Services & Products Exchange (SPEx)

The Services & Products Exchange (SPEx) is a worldwide network of linked marketplaces that allow micro needs to be met by the providers of micro services and the micro suppliers of products.

SPEx is a specification for a global, public, distributed, digital marketplace that supports the sustainable economy we need for the future. It is a distributed model that builds on community-level exchanges to create regional, national, continental and globally interconnected marketplaces.
The vibrant and sustainable economies of the future must leverage information technology to enable the micro-economic activity of individuals in every community. That requires the definition of standards that create digital marketplaces where the local and global myriad of individual needs, can meet the local and global myriad of individual suppliers.

SPEx is a global, public domain standard that defines the formats for publishing micro needs, services and products. These standards allow digital marketplaces around the world to exchange the published information and create a global marketplace that connects demand with supply.
By creating an independent, global, public domain standard, SPEx allows communities to build their own systems, to suit their own needs, sure that they can connect to, and publish interchangeably with, other SPEx-compliant systems anywhere in the world.

SPEx maintains its vital independence because it does not provide communications between parties, transaction processing or rating systems. By focusing on the most basic, non-qualitative, underlying standards it objectively enables the marketplaces; like building roads instead of cars. There are important roles for third parties who can use their imagination and innovation to enhance SPEx marketplaces with related and supporting services such as transaction processing, search, rating and sector-specific enhancements.

Mirroring the multi-layer structure of the democratic system, each constituency in every layer has its own SPEx. For instance, a Regional SPEx (R.SPEx) links together all of the SPEx in its Communities and provides upward connection to the SPEx in the next layer up. This architecture allows micro services from one Community to be discoverable in another Community many States away.

SPExification

To provide universal interoperability it is necessary to establish basic standards for the information published in a SPExchange.

Exchanger profile

A record that identifies the person providing or seeking services or products. This record contains whatever information the person wishes to publish publically to the SPEx.
The Exchanger record has a verification link to the xID system.

Service/Product profile (SPx)

A standard record description of the minimal attributes of an offer or request in the SPEx marketplace.
Attributes to include:

• Typing
  • Classifications using standardized coding (combine yellow pages indexing with SIC codes)
    • Alternative classifications allowing appearance in classes where the service/product is an alternative to the class
• Narrative, free form description
• Parameters
  • Locale/availability
  • Publishing
    • the information on the SPx that will be published to the Marketplace
    • availability for publishing in other SPEx systems
      • other constituencies
      • commercial adjuncts
  • Pricing
• Link to Exchanger profile

 

Service/Product Ask (SPA)

A SPx record describing a request for services or products.

Service/Product Bid (SPB)

A SPx record describing an offer of services or products.

SPExchange Marketplace

The central exchange where SPAs can meet SPBs.
The SPExchange Marketplace provides a meeting place for needs and solutions, but it does not provide transaction processing. See Commercial SPEx below for enhanced services.

Inter-SPEx

Standards for the publishing of SPx records between SPEx systems.

Commercial SPEx

While the core, basic SPEx system is publically owned and run there is ample opportunity for commercial services to innovate alongside the SPEx system. Examples of adjoining commercial enhancements include:

• Enhanced search
• Enhanced publishing
• Exchanger rating systems
• Specialist Exchanges, like filters over the core SPEx Marketplace
• transaction management