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Pubnet ISBN-13 Certification for POS Vendors
Pubnet understands that the POS Vendor is a key player in major initiatives. As part of a combined effort between Pubnet and BISG, this document provides an overview of the upcoming ISBN 13 changes and also how Pubnet may be able to assist you and your clients become ISBN-13 compliant.
ISBN-13 Terminology
Let’s start with a few definitions:
- 10-digit ISBN - The current book identifier which uniquely identifies each book with a 9 digit core number and a tenth check digit.
- 13-digit ISBN - Beginning on January 1, 2007, all 10-digit ISBNs will be re-expressed as a 13 digit number by appending a 978 prefix to the 9-digit core and recalculatig a new check digit. A 979 prefix will be used when all 978 prefixes are assigned. This will effectively double the number of ISBNs available. These 13 digit numbers are also properly referred to as Bookland EANs.
- GTIN (Global Trade Identifier Number) - Used in proper context, any ISBN, EAN or UPC code is a GTIN. However, this term is often used in this industry to refer to the 14 digit UCC/EAN code.
- 14-digit UCC/EAN - In the 14-digit UCC/EAN, a leading digit is added to the 13-digit ISBN that specifies the packaging level (such as a carton). Of course a new check digit must be calculated.
How to Become Compliant
Clearly any approach to ISBN-13 compliance must allow each company to migrate independent of trading partners. Companies that have completed their upgrade must still be able to communicate and exchange business documents with those who have not yet completed the process. In short, the process must be seamless and flexible.
The most practical way to accomplish this is for compliant companies to follow these steps (using the X12 format as an example):
1) Ensure that current EDI translation software uses the Product ID Qualifier in conjunction with the Product ID. For instance, the software should understand that if the qualifier is ‘IB’, then the value in the Product ID field is the ISBN number. Moreover, all trading partners must be transmitting and receiving documents with this qualifier.
The reason that this is important is that additional qualifiers will be added (see next steps) and the translation software must be able to discern between the different types. The BISG committee and Pubnet believe that all EDI-enabled companies already follow this practice, but due to its importance, this functionality should be checked.
2) After upgrading backend systems as needed, reconfigure EDI systems to receive and transmit all three numbers (ISBN-10, ISBN-13, UCC/EAN-14), with their unique qualifiers, for all line items. For incoming documents, the desired number can be selected through the use of the correct qualifier.
3) After all trading partners have upgraded, support for the ISBN-10 can be discontinued. Additionally, if two trading partners agree to only use either the ISBN-13 or the UCC/EAN-14, support for the other code can be dropped.
X12 Infrastructure
Upgrading an X12 EDI infrastructure to support the new ISBN should prove fairly easy. In-depth information on the using X12 in the book industry is available on the BISG website (www.bisg.org) and Pubnet (www.pubnet.org)
All X12 documents that use an ISBN make use of the Product/Service ID Qualifier (element 235) to define the Product/Service ID (element 234). Using the following P01 segment from a Purchase Order as an example:
PO1*497583*4*UN*14**IB*0140179178*B5*GREAT JONES STREET.*B6*DELILLO, DON.*B7*HOUGHTON MIFFLIN,*B4*P
The “IB” indicates that the following field (0140179178) contains an ISBN. Once upgraded to be compliant with the new ISBN, we would expect the segment to be:
PO1*497583*4*UN*14**IB*0140179178*EN*978014017917z*UK
*0978014017917z*B5*
GREAT JONES STREET.*B6*DELILLO, DON.*B7*HOUGHTON MIFFLIN,*B4*P
The “EN” code indicates that the next field is a 13-digit ISBN and the “UK” code is for a 14-digit UCC/EAN code.
Your EDI system is correctly configured for the changes to the ISBN field once your EDI system can:
- Accept the three product identifiers as shown on inbound documents.
- Pass the 13 and/or 14 digit code to your backend systems.
- Produce outbound EDI documents with all three identifiers
We attached the updated Pubnet 3060 specifications for review as well.
If You Only Remember Two Things
The following points can not be stressed enough:
- The EDI subsystems of EVERY company in the book industry MUST be upgraded by January 1, 2007
- Following the plan outlined in this document will allow individual companies to upgrade on their own timetable
Testing and Compliance Certification
Once you have made the necessary changes to your system, Pubnet will be happy to assist you with testing. We are working on a schedule to pair up POS and Vendor trading partners on a quarterly basis beginning in 4th quarter 2005. If you would like to schedule for testing with us for any particular dates, please let us know. Testing will basically consist of verifying document delivery and ID code/position changes that are consistent with BISG/Pubnet recommendations as well as receiving partner approval.
For More Information
If you have any questions, please let us know!
Don Nelson
Director - Technical Support
Bowker/Pubnet/Pubeasy
630 Central Avenue
New Providence, NJ. 07974
Toll free: 800-323-3288 x0221
Direct: 908-219-0221
E-mail: don.nelson@bowker.com
Fax: 908-219-0195
Return to 13-Digit ISBN Information Center
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