PIP 4A5 — Distribute Sales Forecast

RosettaNet choreography in cluster 4, transported on RNIF V02.00 and signed with S/MIME. Operational unit between Distributor and Manufacturer across the high-tech supply chain.

PIP purpose

PIP 4A5 distributes a sales forecast from a distributor (channel partner) to a manufacturer, typically on a weekly cadence. It allows the manufacturer to calibrate production against downstream sell-through data. There is no business confirmation signal, only an RNIF Receipt Acknowledgment is expected.

Message structure

The 4A5 choreography follows the RosettaNet action model:

Primary action: Sales Forecast Notification Action
Signal: Receipt Acknowledgment (RNIF)
Response action: Receipt Acknowledgment

The action is wrapped in a multipart MIME RNIF V02.00 envelope signed with S/MIME. Here is a condensed view of the envelope:

text rnif-envelope-4A5.eml

MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/related; type="application/xml";
  boundary="RN-BOUNDARY-2026"

--RN-BOUNDARY-2026
Content-Type: application/xml
Content-Location: RN-Preamble.xml

<Preamble xmlns="http://www.rosettanet.org/RNIF/V02.00">
  <standardName>RosettaNet</standardName>
  <standardVersion>V02.00</standardVersion>
</Preamble>

--RN-BOUNDARY-2026
Content-Type: application/xml
Content-Location: RN-ServiceHeader.xml

<ServiceHeader xmlns="http://www.rosettanet.org/RNIF/V02.00">
  <GlobalProcessIndicatorCode>4A5</GlobalProcessIndicatorCode>
</ServiceHeader>

--RN-BOUNDARY-2026
Content-Type: application/xml
Content-Location: Pip4A5SalesForecastNotification.xml

<!-- PIP 4A5 payload above -->

--RN-BOUNDARY-2026--

Simplified XML example

Minimal PIP 4A5 payload for didactic purposes. The structural elements (fromRole, toRole, thisDocumentGenerationDateTime, and the PIP-specific business block) are required in any conformant implementation.

xml pip-4A5.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Pip4A5SalesForecastNotification xmlns="http://www.rosettanet.org/PIP4A5">
  <fromRole>
    <PartnerRoleDescription>
      <GlobalPartnerRoleClassificationCode>Distributor</GlobalPartnerRoleClassificationCode>
    </PartnerRoleDescription>
  </fromRole>
  <toRole>
    <PartnerRoleDescription>
      <GlobalPartnerRoleClassificationCode>Manufacturer</GlobalPartnerRoleClassificationCode>
    </PartnerRoleDescription>
  </toRole>
  <thisDocumentGenerationDateTime>
    <DateTimeStamp>20260516T101500Z</DateTimeStamp>
  </thisDocumentGenerationDateTime>
    <SalesForecast>
      <forecastIdentifier>
        <ProprietaryDocumentIdentifier>SF-2026-W20-AMER</ProprietaryDocumentIdentifier>
      </forecastIdentifier>
      <forecastHorizon>
        <forecastStartDate><DateStamp>20260518</DateStamp></forecastStartDate>
        <forecastEndDate><DateStamp>20261116</DateStamp></forecastEndDate>
      </forecastHorizon>
      <ProductLineItem>
        <LineNumber><FreeFormText>1</FreeFormText></LineNumber>
        <ProductIdentification>
          <GlobalProductIdentifier>00614141111118</GlobalProductIdentifier>
        </ProductIdentification>
        <forecastQuantity>
          <ProductQuantity>4500</ProductQuantity>
          <unitOfMeasure>EA</unitOfMeasure>
        </forecastQuantity>
      </ProductLineItem>
    </SalesForecast>
</Pip4A5SalesForecastNotification>

Transport and acknowledgment

Core of the standard: HTTPS POST to the partner endpoint or via AS2. S/MIME signature and Receipt Acknowledgment are systematic. PIP 4A5 is typically transported asynchronously.

The transport channel is typically AS2 or direct HTTPS (RNIF over HTTP). For a reference of the security layers in use, see the AS2 on ediverse page.

Use case

Arrow Electronics sends Intel a weekly PIP 4A5 sell-through forecast covering 26 rolling weeks, aggregated by SKU and APAC geographic zone.

Foundations

Standards

Flagship messages

Tools