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Web Services Standards

The Warranty Web Service standards provide the specifications for dealer and distributor business systems to electronically submit a warranty claim to a manufacturer's web site and immediately receive a disposition or simple response. This technique allows for manufacturers to immediately process a warranty claim on-line and provide a disposition within seconds or simply to acknowledge receipt of the claim for later processing and disposition.

The warranty web service standards were approved by industry ballot and published as Version 1.0 in 2004. After discovery of structural deficiencies within the standards, corrections were made and they were re-published as Version 1.1 in March of 2005. In addition, changes to the WSDL file were required for successful testing by Ariens. The changed WSDL file is currently offered only as a "model" for testing purposes while the Infrastructure Work Group works on a new proposed standard WSDL file.

The Product Registration Web Service standards provide specifications for the electronic submission of product registrations directly from the dealer business system. The standards support a seamless two-way communication where the manufacturer can accept a registration and immediately provide an acknowledgment to the dealer. The following proposed standards are in draft status for balloting purposes. The ballot process expires in May 2005, at which time proposed changes may be considered to accommodate the needs of voting industry members.

The Purchase Order Web Service standards support the automated submission of a purchase order for parts or wholegoods. They also provide for the immediate return of an acknowledgement that can include shipping, delivery, and backorder information, as well as correction of errors in the original order. The following proposed standards are in draft status for balloting purposes. The ballot process expires in May 2005, at which time proposed changes may be considered to accommodate the needs of voting industry members.

The Inventory Availability Web Service standards define the specifications for an automated inquiry to a manufacturer or distributor as to the availability of a given quantity of an item. It supports an immediate response, which provides assurance of the availability of the product, or a projection of when the specified quantity will become available. The following proposed standards are in draft status for balloting purposes. The ballot process expires in May 2005, at which time proposed changes may be considered to accommodate the needs of voting industry members.

Code Lists

The committee has developed data element code lists for use in the web service schemas for purposes of standardizing data input and ensuring machine readability. In some cases codes will limit data choices to those in actual use and simplify data entry. In other cases, codes are used to standardize the input and ensure a computer will recognize the data and process it correctly. The following code lists are currently in use for the above web services.

Questions or suggestions regarding the OPEI standards may be communicated to Roger Cadaret, OPEI's e-Commerce consultant at roger@ecomservices.biz.

  

  

  

 
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