Working Groups
- TCH Women
- Accounting and Audit
- Agriculture, Fisheries and Agri-food
- Cross Border Management
- E-Data Management
- Environment Management
- Finance and Payment
- Health and Insurance
- Single Window
- Supply Chain and Procurement
- Sustainable Fisheries
- Transport and Logistics
- Travel and Tourism
- Due Diligence
- Trusted Trader Program
TCH Women
Space for women to discuss their participation and steering TCH activities.Accounting and Audit
The purpose of this Working Group is to bring together experts in accounting and auditing, and whenever possible to contribute to the work of UN/CEFACT in the following ways:The work of the Domain covers the following topics:
a) Accounting and Audit covers the recording of accounting entries, the processing and control of accounting documents; the exchanges of these entries and documents tak amongst accountants or certified/chartered accountants, auditors, enterprises, economic partners of the enterprises, private and public collection bodies, as well as service providers, etc.
b) Registration includes information related to taxation, new business filings, business amendments and other information filings required by governmental agencies; the exc this information takes place between the enterprises and the registration authorities.
c) Financial Information Services includes administrative, credit and risk reporting, financial statements, filings and similar exchanges that are applied across business and administrative sectors.
The key deliverables of the Domain are:
a) The production, maintenance and coordination of standard business components and messages in the fields of accounting, auditing, registration, and financial information services.
b) The harmonization of business components both from the Accounting and Audit Domain and also from other Domains in the UN/CEFACT libraries.
c) Providing review comments on horizontal issues such as the Message Design Guidelines.
d) Preparation of principles and rules for implementation of standards based exchanges and services.
e) Acting as a focal point for any questions related to accounting and audit related topics within UN/CEFACT.
f) Cooperation with other standards organizations on accounting and audit related topics, such as ISO PC 295, for which a liaison has been established.
Agriculture, Fisheries and Agri Food
The purpose of this Working Group is to bring together experts in Agriculture, Fisheries and Agri Food, and whenever possible to contribute to the work of UN/CEFACT in the following ways:The work of the Agriculture Domain is divided into several main areas:
• Sanitary issues related to agriculture products and production
• Animal feed and human food safety issues
• Exchange information to support agricultural processes (advice, monitoring, product information, certification)
• Exchange information about marine fishing (monitoring, logging, reporting)
• Track and trace of animals, animal products, plants and plant products.
The deliverables of the Agriculture Domain are:
• Contributions to the UN/CEFACT Core Component Library
• XML schema and UN/EDIFACT messages
• Guidelines for implementation
• Recommendations.
he Agriculture Domain is also involved in:
• Cooperation with CITES about Track and Trace of animal products and plant products
• Cooperation with UNGC and ITC about the UN Blue Numbers initiative.
Cross Border Management
The purpose of this Working Group is to bring together experts in Cross Border Operations, and whenever possible to contribute to the work of UN/CEFACT in the following ways:UN/CEFACT Cross Border Management Domain
Background Information.
The Domain endeavors to facilitate trade by way of streamlining the business processes and procedures involved in the domestic and cross border regulatory environment. This domain aims to provide guidance on various procedures, create awareness on the best practices, enhance digitalization through electronic information exchange and also provide logical grouping of information through data models related to this domain.
Scope
The Domain works to support national, regional, and international governmental efforts in adopting harmonized cross border regulatory procedures and thereby facilitate trade. Towards this goal, the domain acts as a focal point related to regulatory processes, by various work programs including, but not limited to, building reference data model to logically group information related to cross border domain, create guidance material on the processes.
Active Projects
Cross border multimodal digital corridors for regulatory related movement of consignment data and consignment status information for trade facilitation
eData Management
The purpose of this Working Group is to bring together experts in eData Management, and whenever possible to contribute to the work of UN/CEFACT in the following ways:UN/CEFACT eData Management Domain
Background Information
The Domain concentrates on facilitating trade by way of strengthening governance. In order to do this, the Domain engages in the process of facilitating international trade transactions using state of art electronic information exchange instruments. The work programme also includes regulatory aspects of cyber security, interoperability standards, and general ICT best practices. This Domain also aims to provide guidance, awareness, and best practices for government systems and technology efforts to support trade facilitation and e-commerce.
Scope
The Domain works to support international, regional, and national e-government efforts to improve trade facilitation and e-commerce systems and technology and address issues or concerns that may impede this progress. The Domain accomplishes this goal by acting as a focal point for any questions related to recommendations or issues within the scope of UN/CEFACT as they relate to regulatory aspects.
Work of the Domain aims to covers the following major topics:
1. Facilitate adoption of new tools and technologies for trade facilitation and eBusiness
2. Facilitate adoption of advanced methods and standards for security and authentication in Buy-Ship-Pay process
3. Cooperation with international institutions like UNCITRAL in the area of eBusiness legal framework
4. Facilitate adoption of standards for interoperable ICT solutions in Buy-Ship-Pay process
5. Facilitate adoption of standards for long term archival of digitally preserved documents, time stamping, electronic signature, mutual recognition and related subjects
Environmental Management
The purpose of this Working Group is to bring together experts in Environmental Management, and whenever possible to contribute to the work of UN/CEFACT in the following ways:UN/CEFACT Environmental Management Domain
Background Information
This Domain concentrates on the business processes and official procedures related to environmental management, which include activities such as waste management, water management and environmental monitoring and control.
Its main deliverables are electronic data interchange standards. They are part of and consistent with the suite of UN/CEFACT outputs, and particularly closely aligned and interoperable with standards from related Domains, such as Transport & Logistics and Agriculture.
The purpose of these standards is, on the one hand, to vastly increase the efficiency of business processes related to environmental management. On the other hand, these standards are also destined for improving the availability and quality of environmental information, thus leading to more effective environmental control and, as a result, to preventing adverse effects to human health and the environment.
The Environmental Management Domain is the successor of TBG13.
Scope
This Domain focuses on establishing the procedures, semantic building blocks and data formats for the electronic interchange of environment related data. It does so by applying UN/CEFACT methodologies (Core Components, Business Information Entities, Naming and Design Rules, etc.).
Work is coordinated and aligned with UNEP, European Commission, WCO and other environment related organizations where appropriate.
The business procedures supported with the Domain’s outputs often cover private companies, public administration and competent authorities. Business-to-Government (B2G) procedures such as permitting and reporting are within scope, especially if required by international agreements. Also within scope are activities like monitoring (such as emissions monitoring), sampling, laboratory analysis, and professional surveys and assessments.
Finance and Payment
The purpose of this Working Group is to bring together experts in Finance and Payment, and whenever possible to contribute to the work of UN/CEFACT in the following ways:UN/CEFACT Finance and Payment Domain
Background Information
This Domain concentrates on business processes and development of trade facilitation and electronic business solutions, focussing on finance and payment services standardization. Using the UN/CEFACT Buy-Ship-Pay Model, the Domain looks into the payment and supply chain finance phase (Pay phase).
The Domain is the successor of the TBG5 “Finance Working Group”.
Scope
The Domain identifies and launches supply chain finance projects in order to ensure that the UN/CEFACT portfolio of projects responds to the market requirements, in both the public and private sectors, and to respond to stakeholder requirements in terms of international interoperability.
Supply chain finance, at its most basic, allows both the buying companies and the suppliers to improve their working capital (a crucial attribute given the recent financial crisis).
Above all, the Domain deals with four streams of activities:
• Supply chain finance: financial services which might be offered by any financial agent in connection with trade documents, like finance-related aspects of e-invoice, orders, contracts, etc.
• Supply chain documents: the finance-related aspects of any B2B document, going from price list to orders to invoices, which is exchanged between the two trade counterparts.
• Payments and reporting: the area of the former TBG5 projects.
• ISO cooperation: cooperation with other standards organizations on finance and supply chain related topics, such as ISO TC68, for which a liaison has been established.
Health and Insurance
The purpose of this Working Group is to bring together experts in Health and Insurance, and whenever possible to contribute to the work of UN/CEFACT in the following ways:UN/CEFACT Health and Insurance Domain
Background Information
This Domain concentrates on the development of e-business standards for electronic communication in the insurance sector.
The Insurance Domain is the successor of the TBG8 “Insurance”.
Scope
The objective of the Insurance Domain’s work is to facilitate the transfer of information between policyholders, professional intermediaries (agents, brokers), insurers and other involved parties.
The Domain has developed standardized Core Components for the UN/CEFACT Core Component Library for the following insurances lines of business:
• Motor insurance (private and commercial vehicles)
• Property insurance (private and commercial)
• Liability insurance (private and commercial)
• Insurance for technical risks
• Insurance for marine risks (inland and deep sea)
These Core Components facilitate insurance processes for contract placing and administration as well as claims handling.
The Domain is working in collaboration with CEN TC445.
Single Window
The purpose of this Working Group is to bring together experts in Single Window, and whenever possible to contribute to the work of UN/CEFACT in the following ways (specialy in update the UN/CEFACT case study repository):UN/CEFACT Single Window Domain
Background Information
UN/CEFACT has created a suite of recommendations in the Single Window area. The principal idea behind the Single Window concept is to make international trade regulatory information provision to traders and their service providers as little burdensome as possible, as well as the sharing and processing of the received information to the respective authorities. The official definition of Single Window is given in Recommendation N°33.
The Single Window Domain is the successor of TBG15 “International Trade Procedures Working Group” and GE2 of Working Party 4.
Scope
This Domain maintains the suite of the recommendations published in the Single Window area. These include, in addition to the introduction of the concept and guidance on how to establish a Single Window operation, recommendations for data simplification and standardization for international trade (Recommendation N°34), establishing a legal framework for international trade Single Window (Recommendation N°35), and a recommendation on establishing interoperability between two or more national Single Window systems (Recommendation N°36, upcoming).
Further work of the Domain includes:
a) Promote the value and use of the Single Window concept and recommendation amongst other UN/CEFACT Domains and third party users.
b) Monitor the implementation and operation of Single Window in order to build a repository of best practices.
c) Identify additional areas of work that can improve the performance of national or international Single Windows.
d) Develop recommendations, standards and other instruments to enhance the efficient and effective exchange of trade related data.
Supply Chain and Procurement
The purpose of this Working Group is to bring together experts in Supply Chain and Procurement, and whenever possible to contribute to the work of UN/CEFACT in the following ways:UN/CEFACT Supply Chain and Procurement Domain
Background Information
The Procurement Domain group is focused on supporting private and public sector entities to achieve effective and efficient processes for acquiring goods, services and works.
This domain group is the successor to TBG 1 (UN/CEFACT Forum International Trade & Business Processes Group 1) and TBG 6 (UN/CEFACT Forum).
Using the BUY-SHIP-PAY (International Supply Chain Reference Model), the Procurement and Supply Chain Management Domains covers all aspects except the Ship and Pay processes. The Procurement Domain specifically looks at messages related to the Tendering process, such as, used in Public Procurement and the Construction Sector.
The Supply Chain Management Domain (SCM) creates standards for business messages from Quotation to Invoice. Along with the Procurement Domain it creates deliverables for the "Buy" part of the Buy/Pay PDA. The Procurement Domain creates tendering business messages for all sectors but particularly for Public Procurement and Construction Contract awarding process. The SCM Domain deals with messages following the award of the Contract.
This group is the successor to TBG 1 (UN/CEFACT Forum International Trade & Business Processes Group 1). TBG=International Trade and Business Processes Group within the former structure of UN/CEFACT before 2012
Using the BUY-SHIP-PAY (International Supply Chain Reference Model), the SCM covers all aspects except the Ship and Pay processes.
Scope
The scope of the Procurement Domain group is to:
• Develop and maintain UN/CEFACT Business Standards to support the procurement processes. This includes Business Process Models, Business Transaction Models and semantics expressed in a syntax neutral way, as well as the corresponding UN/CEFACT syntax solutions.
• Encourage the active participation in the Procurement Domain group of interested user communities in Industry, Trade and Procurement, in accordance with UN/CEFACT membership criteria.
• Maintain close relations with other UN/CEFACT groups as appropriate.
• Promote and support the work of UN/CEFACT.
The purpose of the Supply Chain Management group is to:
• Develop and maintain Business Process Models, the Business Transaction Models, the semantics and the contents in a syntax neutral way that they fulfil the requirements of the Trade and Industry communities within the framework of the Supply Chain and e-Procurement. The supply chain and e-procurement covers the Purchasing, Material Management and Product development areas
• Approve based on the syntax neutral business transactions the corresponding UN/CEFACT syntax solutions provided by the UN/CEFACT Methodology and Technology group
• Encourage the active participation in SCM of interested user communities in Industry, Trade and Procurement, in accordance with UN/CEFACT membership criteria
• Maintain close relations with other UN/CEFACT groups as appropriate
• Promote and support the work of UN/CEFACT
Transport and Logistics
The purpose of this Working Group is to bring together experts in Transport and Logistics, and whenever possible to contribute to the work of UN/CEFACT in the following ways:UN/CEFACT Transport and Logistics Domain
Background Information
Reflecting recent technology developments as well as strategic transport policy goals, our experts have to deal with the operational challenges of multimodal transport chains, the intricacies of complex networks of economic operators, the promises of new ICT technologies, interoperability of management systems, compliance with regulatory requirements and more.
The Transport & Logistics Domain builds upon the structures and work items formerly established by the transport business group (TBG3). Its primary mission is to identify UN/EDIFACT standard message requirements for the transfer of transport data within the Buy-Ship-Pay Model and to develop and maintain United Nations Standard Messages for transport and logistics purposes.
The focus is to maintain and further develop a syntax-exchange independent multimodal transport reference data model (MMT) as a subset of the UN/CEFACT Core Component Library and then to deliver syntax specific message structures either as UN/XML schemas or mappings to UN/EDIFACT standard messages.
Scope
The work of the Domain comprises:
a) Maintenance of existing UN/CEFACT data exchange standards which are of relevance to the transport industry, notably UN/XML messages and UN/EDIFACT messages, which are widely used.
b) Maintenance and further development of business requirements specifications, business information elements and core components important for the transport industry.
c) Further dematerialization of paper based documents in all modes of transport.
d) Include key organizations within the development and maintenance of this work, keeping abreast of evolutions within data exchange standards relevant to the transport and logistics sector, in line with the relevant terms of reference of UN/CEFACT for such collaboration.
Sustainable Fisheries
The purpose of this Working Group is to bring together experts in Sustainable Fisheries, and whenever possible to contribute to the work of UN/CEFACT in the following ways:UN/CEFACT Team of Specialists on Sustainable Fisheries
Background Information
World fish stocks are being depleted by overfishing, destructive fishing practices and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. These activities not only threaten fish stocks, but also the coastal communities which rely on fisheries resources for economic survival and as a reliable source of protein. The importance of protecting fishery resources is recognized by the international community through Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
An essential step to attain effective and sustainable management of fishery resources is timely acquisition and exchange of information on fishing location, gear used, species and quantity caught, etc. Until now, fishing vessels have mainly used paper-based logbooks to record and exchange such information. To improve information acquisition and management, the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) has developed an open and global standard which allows the electronic exchange of fishery data.
The Fisheries Language for Universal eXchange (FLUX) provides a harmonized message standard which allows Fishery Management Organizations (FMOs) to automatically access electronic data from fishing vessels, such as vessel and trip identification, fishing operations (daily catch or haul-by-haul) and fishing data (catch area, species and quantity, date and time, and gear used). With this standard, FMOs around the world have, for the first time a tool which automates the collection and dissemination of fishery operational data needed for sustainable fishery management and for detecting and combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. In addition, the development of a reliable and up-to-date database on fish catch will improve the knowledge base for sciencebased fisheries management.
The UN/CEFACT FLUX standard was presented at the twenty-seventh UN/CEFACT Forum in Geneva, where experts from government, regional and international organizations, regional FMOs, industry, research, and control and enforcement authorities agreed on its importance as a standardized tool to exchange fisheries information in an effective, transparent and efficient manner. At this forum, it was decided that a community should be established to promote and support the implementation of the FLUX standard.
The Agricultural, Agri-Food and Fishery Programme Development Area of UN/CEFACT supported and approved this proposal and decided to create a Group of Experts from this community. The establishment of the Group of Experts, now referred to as the Team of Specialists (ToS) on Sustainable Fisheries, was approved by the Executive Committee (EXCOM) of the UNECE in June 2017. At its first formal session in January 2018, the Team of Specialists adopted the Programme of Work for 2018/2019.
Scope
The overall objective of the ToS is to contribute to integrated maritime governance by promoting, facilitating and supporting the implementation of fishery data standards on a global scale. The ToS is expected to achieve its overall objective and implement the necessary activities on the assumption that:
a) there is active participation and contribution by experts from governments, academia, civil society and the private sector during meetings of the ToS, and through other relevant networks;
b) Governments are willing to engage in policy dialogue with key stakeholders for sustainable fishery management and take measures to implement policy recommendations and standards; and
c) extra-budgetary resources for capacity-building, advisory services and field projects are adequate.
To achieve this goal the ToS will:
a) Actively promote fishery data standards on policy and technical levels;
b) Share experiences on the implementation of fishery data standards;
c) Develop and share best practices on fishery data standards;
d) Advise and assist on implementation issues concerning fishery data standards and how to relate to broader sustainability standards and certification;
e) Propose changes to standards in the Agricultural, Agri-Food and Fishery PDA of UN/CEFACT.
Travel and Tourism
The purpose of this Working Group is to bring together experts in Travel and Tourism, and whenever possible to contribute to the work of UN/CEFACT in the following ways:UN/CEFACT Travel and Tourism Domain
Background Information
The Travel and Tourism Domain has been concentrating on the standardization activities of Small scale Lodging Houses (SLH) and Destination Travel Information (DTI) Process Projects based on the syntax neutral concept.
This Domain is the successor of TBG9 “Travel, Tourism and Leisure (TT&L) Working Group”. TBG9 had completed the standardization processes covering almost all the major areas of TT&L, namely reservation and product information exchange of airlines, rental cars, chain hotels, and some part of railways, etc. based on EDIFACT syntax rules.
Scope
The major work of the Travel and Tourism Domain is as follows:
a) The maintenance of SLH related Process Projects and their relevant code list
b) The development of standards of DTI Process Project and the relevant code list
c) Study on the new technologies relevant to the Domain, such as considering the use of smart phones, cloud technology, big data, etc.
Further work of the Travel and Tourism Domain includes:
a) Any new working areas of the Domain, including reservation and information exchange on experience travel programmes, restaurants, travel related data, etc.
b) Study on ensuring the interoperability of existing major information systems created by EDIFACT, XML technologies, etc.
c) Acting as a focal point to facilitate global travel trade
Due Diligence
The major work of the Working Group is exchange experiences and deepen debates on:a) Know Your Customer.
b) Know Your Supplier.
c) Know Your Goods.
d) Know Your Business.
e) Know Your Employee.
f) Due Diligence Tools.
g) Combating the Financing of Terrorism.
h) Anti-Money Laundering.
i) Risk Management.
j) Anti-corruption.
k) Intellectual property and counterfeit products.
l) Certifications and accreditations.
Trusted Trader Program
The major work of the Working Group is exchange experiences and deepen debates on:a) Case studies of certified AEO companies.
b) Comparative analysis of AEO programs globally.
c) Improvement proposals for AEO.
d) AEO Program Expansion.
e) New certification modalities fo AEO.
f) Others Trusted Trader Programs.