When AGIIS was created from the three previously distinct databases, the Allied Directory, the North American Purchaser Directory and the Product Directory, a primary consideration was to avoid the disruption of business function during and after the transition. As a result of that decision and enhancements implemented since, we now have now is a mix of legacy database rules and what we created over time as AGIIS evolved. Consequently the current set of entity rules are complex, occasionally inconsistent and may not reflect the needs of our subscribers today.

The Entity Rules Task Force was established to address these issues. Led by Brent Kemp (Southern States) and Marilyn Hunter (AgGateway), the objective of this Task Force is to review the current rules applying to entities and propose revised rules to present to the Directory Oversight Committee.  The proposed entity rules will support the needs for entity identification in eBusiness for all councils. The group will coordinate with the AGIIS Duplicates Task Force (ADTF) as the ADTF is working on the entity rules impacting duplicates in AGIIS.

The group’s kickoff meeting, hosted by Southern States on April 4 - 5 in Richmond, VA, focused on setting the foundation for the task and getting all the participants at the same level of understanding of the current entity rules and process.  The group meets weekly for an hour and a half conference call, and face to face meetings are scheduled at the 2011 Committees, Councils & Projects Meeting in June and another is scheduled for September to be hosted by Rosens, Inc. They will present their recommendations to the DOC in October and if approved, will present to the general membership at the 2011 AgGateway Annual Meeting & Conference in November.

If you are interested in participating in the Input Feedback group or have any questions about this task force, please contact Marilyn Hunter at marilyn@aggateway.com.