Creating a paperless environment for trade must address the need for an electronic version of an invoice. But how to create a standard to dematerialize an invoice? There are multiple sectors that use invoices as part of their core sources of information, from the commercial business transaction, transport, customs clearance, fiscal declarations, banking, insurance, etc. Depending on the type of commodity being traded, different types of information must be present on the invoice; an invoice for automobile parts will be very different from an invoice for milk products, and these will both be different from an invoice for transport services.
UN/CEFACT has developed a maximum data-set invoice which covers multiple sectors and multiple types of commodities called a cross-industry invoice (or CII for short). It is unlikely that all the data in the UN/CEFACT CII will be necessary all the time. Most usages will be a subset of the full CII. By creating a standard model with all the potential information, it is easier for parties to identify any possible version of an invoice.
The UN/CEFACT CII is part of a group of messages in supply chain procedures called the “Cross-Industry family of deliverables.” These are all based on the principle of a maximum data set, are integrated into the Supply Chain Reference Data Model, and are fully interoperable with each other. These include the CI-Cataloguing Process, CI-Ordering Process, CI-Quotation, CI-Delivery Process, CI-Remittance Advice, etc.