diff --git a/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/MessageEndpointReplyException.java b/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/MessageEndpointReplyException.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7341447778
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/MessageEndpointReplyException.java
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2002-2008 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.integration.endpoint;
+
+import org.springframework.integration.message.Message;
+import org.springframework.integration.message.MessageDeliveryException;
+
+/**
+ * An Exception that indicates a failure occurred while a Message Endpoint
+ * was attempting to send a reply message. The Exception provides access to
+ * both the reply message and the original request message.
+ * 
+ * @author Mark Fisher
+ */
+public class MessageEndpointReplyException extends MessageDeliveryException {
+
+	private final Message<?> requestMessage;
+
+
+	public MessageEndpointReplyException(Message<?> undeliveredMessage, Message<?> requestMessage) {
+		super(undeliveredMessage);
+		this.requestMessage = requestMessage;
+	}
+
+	public MessageEndpointReplyException(Message<?> undeliveredMessage,  Message<?> requestMessage, String description) {
+		super(undeliveredMessage, description);
+		this.requestMessage = requestMessage;
+	}
+
+	public MessageEndpointReplyException(Message<?> undeliveredMessage, Message<?> requestMessage, String description, Throwable cause) {
+		super(undeliveredMessage, description, cause);
+		this.requestMessage = requestMessage;
+	}
+
+
+	public Message<?> getOriginalRequestMessage() {
+		return this.requestMessage;
+	}
+
+	public Message<?> getUndeliveredReplyMessage() {
+		return this.getFailedMessage();
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/SimpleEndpoint.java b/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/SimpleEndpoint.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0ef0bdca42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/SimpleEndpoint.java
@@ -0,0 +1,248 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2002-2008 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.integration.endpoint;
+
+import java.lang.reflect.Array;
+import java.util.Collection;
+
+import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
+import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
+
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanNameAware;
+import org.springframework.integration.channel.ChannelRegistry;
+import org.springframework.integration.channel.MessageChannel;
+import org.springframework.integration.handler.MessageHandler;
+import org.springframework.integration.message.CompositeMessage;
+import org.springframework.integration.message.Message;
+import org.springframework.integration.message.MessageExchangeTemplate;
+import org.springframework.integration.message.MessageHandlingException;
+import org.springframework.integration.message.MessageHeaders;
+import org.springframework.integration.message.MessageTarget;
+import org.springframework.integration.message.MessagingException;
+import org.springframework.integration.util.ErrorHandler;
+import org.springframework.util.Assert;
+
+/**
+ * The most basic Message Endpoint implementation. Serves as a "host" for any
+ * {@link MessageHandler} and resolves the target for any reply Message(s)
+ * returned by that handler. If the handler returns a non-empty
+ * {@link CompositeMessage}, each Message in its list will be sent
+ * as a separate reply Message.
+ * 
+ * <p>The reply target is resolved according to the following order:
+ * <ol>
+ *   <li>the 'nextTarget' header value of the reply Message</li>
+ *   <li>the 'outputChannel' of this Message Endpoint</li>
+ *   <li>the 'returnAddress' header value of the request Message</li>
+ * </ol>
+ * For the 'nextTarget' and 'returnAddress' values, either a
+ * {@link MessageTarget} instance or String is accepted. If the
+ * value is a String, then the endpoint will consult its
+ * {@link ChannelRegistry} (typically provided by the MessageBus).
+ * If no reply target can be determined for a non-null reply Message,
+ * a {@link MessageEndpointReplyException} will be thrown.
+ * 
+ * @author Mark Fisher
+ */
+public class SimpleEndpoint<T extends MessageHandler> implements MessageTarget, BeanNameAware {
+
+	private final Log logger = LogFactory.getLog(this.getClass());
+
+	private volatile String name;
+
+	private final T handler;
+
+	private volatile MessageChannel outputChannel;
+
+	private volatile ErrorHandler errorHandler;
+
+	private volatile ChannelRegistry channelRegistry;
+
+	private volatile boolean requiresReply = false;
+
+	private final MessageExchangeTemplate messageExchangeTemplate = new MessageExchangeTemplate();
+
+
+	/**
+	 * Create an endpoint for the given handler.
+	 */
+	public SimpleEndpoint(T handler) {
+		Assert.notNull(handler, "handler must not be null");
+		this.handler = handler;
+	}
+
+
+	public void setBeanName(String name) {
+		this.name = name;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Return the name of this endpoint.
+	 */
+	public String getName() {
+		return this.name;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Specify the channel where reply Messages should be sent if
+	 * no 'nextTarget' header value is available on the reply Message.
+	 */
+	public void setOutputChannel(MessageChannel outputChannel) {
+		this.outputChannel = outputChannel;
+	}
+
+	protected T getHandler() {
+		return this.handler;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Provide an error handler for any Exceptions that occur
+	 * upon invocation of this endpoint. If none is provided,
+	 * the Exception messages will be logged (at warn level),
+	 * and the Exception rethrown.
+	 */
+	public void setErrorHandler(ErrorHandler errorHandler) {
+		this.errorHandler = errorHandler;
+	}
+
+	public void setChannelRegistry(ChannelRegistry channelRegistry) {
+		this.channelRegistry = channelRegistry;
+	}
+
+	protected ChannelRegistry getChannelRegistry() {
+		return this.channelRegistry;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Specify whether this endpoint should throw an Exception when
+	 * its handler returns an invalid reply Message. The reply Message
+	 * is considered invalid if it is null, has a null payload, or has
+	 * an empty Array or Collection as its payload. 
+	 */
+	public void setRequiresReply(boolean requiresReply) {
+		this.requiresReply = requiresReply;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Specify the timeout for sending reply Messages to the reply
+	 * target. The default value indicates an indefinite timeout. 
+	 */
+	public void setReplyTimeout(long replyTimeout) {
+		this.messageExchangeTemplate.setSendTimeout(replyTimeout);
+	}
+
+	public boolean send(Message<?> requestMessage) {
+		try {
+			Message<?> replyMessage = this.handler.handle(requestMessage);
+			if (!this.isValidReply(replyMessage)) {
+				if (this.requiresReply) {
+					throw new MessageHandlingException(requestMessage,
+							"endpoint requires reply but none was received");
+				}
+			}
+			else if (replyMessage instanceof CompositeMessage) {
+				for (Message<?> nextReply : (CompositeMessage) replyMessage) {
+					this.sendReplyMessage(nextReply, requestMessage);
+				}
+			}
+			else {
+				this.sendReplyMessage(replyMessage, requestMessage);
+			}
+			return true;
+		}
+		catch (Exception e) {
+			if (e instanceof MessagingException) {
+				this.handleException((MessagingException) e);
+			}
+			else {
+				this.handleException(new MessageHandlingException(requestMessage,
+						"failure occurred in endpoint's send operation", e));
+			}
+			return false;
+		}
+	}
+
+	private void sendReplyMessage(Message<?> replyMessage, Message<?> requestMessage) {
+		if (replyMessage == null) {
+			throw new MessageHandlingException(requestMessage, "reply message must not be null");
+		}
+		MessageTarget replyTarget = this.resolveReplyTarget(replyMessage, requestMessage.getHeaders());
+		if (replyTarget == null) {
+			throw new MessageEndpointReplyException(replyMessage, requestMessage,
+					"unable to resolve reply target");
+		}
+		if (!this.messageExchangeTemplate.send(replyMessage, replyTarget)) {
+			throw new MessageEndpointReplyException(replyMessage, requestMessage,
+					"failed to send reply to '" + replyTarget + "'");
+		}
+	}
+
+	private void handleException(MessagingException exception) {
+		if (this.errorHandler == null) {
+			if (this.logger.isWarnEnabled()) {
+				this.logger.warn("exception occurred in endpoint '" + this.name + "'", exception);
+			}
+			throw exception;
+		}
+		this.errorHandler.handle(exception);
+	}
+
+	private boolean isValidReply(Message<?> replyMessage) {
+		if (replyMessage == null) {
+			return false;
+		}
+		Object payload = replyMessage.getPayload();
+		if (payload == null) {
+			return false;
+		}
+		if (payload.getClass().isArray() && Array.getLength(payload) == 0) {
+			return false;
+		}
+		if (payload instanceof Collection && ((Collection<?>) payload).size() == 0) {
+			return false;
+		}
+		return true;
+	}
+
+	private MessageTarget resolveReplyTarget(Message<?> replyMessage, MessageHeaders requestHeaders) {
+		MessageTarget replyTarget = this.resolveTargetAttribute(replyMessage.getHeaders().getNextTarget());
+		if (replyTarget == null) {
+			replyTarget = this.outputChannel;
+		}
+		if (replyTarget == null) {
+			replyTarget = this.resolveTargetAttribute(requestHeaders.getReturnAddress());
+		}
+		return replyTarget;
+	}
+
+	private MessageTarget resolveTargetAttribute(Object targetAttribute) {
+		MessageTarget replyTarget = null;
+		if (targetAttribute != null) {
+			if (targetAttribute instanceof MessageTarget) {
+				replyTarget = (MessageTarget) targetAttribute;
+			}
+			else if (targetAttribute instanceof String) {
+				ChannelRegistry registry = getChannelRegistry();
+				if (registry != null) {
+					replyTarget = registry.lookupChannel((String) targetAttribute);
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		return replyTarget;
+	}
+
+}