Investing large amounts of cash in your IT infrastructure is probably the last thing that you as a distributor want to do at this moment. But while there is a huge lull in component orders, now may be the time to take a close look at new B2B processes, such as RosettaNet standards.

The RosettaNet organization is focused on creating common XML-based supply chain process standards to eliminate inefficiencies in distributors' order management, manufacturing and design processes. RosettaNet implementation, which ultimately leads to a cost savings, will become key to optimizing the capabilities of the Internet. Trading partners within a supply chain, no matter the size, must decide on when, how and with whom they want to implement RosettaNet standards. The bottom line is that the return on investments (ROI) by some of the early adopters has shown a significant reduction in costs and improvements in operational efficiencies.

The RosettaNet Basics initiative now under way should drive B2B integration with midtier companies by offering baseline functionality for a subset of core partner interface processes (PIPs). The initiative should also push software providers to develop low-cost turnkey solutions in the $20,000 to $50,000 range.

Take a page from Arrow Electronics' playbook. The distribution giant is driving RosettaNet compliance through its whole supply chain.

I recently spoke with an executive at chip maker Linear Technology, who said that Arrow drove its recent implementation of RosettaNet order-management PIPs. It was taking about two weeks, if at all, for Arrow to receive confirmation of production ship dates from Linear. By implementing order-management PIPs 3A4 and 3A7 with Microsoft's BizTalk Server 2000 Platform and the help of system integrator Syncata Corp., the process time was cut from two weeks to two to three days.

Intel had a similar problem last year with Arrow. It was taking overnight for Intel to respond to order transactions via EDI because it uses batch processing. Now with the implementation of PIP 3A4, Intel can respond in minutes.

But the RosettaNet organization is moving beyond order-management processes into collaborative forecasting, design win and ship from stock and debit processes. Now is the time for the rest of the industry to step up to the plate to make similar gains with their trading partners. For more on RosettaNet, visit www.rosettanet.org.