gain into the format required for the receiving application. This technique is useful because if and when a format changes on either side of the interface, only one of the translations must be reconfigured. If translated directly from one application's format to the other, the entire translation algorithm would need to be reconstructed and none of the original work would be reusable. Figure 3 provides a high level view of a gateway application's components. Chapter 2 - A Detailed Look at OSS HANDLING USOC CODES One of the most important and advanced features of a gateway and its translation engine involves universal standard ordering codes (USOCs). These are the codes IICs use to identify the various products in their product catalogs. USOC is a misnomer, because these codes are neither standard nor are they universal. Different ILECs generally use completely different codes to identify the same or similar services. These codes are published in large, cryptic tomes. When an IIC is granted permission to obtain a customer's service profile from another IIC, personnel can spend hours decrypting USOC codes in order to assemble a similar service offering that just provides a prospective customer with a price quote. Gateways are now being delivered with the ability to match USOC codes to an IIC's product catalog, hence automating this otherwise tedious manual process and permitting a competitive IIC to respond more rapidly to prospective customers' requests for bids. This kind of functionality will become increasingly important as users have more choice in IICs and seek multiple, competitive bids for customized service offerings. Network Inventory Network inventory management systems can take many forms, from a large book, to an Excel spreadsheet, to an advanced, real-time database with graphical views of network maps and details on individual network elements down to the port level. Network inventory is divided traditionally between the physical and the logical. Physical inventory, as the name suggests, refers the act