EANCOM PART I : EANCOM & EDIFACT

## 5. USER PROFILES

EANCOM user profiles are complementary documents to the EANCOM manual which describe in detail aspects of implementing EANCOM in specific industry sector. They must always be used in conjunction with the full EANCOM set of documentation.

The development user profiles of EANCOM messages by external groups (e.g. other industry groups) is subject to a policy which must be agreed by the developing external group with EAN International before any reference to the name EANCOM can be made or any certification concerning compliance with EANCOM can be carried out by EAN International. The policy governing such developments is as follows;

The following are the minimum criteria to which external user groups must agree to before the secretariat may become involved in any certification process. At a national level additional criteria may be defined in order to conform to existing numbering organisation policy. If an external international EDI user group wants to declare that its guidelines (user profiles) are fully compatible with EANCOM then they must agree; To require to their membership that they join the EAN Numbering Organisation within their country and that they use EAN coding for the identification of products and locations when using EANCOM user profiles; Agree to base their document on the latest version of the EANCOM manual; Agree that only additional codes (industry specific) and explanation notes may be added to their document; Agree that both parties, i.e. the international user group and national numbering organisations, are free to distribute the document to their own membership. Inform numbering organisations of all parties from their communities who have received copies of the document; That publication of the guidelines do not take place before EAN International have completed a process certifying that they conform to EANCOM.

To date user profiles of EANCOM exist in four areas:

- the invoicing of metered services (gas, electricity, telephones, etc);
- the use of EANCOM in the health sector (medical supplies);
- the specification and ordering of customer specific articles (e.g. furniture);
- the use of EANCOM in the book trade sector (published by EDItEUR).

Users wishing to implement EANCOM in these sectors should consult their local numbering organisation with a view to getting more information on the sector and obtaining the relevant user profile.

(c) Copyright EAN 1997