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Release: 24.03 (current)

CX-0129 Request for Quotation Exchange v1.0.0

ABSTRACT​

This document describes and standardizes the semantic model of Request for Quotation used in Catena-X and the associated API. A Request for Quotation defines detailed requirements, deadlines and evaluation criteria for obtaining quotations from potential manufacturers for specific products or services.

Manufacturing-as-a-Service (MaaS) scenarios focus on connecting buyers having a request for specific manufacturing process steps or products to be manufactured with the appropriate manufacturing supplier, who has the corresponding capabilities and resources.

Sharing information about the demand with all required configuration and contact data is necessary for potential suppliers to evaluate the request and formulate an offer.

A common description of the request for quotation based on a standardized semantic definition is therefore key for facilitating such an information exchange between Catena-X participants. This ensures an open network for every Catena-X member to join and enables interoperability between the partners.

FOR WHOM IS THE STANDARD DESIGNED​

The Request for Quotation standard is designed to benefit both manufacturing buyers and suppliers. For buyers, it ensures that their request configuration is accurate and contains all necessary product manufacturing information. Analogously, manufacturing suppliers benefit from this standard through precise and unambiguous requirements and specifications and can therefore use the formalization to make better decisions regarding cost, delivery date, and feasibility in a more automated manner.

With this standard the buyer user can configure its request once and spread it within the Catena-X network where every interested supplier is able to implement this standard and receive the request in a Catena-X standardized format.

COMPARISON WITH THE PREVIOUS VERSION OF THE STANDARD​

This is the first version of the CX-0129 standard.

1 INTRODUCTION​

1.1 AUDIENCE & SCOPE​

This section is non-normative

This standard is relevant for suppliers to be able to receive and assess in an automated manner a manufacturing request coming from digital market-ecosystems. Buyers can use this standard to request a manufacturing process and reach as many suppliers as possible over digital market-ecosystems. Defining this standard should help integrate new interested parties on every level e.g. new buyer applications, configuring a manufacturing request or new suppliers processing manufacturing requests, represented as ODM platforms, supplier networks or single suppliers applications.

This standard is therefore relevant for the following roles :

  • Data Providers willing to provide the necessary information about their manufacturing request
  • Data Consumers interested in receiving and processing requests for products or components
  • Business Application Providers interested in providing solutions implementing this standard

The scope of this standard is only the Request-for-Quotation aspect model and an API defining the exchange of Request-for-Quotation data through an IDS compliant connector (e.g. EDC).

Only the initial exchange of the Request-for-Quotationfrom the buyer to the supplier is defined by this standard. The subsequent steps of the bidding process happening in the later stages of the RFQ communication (e.g. a response with an offer) are not in the scope of the standard.

1.2 CONTEXT AND ARCHITECTURE FIT​

This section is non-normative

In the context of MaaS, the buyer uses an application (e.g. MaaS Portal) to formalize his request. To generate a new request, the buyer follows a defined workflow with uploading the required part geometry via CAD file, defining material and selecting required manufacturing methods, including additional post processes and quality definitions. Additional services for automated generation of a Bill of Process (e.g. Process Derivation Service) may also be available. When processed, this information is used for capability matchmaking (e.g. by a Manufacturing Network Registry) and listing potential manufacturers, which are able to manufacture the part requested by the buyer. To get in contact with a certain manufacturer, the required request information is formalized with the standardized RFQ aspect model and sent to the respective supplier application via the standardized RFQ API. The supplier application might be an ODM platform, a manufacturer network application, or a single manufacturer application (e.g. ERP).

This necessary information, which is provided by the buyer to the supplier, is referred to as RFQ. (Request for Quotation). This is the common usage of the RFQ in the context of MaaS. The contents of the RFQ provides a detailed information about the requirements from the buyer side with respect to the component that is needed. Upon receiving the buyer's RFQ, the manufacturer is able to analyze the information provided in the standardized format and proceed to the bidding process.

Figure 1 shows the high-level architecture of the Request-for-Quotationexchange in the Catena-X dataspace and the central services that are involved. Both the data provider and the data consumer must be members of the Catena X network in order to communicate with each other. With the help of centrally managed Identity Access Management (IAM) each participant can authenticate itself, verify the identity of the requesting party and decide whether to authorize the request.

Figure 1: High-level architecture of the Request-for-Quotation exchange in the Catena-X network_ Figure 1: High-level architecture of the Request-for-Quotation exchange in the Catena-X network

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 proof of conformity for a single semantic model is done according to the general rules for proving the conformity of data provided to a semantic model or the ability to consume the corresponding data.

1.4 EXAMPLES​

The following example shows a value-only JSON serializartion of the Request-for-Quotation aspect model:

{
  "rfqConfiguration": {
    "firstDeliveryDate": "2023-10-24",
    "additionalFiles": {
      "fileName": "Drehteil_technical",
      "fileObject": {},
      "fileType": "pdf",
      "filePath": "{{PATH_TO_ADDITIONAL_FILE}}"
    },
    "cadFile": {
      "fileName": "Drehteil",
      "fileObject": {},
      "fileType": "STEP",
      "filePath": "{{PATH_TO_CAD_FILE}}"
    },
    "additionalComments": "this is a prototype, recommendations towards design for manufacturing are highly welcome",
    "parts": {
      "generalTolerance": "ISO 2768-1 (m)",
      "processes": {
        "processStepIdentifier": "surfacefinishing_color",
        "subProcessSteps": {},
        "processProperties": {
          "value": "black",
          "propertyName": "color",
          "valueType": "string"
        }
      },
      "manufacturingDomain": "additive manufacturing",
      "material": {
        "materialFamily": "aluminum",
        "materialProperties": {
          "value": "2.7",
          "propertyName": "density",
          "valueType": "g/cm3"
        }
      },
      "partId": "Drehteil",
      "additionalRequirements": "premium quality check",
      "partQuantity": {
        "quantityNumber": 1,
        "measurementUnit": "unit:piece"
      },
      "partName": "Drehteil"
    },
    "orderQuantity": {
      "quantityNumber": 100,
      "measurementUnit": "unit:piece"
    },
    "lastDeliveryDate": "2023-12-24"
  },
  "rfqIdentification": {
    "rfqVersion": "1.0.0",
    "rfqName": "Drehteil",
    "rfqDateTime": "2023-10-24T14:48:54.709Z",
    "rfqSource": "https://maasportal.mendixcloud.com/",
    "rfqId": "Drehteil_02_0815"
  },
  "cxHeader": {
    "senderBpn": "BPNL7588787849VQ",
    "relatedMessageId": "d9452f24-3bf3-4134-b3eb-68858f1b2362",
    "expectedResponseBy": "2023-06-19T21:24:00+07:00",
    "context": "urn:samm:io.catenax.<ASPECT-MODEL-NAME>:1.x.x",
    "messageId": "3b4edc05-e214-47a1-b0c2-1d831cdd9ba9",
    "receiverBpn": "BPNL6666787765VQ",
    "sentDateTime": "2023-06-19T21:24:00+07:00",
    "version": "urn:samm:io.catenax.message_header:1.0.0"
  },
  "rfqSender": {
    "deliveryRequirements": "no plastic for packaging",
    "senderName": "John Doe",
    "senderAddress": "Sunstreet 1, 5555 Sunstate",
    "senderPhoneNumber": "555 123456",
    "senderEMail": "johndoe@sunny.com",
    "senderDeliveryAddress": "Mystreet 1, 1234 Mystate",
    "senderAccountAddress": "Accountstreet 1, 1234 Accountstate",
    "senderCompanyName": "ManufactureEnterprise"
  }
}

1.5 TERMINOLOGY​

This section is non-normative

TermDescription
BuyerOrganization searching for and using a manufacturing service, e.g. the milling and drilling to produce a part of their own design.
ManufacturerOrganization providing a manufacturing service to others, such as milling or drilling.
RFQRequest for Quotation
ODMOn demand manufacturing platform
ProductA Product is a material good or an (immaterial) service offering which is an outcome (output product) or an input (input product) of a Process.
Inherits relations from Entity and Asset.

Additional terminology used in this standard can be looked up in the glossary on the association homepage.

2 RELEVANT PARTS OF THE STANDARD FOR SPECIFIC USE CASES​

This section is normative

2.1 Request for Quotation​

2.1.1 LIST OF STANDALONE STANDARDS​

The following Catena-X standards are prerequisite for the implementation of this standard and therefore MUST be considered / implemented by the relevant parties specified in each of them.

NumberStandardVersion
[CX-0001]EDC Discovery API1.0.2
[CX-0003]SAMM Aspect Meta Model1.1.0
[CX-0006]Registration and initial onboarding1.1.3
[CX-0010]Business Partner Number (BPN)2.0.0
[CX-0018]Eclipse Data Space Connector (EDC)2.1.0
[CX-0050]Framework Agreement Credential1.0.0

2.1.2 DATA REQUIRED​

No additional data requirements.

2.1.3 ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS​

No additional requirements.

2.1.4 DIGITAL TWINS AND SPECIFIC ASSET IDs​

This version of the document does not define any requirements for standardized integration and governance of digital twins.

3 ASPECT MODELS​

This section is normative

3.1 ASPECT MODEL "Request for Quotation"​

This section describes the "Request for Quotation" semantic model used in the Catena-X network.

3.1.1 INTRODUCTION​

A Request for Quotation defines detailed requirements, deadlines and evaluation criteria for obtaining quotations from potential manufacturers for specific products or services. The provided aspect model is automotive-agonistic, thus allowing for future integration and exchange with non-automotive dataspaces. For the complete semantics and detailed description of its properties refer to the SAMM model in Chapter 3.1.5.1.

3.1.2 SPECIFICATIONS ARTIFACTS​

The modeling of the semantic model specified in this document was done in accordance to the "semantic driven workflow" to create a submodel template specification [SMT].

This aspect model is written in SAMM 2.0.0 as a modeling language conformant to [CX-0003] as input for the semantic driven workflow.

Like all Catena-X data models, this model is available in a machine-readable format on GitHub conformant to [CX-0003].

3.1.3 LICENSE​

This Catena-X data model is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) license, which is available at Creative Commons.

3.1.4 IDENTIFIER OF SEMANTIC MODEL​

The semantic model has the unique identifier

   urn:samm:io.catenax.request_for_quotation:2.0.0

This identifier MUST be used by the data provider to define the semantics of the data being transferred.

3.1.5.1 RDF TURTLE​

The rdf turtle file, an instance of the Semantic Aspect Meta Model, is the master for generating additional file formats and serializations.

https://github.com/eclipse-tractusx/sldt-semantic-models/blob/main/io.catenax.request_for_quotation/2.0.0/RequestForQuotation.ttl

The open source command line tool of the Eclipse Semantic Modeling Framework is used for generation of other file formats like for example a JSON Schema, aasx for Asset Administration Shell Submodel Template or a HTML documentation.

3.1.5.2 JSON SCHEMA​

A JSON Schema MUST be generated from the RDF Turtle file. The JSON Schema defines the Value-Only payload of the Asset Administration Shell for the API operation "GetSubmodel".

3.1.5.3 AASX​

An AASX file MUST be generated from the RDF Turtle file. The AASX file defines one of the requested artifacts for a Submodel Template Specification conformant to [SMT].

4 APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACES​

This section is normative

4.1 "Request for Quotation" API​

The Request for Quotation API defined in this section enables the exchange of the Request for Quotation data between Catena-X participants in an interoperable manner. Figure 2 shows a high level overview of the intended data exchange flow.

Figure 2: Request for Quotation data exchange overview Figure 2: Request for Quotation data exchange overview

The API relies on synchronous communication between the involved parties.

  1. A data exchange is initiated by the data provider (buyer) sending a POST request to the data consumer (supplier) to create a Request For Quotation.
  2. Upon receiving a valid request, the consumer (supllier) sends back a 201 Created response to indicate that the Request For Quotation has been successfully created.

4.1.1 PRECONDITIONS AND DEPENDENCIES​

To participate in the Catena-X dataspace, both the data consumer and the data provider MUST be registered and onboarded as defined in [CX-006].

The Eclipse Data Space Connector defined in [CX-0018] MUST be used to make the Request for Quotation API available to network participants.

The API endpoint defined in Chapter 4.1.2.1 MUST therefore be offered as Data Asset/Contract Offer in terms of the Dataspace Protocol as defined by IDSA and following the [CX-0018] standard.

4.1.2 API SPECIFICATION​

4.1.2.1 API Endpoints & Resources​

To support the exchange of Request For Quotation data, a supplier acting as a data consumer MUST define a single endpoint supporting the HTTP POST request method as described in [RFC9110] . The structure of the endpoint MAY be freely chosen. The address of the endpoint MUST be provided as part of the EDC Data Asset defined in Chapter 4.1.3 of this document.

4.1.2.1.2 Available Data Types​

The API MUST use JSON as the payload transported via HTTPS.

4.1.3 EDC DATA ASSET STRUCTURE​

The endpoint introduced in Chapter 4.1.2 MUST NOT be called from a buyer directly. Rather, this MUST be called via an EDC communication. Therefore, the endpoint MUST be offered as an EDC Data Asset. To make this assets easily identifiable in the connector's catalog, it MUST be configured with a set of properties as defined in the table below.

PropertyPurposeUsage & Constraints
@typeDefines the asset type.The asset MUST be set to Asset.
@idIdentifier of the asset.The asset ID MUST be unique and therefore MUST NOT be reused elsewhere.
properties.dct:typeDefines the "Request for Quotation API Endpoint" according to the Catena-X taxonomy.MUST be set to {"@id": "https://w3id.org/catenax/taxonomy#RequestForQuotationApi"} to allow filtering the data assets catalog for the respective Request for Quotation API endpoint .
properties.asset:prop:typeDefines the "Request for Quotation API Endpoint" for filtering purposes.MUST be set to data.res.requestForQuotationApi to allow filtering the data assets catalog for the respective Request for Quotation API endpoint.
properties.cx-common:versionThe version of the standard defining the implemented API.MUST correspond to the version of the standard defining the "Request for Quotation API". The value MUST be set to 1.0 for APIs implementing this standard.
dataAddress.properties.@typeType of the DataAddress node.MUST be set to "DataAddress".
dataAddress.properties.baseUrlDefines the HTTPS endpoint of the corresponding "Request for Quotation API Endpoint".The {{REQUEST_FOR_QUOTATION_API_ENDPOINT}} refers to an URL under which the API endpoint is available. HTTPS transport protocol MUST be used.
dataAddress.properties.proxyBodyDefines whether the endpoint allows to proxy the HTTPS body.MUST be set to "true" to allow the API endpoint to receive a HTTPS body via the HTTPS request.
dataAddress.properties.proxyMethodDefines whether the endpoint allows to proxy the HTTPS method.MUST be set to "true" to allow the API endpoint to also receive POST requests.
dataAddress.properties.typeDefines the type of data plane extension handling the data exchange.MUST be set to "HttpData" to provide an API via an HTTPS proxy endpoint.

When searching the data assets catalog of a data consumer (MaaS supplier), a data provider (MaaS buyer) MUST use the following combination of properties AND their values to identify the data asset specifying the Request for Quotation API endpoint described in Chapter 4.1.2.

PropertyValue
asset.properties.asset:prop:typedata.res.requestForQuotationApi
asset.properties.cx-common:version1.0

To avoid ambiguity, only one data asset with the aforementioned combination of properties AND their values MUST be visible to the data provider (MaaS buyer) at any time .

An example EDC Data Asset definition is given below.

Note: Expressions in double curly braces {{}} must be substituted with a corresponding value.

{
  "@context": {
    "@vocab": "https://w3id.org/edc/v0.0.1/ns/",
    "cx-taxo": "https://w3id.org/catenax/taxonomy#",
    "cx-common": "https://w3id.org/catenax/ontology/common#",
    "dct": "https://purl.org/dc/terms/"
  },
  "@type": "Asset",
  "@id": "{{REQUEST_FOR_QUOTATION_API_ASSET_ID}}",
  "properties": {
    "dct:type": {
      "@id": "cx-taxo:RequestForQuotationApi"
    },
    "asset:prop:type": "data.res.requestForQuotationApi",
    "cx-common:version": "1.0",
    "description": "Request for Quotation API Endpoint"
  },
  "dataAddress": {
    "@type": "DataAddress",
    "type": "HttpData",
    "proxyBody": "true",
    "proxyMethod": "true",
    "baseUrl": "{{REQUEST_FOR_QUOTATION_API_ENDPOINT}}"
  }
}

4.1.4 ERROR HANDLING​

The API endpoint defined in chapter 4.1.2.1 MUST respond to incoming requests with HTTP status codes as described in [RFC9110]. All of the following HTTP status codes, except for codes 200 and 201, MUST be interpreted as failures. Therefore, it may be sufficient for a business application to simply check if the status code is 200 or 201 or not. If not, the request failed.

HTTP Status CodeHTTP Status MessageDescription
200OKThe request has succeeded. The RequestForQuotation has been successfully processed in the backend system.
201CreatedThe request has succeeded and has led to the creation of a new RequestForQuotation in the backend system.
400Bad requestThe server cannot or will not process the request due to something that is perceived to be a client error (e.g., malformed request syntax, invalid request message framing, or deceptive request routing).
401Unauthorized
403ForbiddenThe RequestForQuotation in question is not available for the client (e.g. it belongs to a different company)
405Method not allowedThe method used to request the data was not POST
422Unprocessable EntityThe request was well-formed but was unable to be followed due to semantic errors, e.g. the JSON payload could not be parsed.
502Service Unavailable

If one RequestForQuotation aspect is transmitted in one HTTP request, the return codes MUST be used as stated in the table above.

If a list of multiple RequestForQuotation aspects is transmitted in one HTTP request, the status code 400 MUST be used if at least one RequestForQuotation in the list cannot be processed. Applications MAY choose to process valid entries from a list which also contains invalid entries. If a list of multiple RequestForQuotation aspects is transmitted in one HTTP request, and all of them can be processed successfully, the status code 200 MUST be used.

The return codes 401, 405, 422 and 503 in the table above MAY also be applicable to a list of multiple RequestForQuotation aspects.

Further status codes may be included in a later revision of this standard. The ability to send and receive one status code per sent or received list item might be included in a later revision of this standard.

4.1.5 Data Exchange​

The RequestForQuotation data MUST be sent from the buyer to the supplier using an HTTP POST request. The data format described here MUST be followed for the exchange of the information needed for quotation.

Multiple RequestForQuotation aspects MAY be sent in one transfer as a JSON list. If only one RequestForQuotation aspect is transmitted, it MUST still be sent as a list with one entry.

The serialized JSON MUST NOT be larger than 15 MiB in size.

The RequestForQuotation endpoint MUST be implemented by all participants who wish to participate in Catena-X MaaS as a supplier. Buyers MUST be able to send requests for quotations and the therefore needed information to the suppliers.

The data payload itself MUST be a valid JSON string.

All attributes marked as mandatory in RFQ aspect model MUST be included in the dataset. Attribute marked as ' Optional' CAN be included in the data set.

The usage of the attributes in the data model MUST follow the attribute descriptions in the definitions of the RFQ aspect model.

5 PROCESSES​

This section is normative

Not applicable.

6 REFERENCES​

6.1 NORMATIVE REFERENCES​

This section is normative

NumberStandardVersion
[CX-0001]EDC Discovery API1.0.2
[CX-0003]SAMM Aspect Meta Model1.1.0
[CX-0006]Registration and initial onboarding1.1.3
[CX-0010]Business Partner Number (BPN)2.0.0
[CX-0018]Eclipse Data Space Connector (EDC)2.1.0
[CX-0050]Framework Agreement Credential1.0.0

6.2 NON-NORMATIVE REFERENCES​

This section is non-normative

ContextLink
[CX-OMW]Catena-X Operating Model Whitepaper. Download from: https://catena-x.net/fileadmin/user_upload/Publikationen_und_WhitePaper_des_Vereins/CX_Operating_Model_Whitepaper_02_12_22.pdf
[ISO8601]ISO 8601: Date and time format
[RFC2119]Bradner, S. Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels. Available online: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2119
[RFC4122]A Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) URN Namespace (https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc4122)
[RFC8174]Leiba, B. Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC 2119 Key Words. Available online: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc8174
[RFC9110]HTTP Semantics (https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110)
[SMT]How to create a submodel template specification. Guideline. Download from: https://industrialdigitaltwin.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/I40-IDTA-WS-Process-How-to-write-a-SMT-FINAL-.pdf

6.3 REFERENCE IMPLEMENTATIONS​

This section is non-normative

Not applicable.

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