Odette e-Forms Version 2.1

This recommendation covers the following business processes:

		Scheduling
		Despatching
		Invoicing
		o	Invoice
		o	Self-billing invoice.

The objective of the recommendation is to provide a uniform user interface for all partners (customers and suppliers) all along the Supply Chain process. However, the objective is not to have only one software supplier or provider, but describe an interface which can be incorporated by any provider into any solution.

A long road to a uniform recommendation:
The complexity, the cost of implementation and the absence of expertise within companies are criteria frequently quoted for not adopting “classical” EDI using EDIFACT, VDA, ANSI X12… syntaxes. That was the reason why several companies have developed EDI solutions, based on the Internet technology.
As a result of a lack of standard, different solutions were developed, causing extra costs, leading to confusion and increasing the susceptibility to failures.

In 2001, two different projects were established by Odette and the VDA to elaborate an e-Forms recommendation. This resulted in two different e-Forms recommendations being produced:
- eForms V1 (Odette);
- VDA4936 (VDA).
In general, the same processes had been described, but only a unique European solution can be acceptable for the automotive community.
As a result, at the end of 2001 the Odette Logistic Functional Committee decided to combine the two recommendations into one Called: “e-Forms V2” recommendation.

What does the e-Forms V2.1 cover?
The following processes are described in e-Forms V2.1:

		Scheduling / Call-off:
		The supplier is guided in the dialogue with the help of selection screens and can view and print the delivery call-offs. With the help of a "download" he can integrate the data semi-automatically into his application systems.

		Despatching:
		Different Odette and VDA processes were integrated in the delivery process. - The delivery is generated from scheduling: Customer's item numbers to be delivered on a selected day are transferred from the delivery schedule to the screen. - Extra delivery can be created by selecting item numbers: It is possible to adopt the customer's item number from the delivery schedule by using selection boxes in the form sheet. - A package can be associated to a Transport Unit.

		Invoicing:
		The invoice document is generated from "Despatch data". Therefore, one invoice is generated for each shipment. In an optional function it is possible to add various surcharges. Prices can either be entered, or retrieved from the database.
		Self-billing invoice:
		The self-billing invoice is increasingly used and replaces the supplier's billing process, when allowed in the country. The supplier is guided throughout the process and can view and print the self-billing invoice. With the help of a download function, data can be integrated semi-automatically in in-house applications.

How to use the e-Forms applications?
E-Forms applications can be operated via customer and/or supplier specific user profiles.
It is also possible to customise processes by activating and de-activating dialogue steps.
For instance, partners can agree whether package data is required or not. Then it is possible to define reduced functionalities.

Benefits
If EDI is used in 60 to 80% of the data transferred between OEMs and Tier 1s, the percentage falls sharply to 15 to 20% at the Tier 2 level. Below Tier 2s, the number of users becomes almost non-existent.
The first recommendation was published in order to improve the degree of utilisation of EDI among Tiers 2s and to reach the suppliers at the lower levels.
With this second version, the following improvements have been made:

		Only one recommendation instead of the previous two;
		Increase the functionalities available, e.g. Self-billing;
		Allow even more flexibility by offering the possibility to use
		complete or partial processes, e.g. Despatching.

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