elements of e-channels solutions are divided

into two domains. These domains are (1) business-

to-business (B2B) process integration and (2) content

management automation. Across these domains,

researchers have studied B2B integration issues but

have not addressed sufficiently how to consolidate,

align and re-distribute product information from

diverse sources to diverse destinations. From a sys-

tems viewpoint, users of e-channels need to streamline

their business processes to reduce transaction costs.

Most companies merge multiple source content into

a single e-channel system but they do not convert

diverse formats into a standard format. This approach

does not achieve the goal of seamless information

sharing since the content are not easily accessed.

The worse case occurs when the e-channel content

becomes disconnected from an enterprise’s internal

systems (Fig. 1). Thus, global content management

aims to improve the success of the e-channel system.

Researchers have different definitions for content

management services. An e-catalog or catalog man-

agement system can be viewed as a specific applica-

tion whereas content management covers processes

for content creation, tracking, versioning, storing and

dissemination of semi-structured and unstructured

information owned by enterprises [4]. Guenther [5]

further notes that content management combines well-

defined roles and formal processes with a systems

architecture that helps organizations contribute, col-

laborate, and control text, graphics, multimedia, and

applet contents that make up a page in a catalog.

However, content management systems offer func-

tions that go beyond the management of traditional

HTML pages. Content must be defined, placed in a

standard format, and controlled. In order to convert or

transfer content, the process must be combined with

quality control, information transferred along known

routes and stored upon delivery.

The growing focus is the management of content

from multiple sources. Corporate content includes

paper-printed catalogs, data from back-end enterprise

resource planning (ERP) systems, legacy databases,

spreadsheets and files. Traditional paper catalogs pre-

sent product information via pages with embedded

text and pictures. On the other hand, electronic content

management services present product information

using different information technologies. Electronic

content presentations include pictures, digital text,

Multiple Suppliers

Multiple ContentFormats

Non-UnifiedCatalog

FirewallMultiple Users

Non-universalMulti-format

Catalogs

Non-universal

Multi-format

Catalogs

Fig. 1. Traditional e-channel system.

A.J.C. Trappey, C.V. Trappey / Computers in Industry 53 (2004) 39–58 41

electronic documents and multimedia that use different

file types and data definitions. The characteristic of text-

only presentation is that of low vividness with the cus-

tomer seeing only the products’ attributes. Multimedia

presentations have high vividness because of integrated

animated graphical images, audio, and video [6].

Large enterprises work with thousands of suppliers

and integrate and automate the catalog content to

facilitate procurement, a process that is called catalog

management [7]. An online catalog however, must

provide interfaces to create and maintain e-content as

well as to help users in product search and further

commercial activities [8]. Content management ser-

vices bring many benefits to enterprises. For example,

enterprises learn how to organize product portfolios

and brand lines, maintain relationships between con-

tract satellites, and increase the company’s global

competitiveness. For the current e-catalog building

process, suppliers participate in the content manage-

ment provider’s supplier hub. The supplier hub receives

multiple content formats from suppliers and moves

across the system providers’ internal firewall. The

content from suppliers undergoes transformation into

one standard and open structure via the use of e-content

management tools. The content management system

can transmit the single standard format (or global

content) into other types of formats according to end-

user requirements. In addition, users access the search

engines to quickly locate needed products or services.

Current e-content management services face bar-

riers in implementation and popularization [9]. The

bottleneck of an e-catalog is that it offers little incen-

tive to small suppliers to participate. However, in

today’s business environment, small and medium

enterprises bring huge economic benefits by providing

comprehensive content to customers. The expense of

participating in e-marketplaces is the primary hurdle

that often precludes small businesses. Thus, several

factors must be considered when developing a content

management system. First, an e-catalog should pro-

vide intelligence in product sales and procurement just

as a knowledgeable shop assistant would [10]. Such a

system offers add-on values to customers, manufac-

turers and suppliers. In addition, the supplier service

hub enables suppliers to create online catalogs that can

be distributed to multiple marketplaces and procure-

ment systems. Thus, an e-catalog maps the global

content to other major e-business catalog formats.

3. Global content management (GCM) services

Content management technology and approaches

include multi-function architectures, powerful search

engines, friendly user interfaces, and tools for creat-

ing, managing and maintaining e-content for multiple

uses. Fig. 2 shows the detailed concept of GCM

services. Manufacturers and suppliers building e-cat-

alog content can achieve their goals using multiple

service approaches. One approach commonly used by

small and medium enterprises enables them to parti-

cipate in the supplier service hub without paying for

platform-dependent content management tools.

Another approach is used mostly by larger enterprises

(such as channel distributors) that buy online tools to

create an e-catalog directly linked to the platform.

There is also the option to contract content conversion

to service providers (i.e. content builders). The service

providers help companies process large quantities of

content data and often guarantee a higher quality e-

catalog. These three channels convert legacy system

data, paper-printed catalogs, document files, spread-

sheets, and databases into global data residing on a

platform that provides open access to product buyers.

The GCM service providers emphasize that the

content platform offers suppliers, manufacturers, dis-

tributors and end-users an environment to share and

transfer consistent and high quality content data with-

out data reentry. This advantage exists when there is a

substantial purchasing demand that is accumulated

from numerous marketplaces and procurement sys-

tems. An e-content management system, capable of

converting content into numerous formats, means

little when accessed by a hand-full of low volume

buyers. A content management system must allow for

the quick conversion of content format and the wide

distribution of content to many procurement systems

and marketplaces.

The objective of this research is to develop a

GCM platform to help global product providers build

e-catalogs that can be distributed to many market-

places. Enterprises linking to the GCM platform can

seamlessly link to other international content manage-

ment platforms that help re-distribute the content.

The linkages and re-distribution of content increases

the exposure of domestic products in global markets.

Thus, suppliers, buyers, marketplaces and other inter-

national e-catalog platforms can use the platform to


retrieve product information with consistent format

and instant conversion.

3.1. A flat structure versus hierarchical structure

Due to the existence of many international classifi-

cation schemes, a flat structure, instead of hierarchical

structure, is used to organize content on the GCM

platform. Thus, content management for re-classify-

ing or re-mapping to multiple classification schemes

(e.g. UNSPSC, eCl@ss, Harmonized System, and

SITC), as well as the subsequent search of content

by different users, can be achieved with efficacy and

flexibility (Fig. 3). A multiple hierarchical (branch)

Fig. 2. Internationally synchronized GCM services.

Fig. 3. Mapping between a flat product definition structure to multi-standard hierarchical classifications.


search requires complicated steps to map the right

items to the associated attribute description, particu-

larly when multiple cross-references of classifications

are required. Through the use of a flat structure

architecture for GCM, loading new data and updating

old data is simple and straightforward. All that is

required is the search of a flat source file with an

open standard XML schema [11,12]. Modern comput-

ing power enables the fast search through a flat source

file without activating complex search algorithms.

For example, a flat-type e-catalog XML (ECX)

schema is depicted in Fig. 4 without specific catego-

rical and hierarchical XML tags complying with

standard codes such as UNSPSC or eCl@ss [13].

An example item is defined using the flat <DATA>

schema as follows:

OW NER

CATA LOG

AD M IN SCH EM A DA TA

IT EM DA TAEXTENSIO N

NA M EVALUE KEYVALUE

COM M EN T

UPDA TE

DA TAEXTENSIO N

PRIC ING

N AM E INFORM AT ION

C AT EGO RY AT T R IBU T E N AV IG AT ION M ET AD AT A

M ET ADAT A

Fig. 4. Definition of e-catalog XML tags with the characteristics of flat structure.

<DATA>

<!— Copy the item with a supplier part num of 123456 into the Fine Writing Pens category. Map the value for the

Color and Point attributes in the Pens category to Ink Color and Point Style in the Fine Writing Pens category––>

<ITEM ACTION¼‘‘COPY’’>

<OWNER><NAME>Pens</NAME></OWNER>

<KEYVALUE>

<KEY>Sup Part Num</KEY>

<VALUE>123456</VALUE>

</KEYVALUE>

<UPDATE>

<OWNER><NAME>Fine Writing Pens</NAME></OWNER>

<KEYVALUE>

<KEY>Ink Color</KEY>

<VALUE>Color</VALUE>

</KEYVALUE>

<KEYVALUE>

<KEY>Point Style</KEY>

<VALUE> Point </VALUE>

</KEYVALUE>

</UPDATE>

</ITEM>

</DATA>


Given the intermediary role of a GCM system, the flat

content structure overcomes the minor disadvantages

in search efficiency by taking greater advantages in

flexible conversions among standard coding schemes,

particularly when the computing power is vast

improved.

3.2. E-content search engine

Although many content management services are

flexible, scalable, and comprehensive, the fact that

users cannot readily find products reveals limita-

tions. Therefore, a more powerful e-content search

engine is necessary. A catalog search engine is a

mechanism that allows users to query a catalog

database and show the results in a concise electronic

content presentation. In addition, the e-catalog must

be as easy-to-use as a paper catalog and not require

training.

Traditionally, search engines used in e-catalogs are

divided into text search engines and hierarchical

search engines [14]. For text search engines, end-users

enter text to find an item. If a matching string is found,

a list of products or services is returned and displayed

on the computer screen. Sometimes, too many results

are returned and if users cannot add more information

to narrow the search, they need to start a new search.

Traditional text search engines used in many e-cata-

logs have other disadvantages as well. Some engines

return with empty searches, use an incorrect word

order, display incorrect units of measure, duplicate

items, use dated information, or display information

with grammatical errors and display errors. These

factors can influence procurement decisions and

thereby decrease the companies’ Web-based procure-

ment returns [15].

The hierarchical engine searches through a tree-like

architecture. Users need to enter search strings at the

top level and then enter detailed strings to fathom

additional branches of the tree. The disadvantage of

this approach is the arbitrary classification of items

under the top level. Users that do not know the

classification of the item can end up searching the

wrong branches particularly if different e-catalog

builders organize the same items into different classi-

fications. Therefore, a hierarchical search can be an

inefficient method to search for products or services

online. As the way that content is stored in the GCM

database, the e-catalog search engine presented in this

research also uses a flat structure search method and

operates at two levels. The first level consists of a basic

product category with common product attributes (e.g.

supplier part number, supplier name, and price) and

the second level consists of a genus category where

products that are in a similar genus are placed in the

same category. The logic of a genus category is that a

search for ‘‘armchairs’’ returns all chairs because

of the clustering effect associated with the genus

‘‘chairs’’. Armchairs are then ranked higher and users

can click on the higher ranked items to find specific

products. If users cannot find the products they want,

then they search the remaining genus items lists to

find similar products. This type of search engine has

advantages that overcome the disadvantages of the

hierarchical search engine.

3.3. User interfaces

Develop a user-friendly interface is important

and necessary for GCM. Traditional user interfaces,

such as paper catalogs, or the new user-friendly

Web interface define the modes of information

exchange in the commercial marketplaces. The core

measure of effectiveness for the user interface is

whether or not information transmission from the

supplier side to the buyer side is facilitated. There-

fore, a user-friendly interface that builds a positive

consumer experience while interacting with products

presentations is an unavoidable design consideration

[6].

3.4. E-content creation and management tool

Product display and advertising formats include

spreadsheets, ASCII text, XML, Word files and others.

These formats, in order to become transferable, are

merged into a comprehensive format under the GCM

system. Suppliers are constantly creating original

e-content, converting paper content into electronic

format, or converting system files into e-content.

The purpose of a content creation and management

tools is to map category attributes from one category

to another or to create new categories. In addition,

multi-languages and currencies are needed because

customers may purchase products from countries

around the world.


The means to categorize products is an important

task. A category is a collection of similar products

and services and common product attributes (e.g. des-

cription, manufacturer name, supplier name, etc.) that

apply to all products and services. There are also

optional attributes to track (e.g. color and size) that

can differ between categories. These complications

support the need for a flat architecture that organizes

products’ common attributes.

3.5. E-content maintenance tool

Another difficult task in the implementation of

e-catalogs is e-content management. The rapid growth

of product information is creating difficulties for

e-content builders to maintain product information

since it is constantly changing. Therefore, e-content

maintenance tools are required to edit, update, and

keep the product information consistent and authentic.

For example, when someone finds a mistake in the

catalog, the mistake needs to be quickly fixed. The

Web-based content management systems should

update the content on a regular basis without becom-

ing an overly time consuming processes [16]. In

addition, the entry of data for multiple products

will inevitably result in errors and require time for

corrections.

3.6. Evaluation of GCM services

Buyers can find products using paper-printed cat-

alogs or electronic catalogs. Previously it was argued

that using paper catalogs and traditional hierarchical

e-catalogs creates uncertain search results. The pro-

posed e-catalog with a flat architecture offers func-

tions and capabilities that add new benefits for

suppliers and buyers. The advantage of GCM services

is the conversion of different format sources into a

standard format that is mapped onto other formats

depending on customer or platform requirements. In

short, the mapping of content is a core technology

needed for building a successful e-catalog. The rea-

sons why globally synchronized content management

services are important are as follows:

(1) Buyers have complex enterprise systems that

require the reduction of data entry for business

processes such as pricing and buying.

(2) Suppliers can be eliminated if they do not

provide their product or service information over

the Internet. That is, when large buyers purchase

products from international sources, they prefer

suppliers with online catalogs.

(3) Suppliers recognize that survival means adapting

to the trends of the marketplace. The trend is to

make product information accessible and to post

information in multiple and convenient places

where buyers can purchase online.

(4) Given a global marketplace, catalog information

in different languages and formats must be

standardized so that it can be mapped into other

languages and formats.

(5) Large enterprise system suppliers and database

suppliers enhance their competitiveness by en-

abling customers to do business online and

provide access to e-catalogs.

4. GCM functions and enabling methodology

In order to make content management services

universally applicable, CM services should maintain

several features. Table 1 depicts the GCM service

features and functions. Each feature has its unique

values to both buyer and suppliers.

In the past, product information integration was a

problem that occurred within a single company, and

was traditionally solved via data warehousing tech-

nology. In today’s e-business environment, product

information needs to be integrated across enterprise

boundaries. The key challenge is how to transfer

information across heterogeneous platforms in a

decentralized environment and thereby share useful

product information. Mapping content includes the

access and the transformation of product information.

Contents provided via the Internet allow for the trans-

fer of a larger number of different e-content formats to

be supplied to multiple recipients. In addition, the

GCM system requires a powerful search engines and a

scalable content repository [4].

In this research, the system uses XML [17] as the

standard for internal and external mapping and

exchange of data since XML translates content for-

mats into a homogeneous format [18]. Beyond the

basic capability to exchange and communicate elec-

tronic messages using XML technology, the business


logic behind the service provision and partner inter-

action must be enforced [3]. XML offers efficient

resource discovery on the Internet and makes semi-

structured data portable on the Web [19]. XML, or the

notion of an eXtensible Markup Language, emerged

under the auspices of the World Wide Web Consor-

tium (W3C). XML contains characteristics that can

solve problems in information exchange, interoper-

ability and convertibility in the open e-commerce

environments. XML expresses both data (XML mes-

sage) and syntax (Data Type Definition (DTD)) so that

users and systems can easily understand the data

semantic ontology and meanings. Further, since

XML is a language that is concerned with creating,

sharing and processing information [20,21], the

technology is conducive to integrating information

from databases, including displaying information to

browsers or converting information between different

servers.

Most commonly, HTML technology is used for

Web layout and many e-stores use HTML-based webs

to display products. On the other hand, XML is

designed for the communication between computers.

Through XML, search engines can find targets accu-

rately according to interdependent relations between

tags and contents. With leading edge technologies of

accessing legacy database and delivering data to the

client side, XML enhances performance in data

exchange and data transmission for e-commerce and

other applications. The XML-based GCM services

take advantage of the capabilities of XML syntax to

provide a higher degree of extensibility in line with the

original design goals of XML itself.

Besides using XML and DTDs to convert different

formats, a content management system needs to con-

sider the display of content. eXtensible Stylesheet

Language (XSL) is designed for dynamically present-

ing XML documents online. XSL includes two parts,

the Formatting Object (FO) and the eXtensible Style-

sheet Language Transformation (XSLT). FO provides

a large number of formatting commands. XSLT is

used for transforming XML source code to other

formats. The XSL stylesheet and XML source code

are well-formed XML documents. Hence, before run-

ning the XSL processor, the XML parser needs to

analyze every object in the XSL and XML documents.

In terms of XSLT, there are two important concepts,

such as the source tree and the result tree. The source

tree defines the structures of XML files before trans-

formation. The result tree presents the transforma-

tion results. Before running the XSL processor, the

system will make the XML processor parse the XSL

Table 1

GCM service features and functions

Features/functions Description

Centralized and Web-based

technology

The centralized and Web-based technologies can avoid the expense and inconvenience of enterprises installing

and maintaining their own IT infrastructures. At the same time, the Web-based technology makes use of the

Internet that supports documentation to users (suppliers and buyers) around the world and around the clock.

Global content format

and mapping

Content management system has a global structure that has consistent attributes and definitions. Global e-

content support different formats conversion across e-business platforms and facilitates distribution of product

information to many sites. The key function is to map different formats into one standard format, and then

convert the standard into other formats to satisfy e-business requirements.

Full catalog management

capability

Content management capabilities enable suppliers to manage and control e-catalogs efficiently. It minimizes

the time for loading and refreshing e-content, and reduces costs for maintaining and updating e-content.

E-catalog search engine A powerful e-catalog search engine allows users to quickly and easily find products or services. In addition, a

user-friendly interface allows users to use e-catalogs as a paper catalog replacement.

Multiple language An e-catalog supports multiple languages for end-users around the world.

Seamless integration From suppliers to buyers, the product information is integrated seamlessly, and users transmit and receive

information instantaneously.

E-commerce applications With product or service information merged into one standard format, suppliers have access to a community of

buyers and marketplaces. They can seamlessly expand the e-content to a growing list of suppliers.


stylesheet and the XML source documents. After

controlling XSL commands in the stylesheet, the

XSL processor starts to crawl in the source tree.

According to the stylesheet specifications and when

the XSL processor finds a suitable XML fragment, the

process yields a new XML fragment and brings all of

the XML fragments together in a new result tree.

Finally, the result tree can be saved in the database

or shown on the computer screen.

4.1. System scope

The system scope of this GCM service includes

three parts, the supplier management system, the

buyer management system, and the content manage-

ment system. Both the supplier and buyer manage-

ment system allow users to modify the registration and

company information. The content management sys-

tem enables users to upload, modify, classify, edit,

delete, view, approve, and maintain catalog content.

In addition, there are conditions to maintain a quality

service offering to clients. That is, the service must be

able

� to build on the industry-specific and item quality

assurance regulations;

� to attach specific regulations according to specific

suppliers or catalogs;

� to add additional common attributes according to

specific requirements;

� to manage UNSPSC [22,23] and RosettaNet [24]

standards of taxonomy.

The objective is to develop a GCM system to

build an open and standard marketing channel where

users can search for the latest product information or

promotions over the Internet. The system design

attributes are as follows:

� Easy-to-operate: Endeavor to simplify the users’

operation interface.

� Easy-to-maintain: The system development technol-

ogies adopt the general and efficient mechanisms

presently used to simplify system maintenance.

� Easy-to-popularize: The GCM is Web-based. Sup-

pliers, marketplaces and buyers can join in and use

the system with seamless connectivity.

� Easy-to-use: The interface is easy-to-operate with-

out extensive training.

� E-procurement: In the future, developing an entire

e-procurement environment is an unavoidable busi-

ness trend, and the GCM is the short cut to reach

that state.

4.2. Process model

This section describes the process models used to

build GCM services. Fig. 5 illustrates that the system

should have a member acquisition mechanism where

interested users become a member by filling out an

application form. Users can enter different portals

(supplier side page, buyer side page or system call

center) according to their requirements.

Fig. 6 depicts the supplier side process of the GCM

service. In this process, suppliers have three choices to

build their e-catalog. If suppliers already have XML

product content then they can upload the files directly.

If suppliers do not have an electronic catalog, then they

can edit an e-catalog template step-by-step online.

Fig. 5. The GCM process flow diagram.


Fig. 6. The supplier side process.

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Suppliers that do not have the time or skills for building

an e-catalog can contact the systems professionals for

help. After uploading, editing or asking help from pro-

fessionals, suppliers all can modify, view and approve

product contents.

Fig. 7 depicts the buyer side process of the GCM

service. Buyers use the menu search and keyword

search to find products. Users who do not know which

product they need can use the menu search function.

The menu lists products by industry and category

classifications. Buyers who only know the item name

and do not know which category or industry can use

the keyword search function.

4.3. Data model

This section describes the data model for the GCM

service. Fig. 8 shows the relationships between tables.

When the system finds an item that users want, the

result is displayed on the computer screen. According

to the relationships between tables, the returned results

may include an item’s industry, category, suppliers,

common attributes, and specific attributes.

Data storage underlies all GCM services. A well-

formed XML document is not sufficient and also needs

to define the document format clearly according to the

DTD (Appendix A). During the data transmission

process, the system’s XML processor can check

approved data formats according to this particular

DTD and as a result can eliminate data syntax errors.

Table 2 shows the common content attributes and

refers to other international catalog management

design structures. The PRICE attribute needs addi-

tional description. When content builders edit and

manage items in this content management system,

each item can be assigned a price attribute. The PRICE

attribute will be extracted with the item to each buyer

with access to this content. Traditionally, each buyer

gets the same price with the item. With the price list,

each buyer receives a unique price from this content.

That is, content builders provide each buyer with a

price list along with the content.

Fig. 7. The buyer side process with drill-down details.


5. Implementation and case study

The research tests and evaluates the GCM system

using the e-content of automobile parts and computer

components.

5.1. System infrastructure

Fig. 9 shows the functional structure and descrip-

tions of GCM services. The system supplier side

includes the Registration Module, the eCatalog

Upload Module, and the Content Management Mod-

ule. The eCatalog Upload Module is used for mana-

ging the process of uploading content. The Content

Management Module is used for content creation,

modification, and deletion. There are several func-

tions, such as uploading, adding, deleting, classifying,

viewing, approving and maintaining content, that are

included to improve the service to suppliers. The

buyer side includes the Registration Module, the

Content Finding Module and the XSLT Data Display

Module. The work of the buyer side is to parse the

keywords to search the related product information.

After finding appropriate product data, the system then

structures it to XML format files, and displays it to

users through XSLT. Fig. 10 depicts the system work-

flow and structure in five steps.

The detailed steps of the workflow are as follows:

1. The client side browser translates the data into an

XML data packet through VBScript or JavaScript.

2. The client side browser sends the XML data

package to the server side for further handling

through the XML/HTTP object.

3. Extract and merge data from the XML data package

through the Document Object Model (DOM) to

update the system database on the server side.

4. On the server side, the system extracts and merges

data from the database into XML documents

through ASP.

5. The server delivers XML documents to the client

side while at the same time, attaching a XSLT

Fig. 8. The GCM information model.


Table 2

Product attribute table

Attributes Definition

SUPPARTNUM Part number provided by the company that sells the products and owns the content contained

in the catalog.

DATE Date is catalog creation or extraction date.

SOURCE Source is the company that created the XML.

ITEMNAME This tag is used to represent an item in the catalog.

CATEGORY This tag is used to represent a category in the catalog.

DESCRIPTION A condensed, readable, and easily searchable description of the product or service.

SUBDESCRIPTION Additional information about the product or service.

PICTURE File name of the image associated with the product.

UOM Saleable unit of measure associated with a particular product or service. Salable UOMs are the marketed

units by which an item will be delivered when purchased.

QUANTITY Describes complete packaging detail in conjunction with the UOM attribute. Suppliers often assign

SKUs (stock keeping unit) or supplier part numbers according to the packaging unit by which an item

will be sold. The attribute permits detailed packaging information that cannot otherwise be depicted

in the UOM attribute.

MFGNAME Name of the company that manufactures or provides the product or service.

MFGPARTNUM Part number provided by the manufacturers or provides the product or service.

OWNED An indication that a supplier that is offering a product or service.

Data Universal Numbering

System (DUNS)

DUNS number for a supplier. A sequentially generated nine-digit number that is assigned and maintained

by http://www.dandb.com.

SUPURL A URL for a supplier Web site.

PRICE This tag allows for pricing schemes within a catalog.

CURRENCY Identifies the type of currency used in the price field.

SPECIFIC_NAME Specific content attribute name.

SPECIFIC_VALUE Specific content attribute value.

Supplier Side

Buyer Side

Call Center

eContentLoading

Load Pictures

Find GCMS Category

eContentEditor

VieweContent

Content Attribute Table

eContentFinding

View Order

Load electronic content (XML documents) into the hub

Add images to build the e-catalog

Find a appropriate item category

Edit product content in the catalog

Conduct a search to review e-content

Define the meanings of content attributes

Find electronic content (XML documents) in the hub

Users having questions about the GCMS can contact the callcenter for assistance

Fig. 9. Functional structure of GCM services.


HTTP://WWW.DANDB.COM

document to transfer XML format into HTML

format on the browsers.

Fig. 10 shows the detailed process for sending XML

documents from the client side to the server side. The

client side browser makes it possible to send infor-

mation into the element and attribute nodes on the

XML DOM Tree. Then the browser designates the

XML DOM Tree to the XML/HTTP object and

transmits the XML data packet to the server through

the XML/HTTP object. Finally, the server runs the

ASP program and constructs the server side’s XML

DOM Tree to receive the passed XML data packet.

Once the packet is received, the transfer of the XML

document from the server side to the client side is

complete.

5.2. Prototype illustration

The main page requests that the user login and

briefly introduces how to use the Web-based content

management services. The supplier side provides an

online application for suppliers to create their own

e-catalog and the buyer side provides an online appli-

cation for buyers to find products over the Internet.

The registration mechanism provides a means for

users to become a member of the member list. If users

have questions, then the call center option provides

detailed customer service. The customer service cen-

ter assigns a query tracking number, analyzes user

questions, and forwards mail to appropriate company

departments or employees.

5.2.1. Registration Module

The Registration Module is used to establish system

member accounts. The member is granted privileges

and can request specific services upon completing

the registration. The system screens the input data

for consistency and sends mail to the users upon

acceptance.

5.2.2. eCatalog Upload Module

Some companies maintain catalog content in the

form of Excel spreadsheets, ASCII text, XML, or

Word files. These formats can be uploaded and the

system converts the documents into XML. Two upload

pages are used to upload documents and catalog

pictures separately. Before suppliers load files, they

should ensure the file adheres to a common set of

criteria.

5.2.3. eContent Editor Module

The eContent Editor Module (Fig. 11) guides

suppliers step-by-step for online creation and editing

Fig. 10. The system workflow and structure.


of product content for the electronic content re-

pository.

5.2.4. Content Search Module

Customers that want to buy products or services use

a search tool with the process shown in Fig. 7. After

choosing a product to purchase, the system checks and

then re-displays the content. For the research proto-

type, the search module generates an XML-based PO

using VBScript and DOM technologies on the client

side. Users can key in an item name or a supplier name

to begin the search. The system retrieves the product

information from the database through ADO and

XSL and then the XML-based Web pages are sent

to the user. Meanwhile, it displays an HTML table

with the query results. For connecting to the GCM

repository, the system produces Web pages consisting

of the XML Data Island dynamically. The XML Data

Island records complete catalog contents. The work of

browsing the XML Data Island is delivered and

implemented on the client side to decrease the work-

load of the server. In addition, the system converts the

XML Data Island into another XML file through

DOM on the client side. At the same time, this system

develops a XSLT file that can convert the XML Data

Island into an XML document and carry out the

conversion job. Finally, the system retrieves the con-

tents of the XML Data Island and displays it using

HTML Web pages.

5.2.5. XSLT Data Display Module

Product information found by the search engine

will be converted into the required output format

and displayed online (Fig. 12) or automatically re-

distributed to procurement and marketplace alliances

(using appropriate XSLT). The display and data con-

version are customized based on different industries’

or customers’ requirements.

Fig. 11. The e-content editor interface for content management.


5.3. Case study—Computer and peripheral industry

The computer and peripheral industry is well devel-

oped with global distribution channels and standard

catalog information. The Web-based GCM services

can rapidly expand manufacturers’ global market

opportunities.

In this industry, products enter into the market and

become obsolete in the marketplace very quickly.

There are hundreds of new products, peripherals

and components for users to choose from. In the past,

users would visit computer shops or search paper

catalogs to find items. Often, specific items could

not be found or a complete list of available sources

would be hard to compose because of inconsistent

product presentations in multiple catalogs. Thus, glo-

bal e-content tools have become more convenient to

support supplier and buyer activities over the Internet.

For example, computer equipment providers can man-

age their items through the GCM services that allow

multi-channeling of product information (e.g. price,

functional specification, standard, etc.) to customers

through the Internet in a timely matter.

By outlining the essence of the content management

services, studying the basic advantages of the tradi-

tional paper catalogs, researching the technologies of

Internet communication and analyzing the process of

developing e-catalogs, the Web-based GCMS proto-

type has been developed and implemented for the

computer and peripheral industries and the e-content

management tool implemented. In the case study,

the company, category and product attributes are

described in a pre-defined XML schema. Table 3

shows the description of four laptop computers. These

content data are built into the GCMS platform rapidly

only once for multiple distribution of e-content to

Fig. 12. Content display page.


procurement sites as well as to public and private

marketplaces.

6. Conclusions

Corporations such as Commerce One and Ariba

have been developing their own XML-based content

management systems for years. These XML-based

solutions are suitable for cooperating companies in

vertically aligned industries. The content vocabularies

of these XML-based e-catalogs have limited intero-

perability for cross-industry or inter-exchange com-

munications. Therefore, this research identifies the

difficulty of the content exchange between different

companies (and in particular small companies)

and works out the problem by producing an open

XML-based catalog-exchange format. An electronic

working environment is created where suppliers, man-

ufacturers, distributors, and buyers easily exchange

catalog information. Uploading XML files merges

content from multiple suppliers into a standard

hub and converts this standard format into formats

required by end-users. Meanwhile, end-users can

download the XML files using XML-based content

management services.

The GCM platform is far from perfection. It

needs additional functions for practical implemen-

tation and requires adopting approach with incen-

tives. For instance, in a heterogeneous environment,

the multi-language support helps users search and

exchange data by overcoming language barriers.

The multi-language functionality focuses on linking

other e-business platforms to align the global product

supply chain. This solution provides the GCM

concept that helps users manage multiple content

sources, encourage real-time information exchange,

promote transaction integration over the Internet, and

provide complete interoperability with all back-end

systems.

Acknowledgements

This research is partially supported by the ROC

National Science Council research grant.

Table 3

Example attribute values of four laptop computers for e-content creation

Manufacturer Acer Acer Twinhead Twinhead

Product name TM210 TM260 Efio!2400 Efio!2A00

CPU Intel Celeron 700 MHz Intel Pentium III-M 1 GHz Intel Pentium III-M 1.2 GHz Intel Pentium 4 1.6 GHz

Chipset 1535M Intel 830MG SIS 630ST SiS 650, SiS961

RAM 64MB SDRAM

(Max 512MB)

256MB SDRAM

(Max 1024MB)

128MB SDRAM

SO-DIMM (Max 384MB)

256MB DDR SDRAM

SO-DIMM

Display 13.3 in. XGA TFT LCD

1024 � 768

14.1 in. XGA TFT LCD

1024 � 768


1024 � 768


1024 � 768

HDD 10GB 20GB 30GB 30GB

CD-ROM 24X CD-ROM 24X CD-ROM/8X DVD DVD/CD-RW DVD/CD-RW

Battery Lithium–hydrogen battery Lithium battery Lithium battery Lithium battery

PCMCIA Type III*1 Type III*1 Type II*1 Type II*1

Internal Ethernet Unknown Ethernet 10/100 Mbps Ethernet 10/100 Mbps Ethernet 10/100 Mbps

Internal modem 56 kbps modem 56 kbps modem 56 kbps modem 56 kbps modem

OS Windows XP Home Edition Windows XP Home Edition Windows XP Professional Windows XP Professional

Size 310 � 261 � 36.6 310 � 261 � 38.8 269 � 242 � 29 320 � 260 � 42

Weight (kg) 3.08 2.78 1.7 3.3

Picture


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Document Type Definition (DTD)

<?xml version¼‘‘1.0’’ encoding¼‘‘Big5’’?>

<!ELEMENT CATALOG (PRODUCT)þ>

<!ATTLIST CATALOG xml:lang NMTOKEN #IMPLIED>

<!ELEMENT PRODUCT (ADMIN, SPECIFICATION, SALABLE, OPTIONS?, PRICE, SPECIFICS?)>

<!ATTLIST PRODUCT SUPPARTNUM CDATA #REQUIRED>

<!ELEMENT ADMIN (DATE, SOURCE)>

<!ELEMENT DATE (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT SOURCE (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT SPECIFICATION (ITEMNAME, CATEGORY, DESCRIPTION, SUBDESCRIPTION*,

PICTURE?)>

<!ELEMENT ITEMNAME (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT CATEGORY (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT DESCRIPTION (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT SUBDESCRIPTION (#PCDATA)>

<!NOTATION gif SYSTEM ‘‘C:\Program Files\ACD\ACDSee\ACDSee.exe’’>

<!ENTITY PICTURE SYSTEM ‘‘Photo1.gif’’ NDATA gif>

<!ELEMENT SALABLE (UOM, QUANTITY)>

<!ELEMENT UOM (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT QUANTITY (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT OPTIONS (MFGNAME, MFGPARTNUM, OWNED, DUNS, SUPURL)>

<!ELEMENT MFGNAME (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT MFGPARTNUM (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT OWNED (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT DUNS (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT SUPURL (#PCDATA)>

Appendix A. XML DTD of standard data model for the GCM services


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Amy J.C. Trappey is a professor of

Industrial Engineering and Engineering

Management and the director of Electro-

nic Business Center at the National Tsing

Hua University, Taiwan, ROC. She

received her PhD degree in industrial

engineering from Purdue University. Her

research interests and publications are in

the areas of e-business, product data

standards/management and knowledge

engineering. She is the editor-in-chief

of the International Journal of E-Business Management and the

Journal of Chinese Institute of Industrial Engineers.

Charles V. Trappey is a professor of

marketing, the Department of Manage-

ment Science at National Chiao Tung

University, Taiwan, ROC. He received a

PhD in consumer behavior from Purdue

University. Dr. Trappey’s research inter-

ests include electronic commerce, inter-

national marketing, trade area analysis,

and consumer psychology. He frequently

works with international companies and

organizations analyzing market potential,

consumer preferences and product trends.


HTTP://WWW.ECX-XML.ORG

HTTP://WWW.RUSPORTAL.REQUSITE.COM

HTTP://WWW.RUSPORTAL.REQUSITE.COM

HTTP://WWW.MARTSOFT.COM/DOCS/OCF/OCF.HTM

HTTP://WWW.MARTSOFT.COM/DOCS/OCF/OCF.HTM

HTTP://WWW.REQUISITE.COM

HTTP://WWW.PEOPLESOFT.COM

HTTP://WWW.PEOPLESOFT.COM

HTTP://WWW.XML.ORG/

HTTP://WWW.UN-SPSC.NET/

HTTP://WWW.ROSETTANET.ORG

Documents

Global content management services for product … content management services for product providers and purchasers ... Non-Unified Catalog Firewall ... facilitate procurement, a process