CX-0006 Registration and Initial Onboarding v2.0.1
ABSTRACT
To become a participant of Catena-X, each applicant must go through a registration process. Registration is a mandatory requirement for all further activities within the Catena-X network. The registration process, along with other services, provide the foundation of trust for the Catena-X network.
FOR WHOM IS THE STANDARD DESIGNED
This standard is relevant for the following roles:
- Core Service Provider
- Onboarding Service Provider
COMPARISON WITH THE PREVIOUS VERSION OF THE STANDARD
| Version | Change by | Change Details |
|---|---|---|
| 2.0.0 | Julia Jeroch | Updated following chapters: - 2.3.4 Company Data Validation - 2.3.8 Gaia-X And added: - 2.3.5 Business Partner Number Creation - 2.3.6 Wallet Tenant Creation - 2.3.7 Credential Storage - 2.3.9 Registration Approval and Dataspace Access |
1 INTRODUCTION
The document deals with the initial registration process which is the initial mandatory step for new Catena-X network participants.
1.1 AUDIENCE & SCOPE
This section is non-normative
This standard is relevant for the following roles:
- Core Service Provider
- Onboarding Service Provider
1.2 CONTEXT AND ARCHITECTURE FIT
This section is non-normative
In order to register participants, the Core Service Provider operates a registration service where a registering company can enter its details to initiate the registration process.
The interaction between Core Service Provider and Onboarding Service Provider is defined in this standard.
Figure 1 shows a high-level view of a section of Catena-X. It consists of the following building blocks:
-
Catena-X Core Services -- Basic services, like for example discovery services, used by all participants of Catena-X. The core services are standardized by the Catena-X consortium.
-
Participants environments -- A participant can offer and consume data. For this, he needs an Eclipse Dataspace Connector as well as corresponding prosumer applications. The applications are provided by Catena-X application providers.
-
The Gaia-X Digital Clearing House (GXDCH) consists of a notarization service and a compliance service and can be operated by another party. GXDCH is a Gaia-X component and must therefore comply with the corresponding Gaia-X standards. GXDCH on the one hand verifies the legitimacy of Catena-X participants and on the other hand it ensures the creation of Gaia-X compliant self-descriptions.
Figure 1 High-level view of a section of Catena-X
1.3 CONFORMANCE AND PROOF OF CONFORMITY
This section is non-normative
As well as sections marked as non-normative, all authoring guidelines, diagrams, examples, and notes in this specification are non-normative. Everything else in this specification is normative.
The key words MAY, MUST, MUST NOT, OPTIONAL, RECOMMENDED, REQUIRED, SHOULD and SHOULD NOT in this document document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.
All participants and their solutions will need to prove, that they are conform with the Catena-X standards. To validate that the standards are applied correctly, Catena-X employs Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs).
The registration process described in this document serves as reference for future implementations. Core service providers and Onboarding Service Providers implementing their own registration solution MUST demonstrate compliance by:
- Providing documentation of the registration process implemented.
- Proofing that the registration process includes all the mandatory steps as defined in this standard.
- Proofing that the registration process implemented delivers the mandatory results as detailed in this standard.
2 THE REGISTRATION PROCESS
2.1 CONTEXTUAL DESCRIPTION
To become a participant of Catena-X, each applicant must go through a registration process. Registration is a mandatory requirement for all further activities within the Catena-X network. The registration process, along with other services, provide the foundation of trust for the Catena-X network.
2.2 ACTORS AND ROLES
| Actors | |
|---|---|
| The to be onboarded company | The company that wants to register to Catena-X |
| Core Service Provider | Core Service Providers run core services that enable the basic functionality of the Catena-X data space (e.g., Identity Provider, Discovery Services). They can also act as an Onboarding service provider. |
| Onboarding service provider | Onboarding Service Providers enable data provider/consumer to be registered to the Catena-X network. |
2.3 PROCESS REPRESENTATION
Figure 2: Catena-X Registration Process
2.3.1 Initial Contact - non normative**
Catena-X follows an invitation-based registration process. Companies can contact Catena-X in one of the following ways:
- A current member of Catena-X proposes another company as a candidate
- Candidates are approached at trade fairs or other events
- Companies contacting Catena-X via the Catena-X homepage
2.3.2 Invite
An Onboarding service provider MAY send an invitation mail to the previously identified contact person of the company to be invited. The mail grants temporary access to the registration tool of Onboarding service provider.
2.3.3.1 Company Data Collection
During the company registration process, the following data MUST get collected from the to be onboarded customer:
- Company Name
- Street + House number/Postbox
- Postal Code (depending on country)
- City
- Country
- Unique Identifier (based on country - see Upload excerpt from commercial register or equivalent for more information)
- Region / State (optional - depending on country
This can be done either manually or partially automatically if the master data for the company is already contained in BPDM which is the central business partner directory of Catena-X. At least the data necessary for creating a business partner entry in BPDM must be provided. For additional information refer to BPM-001 Business Partner Number and BPM-002 Issuing Agency.
2.3.3.2 Select company role inside the Catena-X network
The to be onboarded company MUST be able to select at least one of the following roles:
- Active Participant
- The participant role is covering the data provider, data consumer or app user scenario. As participant you are an active member of the network with enabled services to particiapte as contributer and user.
- App Provider
- The App Provider is a company which is providing application software via the CX marketplace. As app provider you can participate and use the developer hub, release and offer applications to the network and manage your applications.
- Service Provider
- The Service Provider is able to offer 3rd party services, such as dataspace service offerings to CX Members. CX members can subscribe for those services.
- Onboarding Service Provider
- An Onboarding Service Provider is a company that helps other companies register with Catena-X for the first time.
There may be other roles in the future.
2.3.3.3 Agree to terms and conditions
The to be onboarded company MUST accept the framework agreement, which consists of the operator terms, dataspace terms and CX terms (depending on the selected company role).
2.3.3.4 Proof of conformity
Each application or service provider MUST be able to proof conformity with relevant standards for the selected company role. Conformity is assessed by an external conformity assessment body (CAB). The to be onboarded company MUST first complete the conformity assessment and need to be enabled to provide the certificate of conformity as part of the registration application.
2.3.3.5 Upload excerpt from commercial register or equivalent
Each company to be onboarded MUST be enabled to provide proof of identity in the form of an extract from the commercial register or equivalent (depending on the legal entity location of the to be onboarded company).
Catena-X SHOULD support the following identifiers specified by Gaia-X Trust Framework 22.10 (http://docs.gaia-x.eu/policy-rules-committee/trust-framework/22.10/participant/).
| Identifier | Comment | Example |
|---|---|---|
| local | The state issued company number | HRB 123456 (German commercial registration number) |
| VAT ID | The VAT identification number | DE 123456789 (German VAT ID) |
| LEI Code | Unique LEI number as defined by https://www.gleif.org. | 123400789abcde123420 (20 digit alpha numeric code) |
| EORI | The Economic Operators Registration and Identification number (EORI) | DE1234567891234567 |
2.3.3.6 Submit registration
Onboarding service providers and core service providers MUST provide a mechanism for submitting the registration and triggering subsequent activities.
2.3.4 Company Data Validation
Once the company data are collected, it must be validated to ensure accuracy and completeness. The following validation checks MUST be performed:
- Verify that all required fields are filled out
- Validate the format and accuracy of the unique identifier
- Validate proof of conformity of the registering company
- CSPs should implement robust validation mechanisms to ensure the integrity of the company data.
- In order to avoid duplicates, onboarding service providers / core service providers MUST check whether the company to be onboarded is already registered.
2.3.5 Business Partner Number Creation
After the company data is validated, a unique business partner number must be generated for the registered company (if not already existing). The business partner number serves as a unique identifier for the company within the dataspace. The generation of the BPN as well as the to-be-used algorithm is covered in the business partner number standard.
- Onboarding service providers / core service providers MUST ensure that a Business Partner Number (BPN) exists or is created and linked to the company being registered.
2.3.6 Wallet Tenant Creation
A wallet tenant needs to be created for the registered company. A wallet tenant allows the company to securely store and manage digital credentials and assets in their own separated tenant/instance. CSPs and OSPs should have a mechanism in place to create a wallet tenant associated with the registered company. The wallet tenant should be securely provisioned and accessible only to authorized individuals.
- Onboarding service providers / core service providers MUST ensure that a Managed Identity Wallet is created for the company to be onboarded. The BPN MUST be stored in the Managed Identity Wallet as a verifiable credential and serves as a unique ID.
2.3.7 Credential Storage
As part of the registration process, the company's credentials (e.g., digital certificates, authentication tokens) must be securely stored. These credentials are used for authentication and authorization purposes. CSPs should implement secure storage mechanisms to protect the company's credentials from unauthorized access or tampering.
2.3.8 Gaia-X
- Onboarding service providers / core service providers MUST ensure that a company compliance check is executed by an official Gaia-X Digital Clearing House (GXDCH). In alignment with onboarding service providers / core service providers, GXDCH issues verifiable credentials.
- Onboarding service providers / core service providers MUST ensure the creation of a Self-Description (SD) of the Legal Person as part of the application verification process. The SD MUST be stored in a central location and MUST be in line with the GAIA-X standards/guidelines.
2.3.9 Registration Approval and Dataspace Access
- Only when all checks have been successfully passed, the onboarding service providers / core service providers MUST provide access to the services. If one or several application validation steps have not been passed, the onboarding service providers / core service providers MUST reject the registration or defer it for revision.
- Onboarding service providers / core service providers MUST provide feedback (success/rejection/revision) to the to be registered company.
2.4 TECHNICAL INTEGRATION
Onboarding service providers / core service providers MUST provide onboarding companies with information on the step required to complete technical onboarding (connector registration, technical user creation, etc.).
Onboarding service providers / core service providers MAY support with the technical onboarding (integration of corporate identity provider, connector registration, technical user creation, etc.).
3. ONBOARDING SERVICE PROVIDER
An Onboarding Service Provider helps companies register at Catena-X for the first time. The motivation for this may be that an onboarding service provider wants to make it easier for its own customers to get onboarded to Catena-X, or to make the Catena-X onboarding process smoother in general. The to be onboarded company only interacts with the Onboarding Service Provider for registration.
This chapter describes how to enroll on Catena-X with the help of an Onboarding Service Provider.
3.1 HOW TO BECOME AN ONBOARDING SERVICE PROVIDER
- The Onboarding Service Provider MUST fulfill the conformance criterias defined in CX – 0008 RELEVANT STANDARDS FOR CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT
- The Onboarding Service Provider MUST implement a registration process that complies with the registration process defined in this document.
- Core Service Provider and Onboarding Service Provider MUST have a contractual relationship which considers / respects / includes Catena-X standards, principles and data processing. To enable the Onboarding Service Provider to act on behalf of the Core Service Provider.
- Core Service Provider and Onboarding Service Provider MUST implement registration interfaces according to CX - 0009 CATENA-X REGISTRATION API.
- The Core Service Provider MUST validate the Onboarding Service Provider trustability and
validate the implemented data security processes. For example
- Sensitive data - such as access credentials - MUST be secured using state-of-the-art methods.
- Registration tools provided by the onboarding service MUST be secured against security vulnerabilities.
- The Core Service Provider MUST provide Onboarding Service Providers secure access to the registration API.
- The Onboarding Service Provider MUST register as an Onboarding Service Provider with a Core Service Provider. Company role is "Onboarding Service Provider".
- The Core Service Provider MUST process and validate Catena-X registration requests initiated by third parties and submitted by the Onboarding Service Provider. This includes the sending of a registration status notification response back to the Onboarding Service Provider (see 6 - 8 in Figure 3).
3.2 ONBOARDING TO CATENA-X WITH AN ONBOARDING SERVICE PROVIDER
The sequence diagram below depicts an exemplary registration flow through an Onboarding Service Provider.
Figure 3: Exemplary registration flow using a Onboarding Service Provider
The registration API is specified in CX - 0009 CATENA-X REGISTRATION API.
Who may register with Catena-X using an Onboarding Service Provider
The Onboarding Service Provider SHOULD only allow companies that add value to Catena-X to register for Catena-X. There are no defined rules for this, so it is up to the provider to decide. The Core Service Provider is free to refuse registration requests to Catena-X.
The Onboarding Service Provider is no longer offering the services
In the event that the Onboarding Service Provider ceases to provide its service, the Onboarding Service Provider and the Core Service Provider MUST agree on and apply a migration process allowing to follow audit regulations and to enable all customers to remain actively in the dataspace.
Offboarding from Catena-X using an Onboarding Service Provider
The Onboarding Service Provider MUST provide an offboarding service that complies with the Catena-X offboarding standard (currently under development).
4 REFERENCES
4.1 NORMATIVE REFERENCES
- CX-0009:2.0 CATENA-X REGISTRATION API
- CX-0010:1.1 BUSINESS PARTNER NUMBER (BPN)
- CX-0011:1.0 ISSUING AGENCY
- CX-0013:2.0 IDENTITY OF MEMBER COMPANIES
4.2 NON-NORMATIVE REFERENCES
This section is non-normative
-
Gaia-X Trust Framework
(https://gaia-x.gitlab.io/policy-rules-committee/trust-framework/) -
Gaia-X Framework (https://docs.gaia-x.eu/framework/)
-
GXDCH (https://gaia-x.eu/gxdch/)
4.3 REFERENCE IMPLEMENTATIONS
This section is non-normative
The code found at:
presents a reference implementation that implements this standard.
ANNEXES
FIGURES
This section is non-normative
- Figure 1 High-level view of a section of Catena-X
- Figure 2: Catena-X Registration Process
- Figure 3: Exemplary registration flow using a Onboarding Service Provider
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