ALEXANDRIA, VA -  April 2, 2004 - The OFDA Technology Committee confirmed that the first successful testing of the OFDAOrder XML schema has been completed by Herman Miller, Inc. and Team Systems LLC. The OFDAOrder schema is the first OFDAxml release, and is part of the Committee’s plan to replace the current SIF text standard with a new, open XML (extensible markup language) standard for the office furniture industry. 

The OFDAOrder schema incorporates the order, acknowledgement, and advance shipping notice transactions and is designed to provide a unified way for dealers and manufacturers to communicate information throughout the order process. It is currently at the Candidate Recommendation level and is considered a stable Working Draft. After successful testing, the OFDAOrder schema will be formally approved. The new schema is available for download at www.ofdaxml.org.  

“Developing the OFDAOrder schema has been a long, hard road but we are very encouraged that the testing is progressing so well,” said Mark Duros, OFDA director of research and technology. “Herman Miller and Team Systems have taken a lead role in the testing and thanks to their strong commitment, we anticipate that other manufacturers and software vendors will follow their lead and actively test the schema. Our goal is to wrap up the testing in the next few months and are hopeful to debut the final OFDAOrder schema at NeoCon.”

“The preliminary testing with Herman Miller went extremely well and we are noe also testing the OFDAOrder schema with HON and Allsteel,” said Diana Gentry of Team Systems. “After testing at the manufacturer level, we'll move forward to selecting beta dealerships for complete testing.”

Kevin VanRiper of Herman Miller added, “The use of the OFDAOrder XML schema provides greater capability and flexibility over previously supported file formats. We'll be working with dealer system vendors to incorporate the OFDAOrder XML schema and continue to support the previous file formats while the migration takes place.”

Any manufacturers interested in OFDAOrder XML testing with Team Systems are asked to contact Tammy Byrum at tbyrum@team-design.com .

Herman Miller, Inc. dealerships who manage a customer dealer business system are encouraged to review the OFDAOrder XML schema and make plans to migrate to using the new schema. Interested parties should contact Kevin Van Riper at kevin_vanriper@hermanmiller.com to establish an implementation plan.

About the OFDA Technology Committee
The OFDA Technology Committee was formed in December of 1999 with a goal of creating industry standards to simplify the process of transmitting both graphical and non-graphical data across different computer platforms and software programs. The initiative presents an opportunity for dramatic productivity gains and cost-savings for all segments of the industry. 

Spearheaded by the Office Furniture Dealers Alliance (OFDA) industry trade association, the OFDA Technology Committee is comprised of leading office furniture manufacturers and software developers.For more information on the OFDA Technology Committee, please visit www.ofdaxml.org or contact Mark Duros, OFDA Director of Technology and Research, at mduros@ofdanet.org.