AODP Automatic Ordering & Delivery Protocol
F.A.Q.
AODP in general
What is the meaning of "AODP"?
Is AODP a portal?
What is a protocol and what is the purpose of AODP?
What is the intention behind the development of AODP?
Who developed AODP?
What is the difference between AODP and NNND?
Who supports and maintains the AODP standard?
What is the AODP Standardisation Center?
What is a registry authority?
What is a participant ID?
Which registry authorities/areas are there?
For which articles can AODP be used?
Are there any specifications for quotation and pricing?
What file types are supported by AODP?
Do I need to understand how AODP works technically?
Can I integrate AODP into my own software?
Do AODP transactions run on a central server?
How does AODP work on a technical level?
How is AODP secured?
How are AODP transactions billed?
How can I find out which articles are available via AODP?
How much does the use of AODP generally cost?
Why is there a Network Contribution?
Why does the Network Contribution depend on AODP revenue?
What current services are included in Network Contribution?





AODP in general
What is the meaning of "AODP"?
Automatic Ordering and Delivery Protocol.
Is AODP a portal?
Not at all. AODP is an internet protocol and stands for a certain kind of cooperation in the professional digital business. For the users (suppliers and retailers), it works invisibly in the background. End customers do not come into direct contact with AODP.
What is a protocol and what is the purpose of AODP?
In information technology, a protocol defines and standardizes how computers "talk" to each other in order to fulfil a certain task.
AODP is an internet protocol and enables retailers to purchase digital items directly in a standardized way directly from the corresponding supplier's AODP server, and to resell them to end customers. Thus, AODP servers are automatic "distribution depots" for digital products.
In other words, AODP defines a method for the automated "purchase" of digital items at the moment of sale to the end customer.
In a nutshell, AODP connects dealers and suppliers via the Internet to a decentralized purchasing network.
What is the intention behind the development of AODP?
AODP has arisen from the idea that the sale of digital items in the internet can be decentralized. The goal is, to create the conditions for a healthy and diverse market structure in the digital sector, that market participants can shape themselves and that can optimally complement the existing physical market.
The current technological status with regard to hardware and Internet connection makes it possible for everyone today in principle, to be part of the digital business with reasonable effort. AODP connects the individual partners, i.e. providers and retailers by organizing and standardizing the automated sale and delivery of digital products.
Who developed AODP?
AODP was developed within the project "NNND" by DE-PARCON in cooperation with DMV (Deutscher Musikverlegerverband / German Sheet Music Publisher Association), GDM (Gesamtverband Deutscher Musikalienhänder / General Association of German Music Retailers), and Acamar.
What is the difference between AODP and NNND?
NNND is the "Netzwerk NRW Noten Digital" (Network North Rhine-Westphalia for digital sheet music). At the beginning there was the idea to sell digital products in the decentralize the Internet. For this purpose, a concept was developed which was entered in the Create.NRW funding competition. and received an award. This results in the relationship to the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Within the framework of the resulting project, AODP and the associated organisational structure were developed. The application of the standard is of course not limited to North Rhine-Westphalia.
In short: AODP is the result of the work of the NNND project.
(Weitere Informationen zur Historie s. www.nnnd.org.)
Who supports and maintains the AODP standard?
As the technical developer of the standard, DE-PARCON operates the "AODP Standardisation Center" for this purpose.
What is the AODP Standardisation Center?
The Standardisation Center takes care of all technical and legal issues relating to the standard and maintains a subscriber directory of the assigned subscriber IDs and their statuses. It also transmits the support of individual areas to so-called "registry authorites".
What is a registry authority?
The registry authorities, in cooperation with the Standardisation Center, are responsible for individual areas or catalogues of digital articles. To this purpose, they receive a unique prefix from the standardisation center, on whose basis they assign a participant ID (identification number) to each participant in their respective area once. They also take care of practical operation and can provide a metadata and security technology service. for the participants.
What is a participant ID?
The subscriber ID uniquely identifies each subscriber worldwide in the AODP network. It is made up of the prefix of the responsible registry and another unique identifier within this area.
Which registry authorities/areas are there?
DE-PARCON operates the first registry authority as part of the IDNV. She is in charge of the AODP area for sheet music and uses the registry prefix "IDNV". Further registry authorities/areas will be set up as required, if necessary also from other institutions.
For which articles can AODP be used?
Basically for all digital products that can be transmitted via the Internet. The type of articles sold depends on the respective area. Of course, a manufacturer can also cover several areas. The registry authorities or the Standardisation Center will provide further information on this..
Are there any specifications for quotation and pricing?
No, this is at the sole discretion of the providers.
What file types are supported by AODP?
AODP has nothing to do with the type of files transferred. Any file that can be transferred over the Internet can also be offered via AODP. Of course, the customer must have the appropriate software available to open and handle the files.
Do I need to understand how AODP works technically?
Only if you are a software developer or if you are interested in principle. Apart from thiss, you as a user can easily use AODP with your software which has been prepared for this purpose.
Can I integrate AODP into my own software?
Yes, AODP is an open technical standard, i.e. there is technical documentation, and a reference implementation on the basis of which user software can be developed (see Resources.) As a participant or registered developer you can take a look at them.
Do AODP transactions run on a central server?
No. The transactions take place directly between the merchant's software and the server software of the respective provider.
How does AODP work on a technical level?
AODP works according to the client/server principle with XML-formatted messages that are exchanged via HTTP. (You can find more details here Resources.)
When a retailer wants to sell a specific digital item to an end customer, his or her client software connects the provider's server via the Internet and requests the desired article via AODP. If the merchant has been activated by the provider, the server places the item for download under an individual, not guessworkable download link and returns this link to the dealer's AODP software This completes the transaction. What happens next depends on the application. The dealer can pass the link on to the end customer so that he can download the article directly from the provider's server.. However, the dealer can also offer additional services, for example, in the case of sheet music, the creation of a print-out.
AODP can be used universally, both in the retail shop, where the process is carried out by the dealer for the end customer as well as, for example, in a web shop where the customer places download items from the retailer's range in his shopping basket, and after payment receives the download link on the completion page or in the confirmation e-mail. In the latter case, the process is fully automatic.
Of course, many other applications are also conceivable. AODP provides a universal technical "back end" for this purpose.
How is AODP secured?
There are two requirements to security: Mutual authentication of transaction partners and encryption of data traffic.
Authentication means that not everyone can easily access an AODP server over the Internet.. Instead, an AODP client must "identify itself" to the server and vice versa the server to the client. his is done with the help of X.509 certificates. This a technical standard, which is also used for secure websites.
Encryption is done by TLS (Transport Layer Security), also a common technical standard.
How are AODP transactions billed?
As with trading physical items, the retailer settles with the end customer and the provider bills the retailer for digital items purchased from him via AODP in the ususal way. Both are based on the local transaction databases into which the software stores the transaction data at the provider's and also at the retailer's site. Each process is therefore perfectly comprehensible for both parties.
How can I find out which articles are available via AODP?
In order to carry out a transaction via AODP, the merchant must of course know which article there is to buy and under which address in the Internet the AODP server of the respective provider is attainable. This is also called the "meta information" for an article. This information is distributed to the retailers via catalogue systems, such as the IDNV.
How much does the use of AODP generally cost?
The Standardisation Center collects the "Network Contribution" via the registry authorites. This contribution amounts to 0.75% of the AODP annual turnover per participant, whereby the minimum contribution is 72,-- Euro/year.. The participant classifies the turnover once a year on the basis of self-disclosure.
For the allocation of the participant ID and entry in the user directory, a one-time flat fee of 69,-- Euros is charged.
In addition, there are costs for security technology and, on the provider side, the costs for hosting. Software costs may still be incurred.
Why is there a Network Contribution?
The AODP Standardisation Center and the AODP registry authorities provide services for AODP users. These services are crucial for the practical operation of the network and facilitate its use for all AODP users. In addition, the AODP authorities are responsible for the maintenance and further development of the AODP standard. All of this work incurs costs that should be covered by Network Contribution. Please note that the application of the AODP standard for business transactions between dealers and providers is generally free of charge, i.e. the individual transaction itself is not subject to fees.
Why does the Network Contribution depend on AODP revenue?
To the purpose that even a dealer or provider with low sales can also afford to participate. Due to this scheme and the small share, each AODP user can easily generate the network contribution from AODP transactions.
What current services are included in Network Contribution?
As a participant, you will receive the following services from the Standardisation Center or the registry authorities within the framework of the Network Contribution
  • Valid listing in the AODP user directory
  • Access to the AODP user directory
  • Insight into technical documentation and reference implementation
  • Basic support by phone or e-mail
  • Certificate service
  • Notifications by e-mail about running operations