And like last year, Sibos facilitates several e-invoicing sessions.

SESSION 1: E-invoicing – a fast evolving landscape

• Where?
  Community room 1
• When?
  Tuesday, September 20 at 9:50 AM
• Topic?
  E-invoicing is starting to boom. Corporates are implementing electronic invoicing across the world. Most e-invoicing service providers are now linking up together to speed up adoption. How much faster will corporate adoption take place? How should banks react?

  An insight into the critical role that invoicing plays within cash life-cycle management and how banks can use e-invoicing as an opportunity for customer growth and retention.

• Panellists?
  Chris Bozek, Managing Director, Head of Global Trade and Supply Chain Products, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
  - Eric Campbell, Chief Technology Officer, Bottomline Technologies
  - Ifor Williams, Senior Vice President, Fundtech FSC
  - Keijo Kettunen, Head of payment transactions, State Treasury of Finland
  - Susie West (Moderator) , CEO, sharedserviceslink.com

SESSION 2: Understanding E-Invoicing Options and Revenue Opportunities

• Where?
  Open Theatre 1
• When?
  Tuesday, September 20 at 2:00 PM
• Topic?
  Electronic invoicing is clearly on the minds of corporate treasurers, banks and SWIFT. But for banks, where is the revenue? And how can banks leverage the SWIFT network for e-invoicing? During this session, learn about all the options for creating an innovative offering to meet the needs of corporate customers today and tomorrow. Also, attendees will receive tips on creating a business case to help drive an e-invoicing from idea to conception.
• Panellists?
  - Eric Campbell, Chief Technology Officer, Bottomline Technologies
  - Marcus Hughes, Business Development Director, Bottomline Technologies

SESSION 3: e-invoicing – banks and non-banks pushing for interoperability

• Where?
  Community room 3
• When?
  Thursday, September 22 at 11:00 AM
• Topic?
  E-invoicing service providers have identified the growing need for interoperability amongst themselves to meet evolving customer demand for better reach between trading parties. Shift from a single service provider specific three corner model to a truly interoperable four corner model is inevitable, but this will only happen if parties join forces. In this session you will learn from established service providers how the customer demand is moving forward and what industry development has already taken place and what is still required to meet the market demands.
• Panellists?
  - Erkki Poutiainen, Head of Payments Infrastructure, Nordea Bank Finland Plc
  - John Salter, Head of Trade, Payments and Cards, Transactional Banking, Lloyds Banking Group

- Markus Hautala, Director, Value Networks, Tieto Finland Oy
- Marcus Hughes (Moderator), Business Development Director, Bottomline Technologies
- Paul Johnson, Director, Senior Product Manager, Global Trade & Supply Chain Products, Bank of America Merrill Lynch

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: 3 times e-invoicing at SIBOS 2011, Toronto.

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: HCL Technologies in partnership with Basware.

By: Juha Häkämies, Vice President Market Development at Basware

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: E-invoicing – why it’s inconceivable that paper is superior.

We want to help near future adopters to make it as easy as possible to start the engine and make a smooth ride on the highway to e-invoicing. A lot of organisations are aware of the advantages that e-invoicing can reveal for them, but they are not well informed on the tools to prepare their bike.

Do you have any tips for free online tools, services or software or perhaps an idea to lower the threshold, please leave your comment or email to info@eeiplatform.com.

Inspiration:

- advanced AP/AR calculators, communication to suppliers/customers, software, free (online) services, mapping tools, tech stuff

- homemade (preferred) or to be found on the Internet

- free of charge

- and (when found on the Internet): without user registration

Thank you!

The EEI Platform

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: What FREE tools are out there to kick start E-invoicing / E-billing?.

It’s a statement any project implementation team in any function could make, which isn’t necessarily helpful  if you’re in the middle of automating purchase to pay (P2P) and struggling with adoption. Nigel Chapman, Change Management Facilitator at ABB, a provider of power and automation technologies, revealed how he helped to transform P2P.

Speaking on a sharedserviceslink.com webinar with Basware, he told the audience how they not only increased ABB’s purchase-order-compliant invoices from 60% to over 99% but also achieved closer relations with its suppliers and internal businesses.

It’s worth taking note of ABB’s key lessons learnt for delivering a successful automation programme:

• Be clear in your communications about why changes are happening and provide a high-level route map for your P2P journey
• Change management is key
  • Adopt a robust methodology
  • Build and maintain stakeholder engagement and communication
  • Deliver consistency in messages and actions
• Involving the supply chain management function was critical to our success
• Maintain commitment and be willing to dig deep and provide support during tough times
• Recognise that this is a journey and be prepared to work with changes that emerge as the project proceeds

Sound advice for all project managers.

If you missed the webinar, the recording of this session will be available soon.

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Basware/ABB webinar useful for project managers.

This article is part of the co-author series of the EEI Platform. It was originally distributed by Bruno Koch founder and owner of Billentis. Billentis is an expert on EXPP. The original version of the article can be found at: http://billentis.com/Market2011.pdf

Number of users increasing sharply
Around 53,700 new E-Invoicing users are expected daily this year. Large suppliers push consumers to accept electronic invoices, or to receive penalty, e.g. charging EUR 2.50 per paper invoice. Companies are pushed by their trading parties to send or receive electronic invoices.

Legal changes, with possibly a 3rd option, resulting in market confusion as long as guidelines for “process control” are not clearly communicated by governments.

Market Figures Europe E-invoicing, E-billing

Source: http://billentis.com/Market2011.pdf

Channels Used for Electronic Invoices
The processed B2B volume is expected to reach 1,735 million E-Invoices this year (corresponding to 11.6% of all European B2B invoices). The B2C volume is estimated to reach 1,400 million E-Invoices (9.3% penetration).

Source: http://billentis.com/Market2011.pdf

Service Providers
Around 60 new operators are expected to appear this year in Europe. These are mainly providers with a focus on SME and providers from the financial industry segment. Although most providers remain focused on local markets, an increasing number are expanding their geographical reach, around 60 of them with VAT compliance for 30 or more countries. Merger & Acquisition deals are expected to rise this year from 14 (2010) 25. Major consolidation is expected in 2012/2013 when the market penetration of E-invoicing surpasses 15%.

Increasingly, e-invoicing providers are internationalising and diversifying their product portfolio, allowing them to attract customer from a multitude of countries. This also sparks the increasing co-operation between providers which creates interoperability between Platforms.

Some actions supported and/or steered by public sector
The European Commission aim to simplify and liberalise the legislation in member states and push interoperability and standards. They intend to set up a Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Electronic Invoicing

Other efforts are:

• CEN WS/INV3: Efforts in the areas standards, compliance, implementation and business processes
• PEPPOL: e-Procurement project of various EU countries
• Revision of Directive on e-signatures

See also: http://eeiplatform.com/3411/16-actions-towards-massive-eu-e-invoicing-adoption/

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Market penetration of e-invoicing in Europe.

About Edicom
EDICOM, an international reference for EDI and ELECTRONIC INVOICING, designs models for data transmission and integration between companies, using strict professional, transparent and efficient criteria. Edicom dedicates an important part of its resources to research and development of new communications solutions and how to implement the latest technological breakthroughs.

The Edicom catalogue covers a wide range of possibilities to deal with any project, independently of the type of partner, volume or size of the client. With a clear client-centered focus, Edicom has reached a position as provider of communications services to businesses of acknowledged prestige in several sectors where electronic transactions and information technologies are key factors in their commercial and financial activities.

More information:
Edicom (Intercambio Electrónico de Datos y Comunicaciones, S.L)
Ronda de Auguste y Louis Lumiere 12
46980 Paterna, España
www.edicomgroup.com

Contact:
Mr. Frank Lodewijks
Key Account Manager
+34 96 136 65 65 ext. 1231
flodewijks@edicomgroup.com

About the EEI Platform
The EEI Platform’s main objective is to support the penetration of electronic invoicing and automated invoicing in Europe in order to enable anyone to benefit from the great advantages that it offers. The EEI Platform focuses on the activation of individual companies, trade associations and the public sector to apply electronic billing and payment.

In addition, participants will achieve results on publicity, penetration of electronic invoicing, standardization, accreditation and promotion of the participants. EEI Platform is a variant of the Dutch Electronic Invoicing Platform (ELFA), a grouping of organisations in the Netherlands that play an important role in the implementation process, as well as substantive information, news, background and developments in the fields of electronic invoicing.

Participation in the EEI Platform
Participation in EEI Platform is not only for providers of electronic invoicing and automated invoicing. Participation is also open to users, public institutions, educational institutions and industry associations. Moreover, organizations whose activities border to electronic billing services -such as credit organizations and financial institutions- are also invited to join.

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Spanish Edicom Group next to join EEI Platform.

It has only been since the early 90’s that email has been adopted by the vast majority of communicators worldwide and it seemed that this would be the unbeatable way of communicating.

Right now, the new situation is that email is for old people – literally. A survey by ComScore explains that especially the new generation internet users has massively turned to social networking to contact each other.

The use of email dropped 59 percent among users aged between 12 and 17. Email has lost an overall part of 8 percent, according to ComScore’s 2010 Digital Year in Review. Users between 18 and 54 have also turned to substitutes for email, whereas people of 55 and older have actually embraced email tighter than before. In time, email could be pushed off the road by social media when these forms are optimized concerning their messaging system.

Young people are turning to social networks to communicate instead of traditional means. The activity accounts for 14 percent of time spent online in the U.S. That growth is fueled largely by Facebook, which has only continued to expand its reach in the past year, as expected. No less than 10 percent of page views in the U.S. are on Facebook, and the amount of users grew by 38 percent to 153.9 million users in America. Total time spent on the Facebook site went up 79 percent to 49.4 billion minutes. Moreover, Facebook is not ready yet: when their new messaging system catches on, email providers such as Gmail might have a strong new competitor.

Facebook is the largest but not the only part of the social networking picture. Nine out of every ten online users visited social networking sites by the end of 2010. LinkedIn grew by 30 percent to 26.6 million users, as Twitter grew 18 percent to 23.6 million users, and Tumblr saw 168 percent growth to 6.7 million users. MySpace saw a decrease of 26 percent, dropping to 50 million users.

So pay attention to the new ways of (social) communication with e-invoicing and e-billing!

Source:
ComScore and Huffington Post

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Times are changing: email traded for social networks?.

Stefan Foryszewski, SVP Business and Product Development, OB10, commented: “We are delighted that Virgin Atlantic has chosen our global e-Invoicing solution. Not only will they benefit from tax compliant invoice receipt, but its suppliers will benefit from our enhanced service offering. This will lead to greater efficiencies in the invoice to pay process as well as providing substantial environmental benefits by removing the need for paper processing.”

Another key feature of the OB10 Service includes OBactive, OB10’s best practice supplier enrolment. With the global scope of Virgin Atlantic, it is vital that suppliers can be enrolled and supported in their local language. OB10 boasts a strong multinational team which communicates in their language and understands the way local businesses operate; creating a global, uncomplicated support network.

Andrew Walker, Head of Procurement, Virgin Atlantic, commented: “It is an ongoing objective to make our business leaner, more efficient and environmentally responsible. We use a vast number of different suppliers, large and small, so the ability to deliver and pay invoices quickly and accurately using OB10’s network is invaluable to the invoice to pay process. Furthermore, the vast reduction in paper invoices that this will create is a very positive by-product of adopting OB10’s e-Invoicing solution and a hugely substantial benefit to the environment”.

www.ob10.com

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Virgin Atlantic adopts OB10’s global e-Invoicing solution.

The regulation effectively removes restrictions that limited the use of e-invoices. Previously, issuing, sending and storing e-invoices was only possible through the use of electronic data interchange (EDI) or by using an qualified electronic signature. Just like in any other country, compliance with these rules proved to be expensive and, in practice, a restricting in the use of e-invoices.

Already in May 2010, Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court held that it was allowed to send an invoice as an attachment in an email. This e-invoice even after being printed by the receiver, could be treated as a paper invoice, allowing for VAT deduction.

This recent regulation affords businesses an opportunity to issue, send and store invoices in any electronic format. Just like current and upcoming EU legislation acceptance from the customer is still needed Even though this can be achieved either explicitly or implicitly and either in electronic format or in writing.

To send invoices electronically, two conditions must be satisfied:

* Authenticity of origin—certainty that the identity of the person supplying the goods or service, is the issuer of the invoice

* Integrity of content—invoice data has not been altered

The former requirements for a qualified electronic signature and to use EDI no longer apply; however, both methods are mentioned in the new guidance as examples of how to satisfy the required conditions for e-invoices. Sending an PDF invoice per e-mail is also permitted. As well as storing your invoices electronically.

Source: KPMG

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Poland no longer requires qualified signature or EDI with e-invoicing.

The Challenge of ISIS Papyrus Speeding payment processing with high-quality performance concerns:

• Timely, accurate and highly efficient processing
• Easy clarification of exceptions
• Concurrent overview and visibility in both day-to-day business and archive under auditing security

The Solution:

Distributed capture and validation

• Secure transfer via the heterogeneous network to the central processing office
• Classification according to 5 basic payment order types with more than 40 related sub-forms
• Text recognition of areas of documents (many not suited for OCR/ICR)

The Benefits:

Speed, Quality and Compliance

• Concurrent consolidated overview of all process stages
• Optimized balance of resources via distributed scanning and centralized data recording and processing
• Integrated security through encryption, role-based access rights and secure archiving

More information

http://www.isis-papyrus.com/Download/factsheets/Capture-case-study-banking.pdf

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Case Study: Banking group optimizes payment processing with ISIS Papyrus.

Latest release of business-to-business commerce platform enables more buyers and suppliers to connect and collaborate more quickly and efficiently

Each year, over 340,000 buyers and suppliers use Ariba^® Network to connect and transact more than $160 billion in business. And now they can do it faster and better than ever. Ariba, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARBA), the leading provider of collaborative business commerce solutions, today announced the availability of Ariba Network (AN) 49, the latest version of its industry-leading business-to-business commerce platform. Embedded with powerful new features designed to automate the trading partner enablement process, the release allows buyers and suppliers to quickly connect, more effectively collaborate and ultimately, enhance their relationships and the results that they deliver.

“Finding the right trading partners can be hard. Connecting with them can be even harder,” said Jason Kurtz, Vice President, Network and Financial Solutions, Ariba. “AN49 simplifies these tasks by providing companies with a robust set of tools they can use to discover and connect with global suppliers and key business partners in a truly collaborative manner.”

Collaboration: The New Strategic Capability

Companies used to focus exclusively on internal activities and trust that their business would run itself. But those days are long gone. In today’s global economy, it’s all about being connected, efficient and informed across enterprises.

Connected to commerce networks that facilitate collaboration and alignment around key business processes. Efficient by automating key commerce activities to drive greater efficiency and productivity. Informed by participating in communities that deliver market insights and best practices to fuel optimal performance and decisions. With AN49, companies can achieve all three.

Connected

Leveraging enhanced enablement tools embedded within the release, buying organizations can connect suppliers to the Ariba Network in a matter of minutes and achieve quicker value with suppliers who are already enabled. And selling organizations can expand enablement to new trading relationships and increase satisfaction with existing customers.

“In today’s uncertain economy, our business needs can quickly change and it is critical that we have tools and processes in place to respond to them,” said Chris Uriarte, Sourcing Manager, Stage Stores. “The Ariba Network is a unique platform through which we can connect to the right partners in the right places at the right time to achieve our goals, and we currently use it to manage the majority of our sourcing. Having so many qualified vendors at our fingertips has proven invaluable to our business, driving lower costs and operating efficiencies that have positively impacted our bottom line.”

Efficient

With AN49, trading partner enablement is completely automated. So buyers and sellers can eliminate manual tracking tools such as spreadsheets or offline databases and the costs and inefficiencies associated with them. And they can collaborate more efficiently to reduce the cost of invoice and payment processing, increase visibility and control of cash flow, mitigate supply-chain risk and manage cash better.

Informed

In the connected economy, it’s not about the information within an organization, but the intelligence generated through networks. With AN49, there is a direct link from the Ariba Network to Ariba Exchange, an online community of peers and thought leaders where buyers and sellers can gather to share insights and best practices. In addition, new information portals enable buyers to capture supplier questions at registration and post answers in the form of additional content and reference files that can be accessed by the entire supply base.

“Ariba has helped us to transform our business,” said Kevin Govin, CEO, MarkMaster. “Through the Ariba Network, we have created a robust online sales channel that has allowed us to expand our base of new customers by 65 percent and grow our overall business 20 percent year-over-year.”

Get on Board

More than 400 of the companies in the Fortune 500 use the Ariba Network. Over 325,000 selling organizations in 130 countries use it too. Each year, these buyers and sellers transact more than $160 billion in business. They process 20 million in purchase orders and 13 million in invoices. And they send and receive access to 5 million new leads. Want a piece of the action? Visit www.ariba.com/go/network today and get on board.

About Ariba, Inc.

Ariba, Inc. is the leading provider of collaborative business commerce solutions. Ariba combines industry-leading technology with the world’s largest web-based trading community to help companies discover, connect and collaborate with a global network of partners – all in a cloud-based environment. Using the Ariba^® Commerce Cloud, businesses of all sizes can buy, sell and manage cash more efficiently and effectively. Over 340,000 companies around the globe use the Ariba Commerce Cloud to simplify inter-enterprise commerce and enhance results. Why not join them? To get on the path to Better Commerce visit: www.ariba.com/commercecloud/

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Ariba Network grows bigger and better.

Tieto offers businesses a standardized and ISO 20022-compliant e-invoicing service capable of both sending and receiving invoices. This service is already available to the company’s 200 000 customers and their partners.

The new e-invoicing standard eliminates most, if not all, technical interoperability problems between existing standards. This makes international e-invoicing simpler and more effective, and improves content quality as well as reducing user costs. Implementing the standard will reduce the extra conversions usually required at both the sending and receiving end. It also provides a solid foundation for further service development and the digitalizing of business transactions in global partnerships.

Tieto’s existing e-invoicing customers do not need to change their operations; its e-invoicing service will automatically perform any conversions required by the new e-invoicing standard. ISO 20022 is expected to be implemented quickly on the international market. Tieto will work to ensure the continuity of current services and their interoperability with solutions already compliant with the new standard. The standard also ensures compatibility with SEPA (Single Euro Payment Area) payment traffic.

Merja Fischer, a director at Wärtsilä, comments: “In financial administration, electronic services improve the efficiency and productivity of order and delivery processes. This in turn helps improve profitability. We believe that the new e-invoicing standard will help in the development of international partnerships and so promote the global take-up of e-invoicing.”

Tapani Turunen, Tieto’s director of e-Trade, says: “Compliance with international standards is a must in international operations. Tieto is committed to supporting the long-term development and digitalization of trade and finance processes.” Mr Turunen chairs the ISO 20022 Trade Services Standards Evaluation Group, which promotes the standardization of the financial industry.

www.iso20022.org
www.tieto.com/iso20022

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Tieto’s e-invoicing service supports the new ISO 20022 standard.

“At Synopsys, we help our customers gain a competitive edge in bringing the best products to market quickly while reducing costs and schedule risk,” said Rob Genco, vice president, operations, Synopsys. “Using the Ariba Commerce Cloud, we improve our advantage by creating a best-practice process for sourcing goods and services that enables us to optimize our cost structure and performance.”

Synopsys will leverage a comprehensive range of Ariba’s solutions to gain a clear view into its spend, negotiate and drive compliance with best-value agreements, and streamline order, invoice and payment processes. Among the solutions the company will implement: Ariba^® Sourcing™, Ariba Contract Management™, Ariba Contract Compliance™, Ariba Invoice™, Ariba Invoice Automation™, Ariba PO Automation™, Ariba Buyer™, Ariba Analysis™ and Ariba E-forms™.

Synopsys has been using Ariba as its platform for spend management since 2006.

“Synopsys has established itself as a global leader in a highly competitive market by quickly responding to changing business conditions and customer needs,” said John Starr, vice president, Ariba Global Services Organization. “By moving to Ariba’s on-demand platform, Synopsys can quickly access new technology and capabilities as needed to control costs, minimize risk and improve profits on an ongoing basis.”

About Ariba, Inc.
Ariba, Inc. is the leading provider of collaborative business commerce solutions. Ariba enables more efficient and effective buying, selling, and cash management by combining industry-leading software as a service (SaaS) commerce technology with the world’s largest web-based global trading community and expert capabilities and services to augment internal resources and skills – all as a flexible, cloud-based service. The Ariba^® Commerce Cloud™ delivers everything needed to control costs, increase sales, minimize risk, and enhance cash flow and operations. More than 300,000 companies, including over 80 percent of the Fortune 100, use Ariba’s solutions to drive more efficient and effective inter-enterprise commerce. Why not join them? For more information on Ariba commerce solutions and the results they deliver, visit www.ariba.com.

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Synopsys goes on demand with Ariba.

Based on an extensive survey of industry professionals, the eighth annual 100 Great Supply Chain Partners feature is the result of a six-month online poll in which supply chain professionals were asked to nominate vendors and service providers whose solutions have made a significant impact on their company’s efficiency, customer service, and overall supply chain performance.

“In 2010, we received more than 2,800 nominations from small and large companies covering scores of different industries,” states Brad Berger, publisher of SupplyChainBrain. “More than 400 vendors of every conceivable type of supply chain activity were nominated — from very specialized technologies, to a wide range of third-party logistics, transportation and consulting services. The 100 companies that received the most qualified nominations are represented on this year’s list.”

Ariba was recognized for providing solutions that enable companies of all sizes, across industries to control costs, minimize risk, improve profits and optimize performance.

“The first wave of supply chain efficiency focused on automating and streamlining processes,” Tim Minahan, Chief Marketing Officer, Ariba. “The next wave will come from more efficient and effective collaboration between trading partners. At Ariba, we are focused on helping companies drive this collaboration by providing them with technology, community, and capabilities that enable them to connect and efficiently do business. We are pleased to be recognized by industry leaders and SupplyChainBrain for our efforts.”

About SupplyChainBrain
SupplyChainBrain is the world’s most comprehensive information resource for supply chain news, intelligence, strategy and innovation. In addition to the fundamental principles of supply chain management, SupplyChainBrain identifies emerging trends, technologies and best practices, forward thinking ideas and cutting-edge solutions — and continues to write and report about these as they evolve and mature. SupplyChainBrain targets the high-level executive, who is concerned with such strategic issues as managing risk, aligning the supply chain with corporate planning, achieving competitive advantage, balancing customer demands with the need to control cost, and improving the bottom line. Collectively, the highly experienced SupplyChainBrain editorial staff has spent more than a century researching, analyzing, writing and reporting about issues and applications related to logistics and the supply chain. It is this level of expertise combined with that of our many respected content partners that influences the information we present through our web site, blogs, newsletters, video casts, webinars and magazine. For more information, visit www.supplychainbrain.com.

About Ariba, Inc.
Ariba, Inc. is the leading provider of collaborative business commerce solutions. Ariba enables more efficient and effective buying, selling, and cash management by combining industry-leading software as a service (SaaS) commerce technology with the world’s largest web-based global trading community and expert capabilities and services to augment internal resources and skills – all as a flexible, cloud-based service. The Ariba® Commerce Cloud™ delivers everything needed to control costs, increase sales, minimize risk, and enhance cash flow and operations. More than 300,000 companies, including over 80 percent of the Fortune 100, use Ariba’s solutions to drive more efficient and effective inter-enterprise commerce. Why not join them? For more information on Ariba commerce solutions and the results they deliver, visit www.ariba.com.

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Ariba named a 2010 Great Supply Chain Partner.

Basware, the leading provider of purchase-to-pay solutions, has announced a new best-of-breed e-invoicing service for small and medium sized businesses. Basware InvoiceReady provides immediate benefits for businesses seeking to control and simplify unruly and resource heavy invoice and expense processing.

Delivered as a service, InvoiceReady automates the accounts payable processes from receipt of invoice, through approvals until payment, avoiding errors, reducing lengthy approvals processes and eliminating wasted hours spent on repetitive tasks.

InvoiceReady incorporates Basware’s 25 years of renowned invoice automation expertise into one workflow solution, giving small and medium sized companies the tools to implement best practice processes within their finance departments. The service provides fully auditable paperless trails, both before and after payment, giving detailed visibility of spend commitments as well as ensuring compliance with local and international finance regulations.

Research among global accounts payable staff earlier this year found invoice scanning and data entry considered to be the most time consuming and error prone elements of invoice processing, and 60 percent of finance professionals think automation is a reliable method for removing payment and accounting errors from the business¹. Basware InvoiceReady provides immediate processing benefits for finance and management professionals from day one of service implementation, including invoice scanning services, data migration, real-time workflow tracking, travel and expense management and a fully auditable archiving service, all available on a per transaction price.

“Small and medium-sized companies are struggling with manual, paper-driven processes and are realizing that automation can alleviate most of the challenges they face in their day-to-day operations. Our research indicates that over 60% of these companies feel their accounts payable function has inefficiencies caused by paper invoices. Even worse 55% are making late payments and missing discounts because of decentralized processing and a lack of automation. The opportunity for any business with paper invoices is enormous,” commented Henry Ijams, Managing Director, PayStream Advisors.

“There is strong understanding within finance departments of the link between automation, accuracy and efficiency,” commented Esa Tihilä, SVP Connectivity Services at Basware. “For years our technology and thorough knowledge of invoice automation best practice has helped some of the world’s largest organizations to achieve these benefits, along with the logical time and cost savings. With InvoiceReady we are now extending that same capability to small and medium sized businesses as a pre-packaged, easy-to-use, on-demand service to help them transition invoice processing from a burden to a value, by improving visibility into their organization’s cash flow.”

”InvoiceReady has enabled F-Secure to maintain a full and complete audit trail through the electronic archive, ensuring easy verification about who has done what and when,” said Monika Lukinmaa, Head of Accounting, F-Secure. “InvoiceReady’s processing system provides clarity and eliminates overlapping tasks, which has saved valuable time for our business units and employees.”

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Basware reduces time and cost burdens with InvoiceReady.

Firms such as 7-Eleven, Tim Hortons and Restaurant Depot are beginning to see the potential savings from eliminating inefficiencies that plague the traditional invoicing process, according to solution provider Transcepta.

Restaurant Depot director of accounts payable Lora White said: “We’re really benefitting by moving away from the paper-based invoicing process.

“My staff productivity is increasing and the trading relationships with my suppliers are improving as well.”

Meanwhile, David Kraulis, senior manager of financial operations at Tim Hortons, explained that the move away from paper has helped the restaurant chain to become more efficient, green and in position to expand the firm without adding more costs.

The news comes after the Royal College of Nursing announced that its procurement processes were to go electronic.

Source: www.purcon.com

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Retail procurement jobs opting for e-invoicing.

Among the many factors to consider when selecting an e-invoicing partner is your partner’s ability to connect with other service providers.

In this excellent 60-minute session, we will look at the benefits of using the four-corner approach, how it works in practice and its impact your e-invoicing project results. This session will challenge how far you can go with e-invoicing, and whether your project needs to be kick-started with supplementary approaches like outsourced scan and capture. To close the loop completely, and achieve true end-to-end automation, your e-invoice document may need matching and workflow handling.

How can you best manage approach and ensure that your overall solution suite offers a holistic remedy to your accounts payable problems? Attend this session (and forward it on to your team and boss – it will prove an excellent use of their time!) to find out:

• The truth about the four-corner model – how it works in practice and what the real benefits are
• How companies are cutting out invoices from day one through an intelligent combined approach
• How to successfully onboard suppliers and secure business-case delivery well within target
• What you need to do to attain touchless invoice processing from receipt-to-pay
• What all the above will do to your chief KPIs and allow your accounts-payable function to focus on adding value instead of costing the company money.

Register for this fascinating free webinar today to make sure you benefit from the tips, idea and insights shared only during these 60 minutes.

Among the many factors to consider when selecting an e-invoicing partneris your partner’s ability to connect with other service providers.

In this excellent 60-minute session, we will look at the benefits of using the four-corner approach, how it works in practice and its impact your e-invoicing project results.

Date: Tuesday, 23rd November 2010
Time: 15:00 – London, 16:00 – Paris, 10:00 – New York

Register now

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Webinar Basware: The four-corner e-invoicing model.

The revised 2010 Tax Compliance Country Guide includes anew chapter for Austria.  Our strategy with respect to country guide production is to ensure that Ariba has independent verification for each of the countries for which we believe we have a paperless compliant solution.  As you may have noticed, the cadence of our country guide production continues to increase as we work to meet this goal.

From a compliance and risk mangement standpoint, the strength of the Ariba solution in Austria is very similar to other European countries;  it’s that we have the right end-to-end controls from enrollment through preparation, receipt, and processing of invoice data.

Read the entire article here

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Paperless e-Invoicing by Ariba in Austria.

Whilst the efficiency of electronic communication is clear and initiatives to reduce waste are to be encouraged, the Two Sides organisation, which exists to explore the Myths and Facts concerning the sustainability of Print and Paper, and has members spanning the whole Graphic Communications Value Chain, is concerned that incorrect and damaging impressions are being given if ‘go paperless’ initiatives are promoted as ‘green’ or seek to gain credibility by purporting to aid sustainability at the expense of the print and paper industry.

It is increasingly clear that electronic communication and in particular the energy requirements of the increasing worldwide network of servers which are necessary to store all the information needed for immediate access, has a significant and increasing carbon footprint. Electronic document storage must be recognised as delivering efficiency but not sustainability. In the UK it has been suggested that PC’s and servers may consume up to 50% of household energy requirements in the next 10 years. Greenpeace has reported that electronic waste is the fastest growing waste stream and there are extremely serious disposal costs emerging.

All those who encourage customers to switch to e-billing, or any other form of electronic communication, largely to reduce costs, should re-examine their messages as it is certainly questionable whether e-billing or e-communication has a lower carbon footprint. In fact, with all the environmental costs of electronic communication and with many customers printing out their bills at home for reference, (a recent study has assumed this between 10% and 30 % depending upon whether you are a business or private consumer), at a possible higher environmental cost than a centrally produced and distributed bill, print and paper may well be the environmentally sustainable way to communicate.

Paper is a renewable and recyclable product that, if responsibly produced and consumed, is an environmentally sustainable media. It is often surprising to learn that in Europe, where 93% of our paper comes from, the area of forest has grown by 30% since 1950 and is increasing at a rate of 1.5 million football pitches every year

And with 55% of the worldwide forest harvest being consumed for fuel and 34% for construction and other uses, only 11% is actually directly used for making paper

So, if your organisation is using messages that e-billing, or any other form of electronic communication, is more environmentally friendly than traditional print and paper, please check that you have not only calculated your own savings but also accurately assessed and calculated the downstream consequential costs.

Misleading environmental claims are not only increasingly being examined by regulators but jeopardise the livelihood of the many thousands of people employed in the Graphic Communications Value Chain.

It is encouraging that responsible organisations are now thinking carefully about the statements they make and ensuring that they are not simply repeating old misconceptions.

Martyn Eustace
Two Sides

www.twosides.info

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: A different vision on online billing and e-communication.

Despite encouraging signs, there’s uncertainty about the underlying strength of the economy’s recovery. And people seem equally cautious about long-term demand.

How should you adjust your sourcing strategies to compensate for that? Replay this webinar to find out.

You’ll learn how and why you should be closely examining certain market dynamics before launching any contract renegotiation or sourcing initiative. And listen closely as Ariba’s global category management team spotlights the indirect categories that you should be sourcing today.

Download this on-demand webinar to learn how you can drive more value from contract management, build relationships and creditability with suppliers, and measure your success.

Download and watch the Ariba webinar here

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Ariba Sourcing Webinar for the European market.

The Dutch project on e-Invoicing  by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (EZ) started in 2008. The aim of this project was to introduce electronic invoicing to the government. Concerned citizens wonder if e-invoicing does take up more energy than paper invoices.
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Several international studies have been set up to take a closer look at the use of energy by e-invoicing. The fact that in other countries a significant beneficial effect is found for e-billing does not mean that this automatically counts for the Netherlands.
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The Ministry of Economic Affairs has asked TNO to make a calculation of direct and indirect impacts on energy consumption and CO2 emissions. This calculation is made in a transition situation from a chain with 100% of paper invoices to a chain with 100% e-invoices. Analysis shows that paper invoices use up nearly two times more energy and 50% more CO2 emissions than digital invoices.

Take a look at the presentation by Paula van Hoorik, Senior Consultant, TNO

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Dutch Technology agency TNO: survey on e-invoicing.

The new directive sets out to ensure the acceptance by tax authorities of e-invoices under the same conditions as for paper invoices, and to remove legal obstacles to the transmission and storage of e-invoices.

It also comprises measures to help tax authorities ensure that tax is paid so as to better tackle VAT fraud. These include establishing deadlines for the issuance of invoices, thus enabling speedier exchange of information on intra-EU supplies of goods and services.
Current EU provisions on VAT invoicing have led to a less-than-harmonised set of rules, on account of the many options that remain available to the member states. The aims of current provisions have therefore not been fully met.

Furthermore, compliance with regulatory requirements has hindered the take-up of technologies that are necessary for the development of e-invoicing. The Commission estimates potential annual cost savings for businesses at up to EUR 18 billion if obstacles to e-invoicing in VAT rules were to be removed.

Read all about it here

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Best read: European Council adopts simplified rules for VAT invoicing.

Click here to download your free copy now (registration required).

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Accountis White Paper: How to make real savings in AP Finance.

Basware Business Transactions is a monitored transfer and conversion service for sending and receiving electronic invoices and other electronic documents such as purchase messages.  The service formats and routes invoices between sender and recipient, converting the documents automatically to the recipients’ preferred format. By adopting electronic invoicing, businesses are able to reduce the errors that occur during manual invoice processing, accelerate the workflow and approval processes as well as achieve significant cost savings while gaining complete control over cash flow and improved process efficiency that shifting to fully electronic processes provides.

“Organisations are becoming attuned to the benefits that e-invoicing can bring to their business, in particular the bottom line, which is key in the current economic climate,” said Esa Tihilä, SVP of Connectivity Services at Basware. “Having achieved this milestone, we are confident that these figures will continue to increase as businesses realize the savings that can be attained. There is a great opportunity for the expansion of e-invoicing across all markets globally, and Basware is anticipating a ‘boom’ in the near future, as businesses realize the benefits that it can bring, both fiscally and in terms of time saved.”

Currently less than 10% of all B2B invoices in Europe are transmitted electronically. According to independent research institution Billentis, e-invoicing volumes are expected to grow by 37% in Europe in 2010. Correspondingly in the US, research company PayStream Advisors estimates that the number of electronic invoices traded within the US will overtake paper invoice volume by 2011. The recent volcanic eruption in Iceland and resulting air travel disruption caused by the ash cloud is a great example of the problems that can arise unexpectedly, causing disruption to ¬business processes.
Paper invoices were not able to be delivered via air, delaying processing and subsequent payment – putting the whole payment cycle behind, and many businesses had to wait for stranded employees to return to work to be able to process approvals. E-invoicing negates this issue, as everything is controlled electronically, so invoices can be received and processed in real-time. Recently, Toshiba announced a 75% drop in invoicing costs by shifting to an electronic sales invoice process with Basware – demonstrating just how much of an effect e-invoicing can have on the bottom line.

For more information on Basware e-invoicing solutions, visit www.basware.com.

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Basware processed one e-Invoice per second in March 2010.

Increase your productivity and save money by using eBilling software today!

Source: www.newsdx.com

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: The Benefits of e-Billing Software.

As part of a CFO Research Series, PROACTIS set out to determine the impact of invoice automation on the financial performance of an organisation by surveying more than 100 European medium-sized enterprises.

It found that Finance departments are being compromised by high-touch invoice processes and sub-standard performance in Accounts Payable, due to errors and mistakes in manual, paper-based invoice processing.

Among the key findings:

Accounts Payable spends in excess of 70 % of their time trying to reconcile invoices.

41 % of organisations report invoicing delays as a common source of cash flow problems.

32 % estimated their company has at least £10,000 a month delayed due to invoicing errors.

43 % reported less than 10 percent of invoices are handled using automated exception workflow.

62 % highlight inaccuracies of data for Accounts Payable as well as ERP systems.

Over 30 % of respondents do not know the cost and cycle time for processing an invoice; or even the precise invoice volume.

To register for your complimentary copy of the research, go to the Proactis website

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: High-Touch invoicing poses a serious threat to finance.

It is increasingly popular to bash the use of paper. The industry is an easy target as everyone uses paper and the presentation of the industry is laughable (think Dunder Mifflin on The Office).

Despite the many environmentally friendly actions taken by the paper, printing and publishing industries, little is known of these efforts due to a self-inflicted inability to publicize them. Unlike the auto or fuel industries, we don’t spend any money as an industry on effective green promotion.

Think about it, paper primarily comes from trees. Trees are a renewable resource. They come from farms. You don’t see people bashing farmers, why paper? Trees improve the environment by moderating climate, improving air quality, conserving water, and harboring wildlife. According to the Department of Agriculture, one acre of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and puts out four tons of oxygen. This is enough to meet the annual needs of 18 people.

Most of us are concerned about the environment but we don’t want to change our behavior. We certainly don’t seem willing to give up our computers, PDA’s, bottled water, appliances or gas-guzzling vehicles. There isn’t a much easier way to assuage our guilt than to slap a tag line at the bottom of our e-mail urging others to do something. Here are two of the more popular ones:

Think before you print.

Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing any documents.

I have received the first most recently from a sales representative for printing equipment. I have seen a version of it used by Mimeo staff. The second comes from our travel agency. It might as well have been, “we no longer want to incur the cost of printing so we will cover it with an environmental message.” The same can be said of many financial institutions who say they want you to “go green” but really want to cut mail costs and shift the cost of printing from them, to you.

Paper Facts
Paper is made from cellulose fiber, the source of which can be pulped wood, or a variety of other materials such as rags, cotton, grasses, sugar cane, rice, or waste paper. The first piece of paper was produced from rags in AD 105 by Ts’ai Luin in China. Today, wood pulp is the most common source material for the manufacture of virgin paper, i.e. paper which has no recycled content.

Due to reforestation, forests in the US have actually grown over the past century. About one-third of the United States — 747 million acres — is covered with trees. An estimated 4 million trees are planted each day. On the nation’s commercial forests, net annual growth exceeds harvests and losses to insects and disease by 47 percent each year.

Paper is Biodegradable
Unlike plastic water bottles, computers, PDA’s and most electronic devices and appliances, paper decomposes in a landfill. Disposed paper is not dangerous. Compare this to cell phones, PC’s and paperless reading devices like the Kindle. They contain lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, and polyvinyl chlorides.

There are materials that have known toxicological effects that range from brain damage to kidney disease to mutations, and cancers. E-waste is the fastest-growing component of the municipal waste stream worldwide. It is estimated that we dispose of 130,000 computers every day in the United States and 100 million cell phones annually.

Plastic is not generally biodegradable. Of the 30 billion plastic water bottles sold in the United States in 2005, only 12 percent were recycled leaving 25 billion bottles landfilled, littered or incinerated. Plastic water bottles produced for U.S. consumption require the use of 1.5 million barrels of oil per year.

That much energy could power 250,000 homes or fuel 100,000 cars in that same time period. Of course, giving up our bottled water, electronic devices or gas guzzlers would require us to actually change our behavior; it is easier to suggest that others do so by slapping a tagline bashing paper and printing on our e-mail.

Paper is Recyclable
Thirty-seven percent of U.S. pulp is produced from recovered paper. The use of recycled content varies widely among grades of paper, from an average of 45 percent recycled content in tissue products to a low of 6 percent in printing and writing papers. A shift toward higher recycled contents in printing and writing grades would significantly lessen the environmental impacts of the paper industry as this segment accounts for 27 percent of U.S. paper production.

In 2007, total paper recovery averaged nearly 360 pounds for each man, woman, and child in America. By 2012, the paper industry plans to recover 60 percent of the paper Americans consume. Most recovered paper is recycled back into paper and paperboard products.

For example, old corrugated boxes are used to make new recycled corrugated boxes, recovered printing and writing paper is used to make new recycled copy paper and recovered paper can be used in a variety of other products as well such egg cartons, fruit trays, wall insulation, roofing, and animal bedding.

Paper is Critical to the Economy
The forest products industry accounts for approximately 6 percent of the total U.S. manufacturing output, employs more than one million people, and ranks among the top 10 manufacturing employers in 42 states with an estimated payroll exceeding $50 billion.

Paper is the carrier of most of what is printed and published. The estimated value of shipped printed products in the US was $393 billion in 2007. There are almost 175,000 establishments in this segment and they employ 2.9 million. To put this in perspective, employment in auto manufacturing is around 1.2 million.

Paper, Printing & Publishing Environmental Achievements
Paper manufacturers have become much more environmentally friendly. From water to air pollution, reducing the use of dangerous chemicals and improving energy efficiency, paper manufacturers’ have improved dramatically.

The industry has undertaken a number of sustainable forestry initiatives. Associations such as SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) work on insuring sustainable, environmentally sound forestry practices. The estimated value of FSC labeled paper is over 20 billion USD. Paper manufacturers have also introduced a range of recycled and certified sheets.

Fortune Magazine recently rated International Paper at the top of its Social Responsibility list with Weyerhaeuser also in the top 10. Printing equipment providers have undertaken a number of initiatives to improve our environment from recycling toner cartridges to reusing components to deploying more energy efficient devices.

Many print providers have attained chain of custody certifications and offer a wide range of recycled papers. Most recycle all paperwaste and many offer related recycled products such as 3-Ring binders made from recycled material. The Print On Demand business model eliminates waste due to obsolescence and the digital printing process is environmentally friendly.

Paper is Efficient
Not only is paper an environmentally friendly carrier of information but it has an intimacy of interaction. Paper lasts with limited backward compatibility issues. Reading from paper is 20% to 30% faster than reading from a screen. Viewing on a screen, results in lower accuracy for tasks such as proofreading and causes more eye fatigue.

Evidence suggests that comprehension is higher and that ability to read and annotate, to navigate quickly and to facilitate spatial layout favors paper over viewing. Reading results in a deeper understanding of text, a better sense of structure, and making it easier to interleave reading and writing as it combines tactile and visual learning.

There is an end-user preference for print that is related to flexibility, culture, and ease of use. This preference increases with high quality typography and print and is not age specific.

A Call to Action
All of us can do more to help the environment. As citizens of planet earth we should all recycle and reuse whatever we can. We should do whatever we can to improve our personal environmental footprint. That doesn’t mean we should stop printing.

The paper, printing and publishing industry needs to more effectively convey the fact that we embrace the green movement and that not printing isn’t going green. While the industry is fragmented, we must find ways to work together to get this message effectively conveyed or we will all suffer.

Print providers must demand that our vendors and associations accomplish more in this area and we must be willing to support these initiatives with our time and money.

Specific Action Items:
The paper industry should be more proactive about its actions and it should work at reducing the cost of recycled papers. They should spend money to effectively market the value of paper and the environmental actions that they have taken. Let’s see trees, farmers and a credible spokesperson on mass media.

As an industry we need to effectively educate any vendor or employee who thoughtlessly adds an anti-printing message to its messaging. We have stopped it at Mimeo, and after we objected to the messaging the printing salesperson and the travel agency changed policy. Be proactive!

As an industry we should all “eat our own dog food.” If we believe paper based communications are viable and add value, we should use them. If we think they are not necessary, or too expensive, that is what our clients will also think.

If we are giving a presentation it should be printed and distributed. We should use print to promote our products and services. If you attend any event given by, or for, the industry and this doesn’t happen voice your complaint.

I am committed to providing hardcopy of any presentation I do this year (specifying FSC, recycled paper and duplexed, 2-up print). I think it is worth the investment. If vendors, partners, associations and industry trade events don’t do this, raise your voice in protest and if they don’t change, work with those who do.

Source: Infotrends.com

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Open letter: “Don’t Print” Isn’t “Going Green”.

“Since a few weeks we are sending all invoices to our Exact Online customers digitally. The monthly invoices are sent from our own Exact Globe environment to the digital mailboxes in Exact Online. With some simple mouse clicks our customers can first check the invoice and then create the entry into Exact Online with the invoice linked as an attachment. ”

As a lot of people are curious, and because “a picture says more than a 1000 words”, Richard Smits created a small video in Exact Globe (Exact Onlone), which will give you a sneak preview!

Watch the sneak preview below:

by Richard Smits in Exact Globe, Exact Online

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Blog: Sneak preview of Electronic Invoicing.

ING strengthens focus on electronic invoicing with Anachron After raising its stake in Billington to 100%, ING has now also increased its interest in Anachron, a specialist in the field of electronic invoicing. ING expects the majority of European companies to switch to electronic invoicing within the next five years.

The increase in ING’s stake in Anachron to 30%, as well as the strengthening of the cooperation between its Billington unit and Anachron, illustrate the vision ING has for the future and the role it sees for electronic invoicing in the payments sector. Anachron is one of the top European companies in this rapidly developing market and its expertise makes it a very important partner. The cooperation builds on the activities already developed by the two parties in the field of electronic invoicing and will look at opportunities for their further expansion on the European market through ING’s national and international network.

ING foresees strong growth in the electronic invoicing market. “Within the next five years we expect the majority of European companies to use electronic invoicing,” said Robert Heisterborg, responsible at ING for corporate payments in his capacity as Global Head of Payments and Cash Management for ING Wholesale Banking.”The agreement reached this week between the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW) and Dutch SME employers’ organisation MKB-Nederland with the Deputy Ministers of Economic Affairs, Finance and the Interior confirms the expectation that electronic invoicing is going to be the norm.”

Market growth for ING unit
Billington and Anachron ING benefits from the combined forces of its Billington unit and Anachron. Billington is a full-service provider of electronic invoicing solutions for the corporate (B2B) and consumer markets. Anachron is specialised in developing electronic invoicing solutions which are made available through the internet. “We have been developing solutions for e-invoicing since 1999. Via our customers’ websites we present invoices with interesting functionality that optimise both the outgoing and incoming flows of invoices. This makes it possible for customers to consult the e-archive at any given time, providing them not only with information on the status of their invoices but also with the ability to answer customer questions quicker. It also allows recipients to retrieve invoicing data automatically in their own system, creating important cost savings for them too. Used in more than 25 countries, our e-billing solutions are of course completely compliant with all EU regulations. We elected to join forces with ING because of the international network of ING Payments & Cash Management and its leading position both in the Netherlands and abroad,” said Anachron CEO Frank Hoekstra.

Facilitating payments is one of ING’s core activities. Combining its knowledge of payment processes with innovations in the field of electronic invoicing, ING offers a complete range of products from invoicing to payments. This makes ING even better positioned to benefit from a large portion of expected market growth.

Advantages of e-invoicing
Robert Heisterborg: “For companies the advantages of electronic invoicing are quicker payments and better working capital management, on top of the cost savings provided by the transition from manual paper invoicing to automated e- invoicing. Invoices can also be paid automatically.” At the same time, consumers also benefit from electronic invoicing. Heisterborg: “Consumers get their own archive containing all their important invoicing information and an electronic expenditure book providing easy-to-access product information. It’s a simple way to pay invoices.”

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Increased stake in Anachron illustrates ING’s vision for the future.

As Supply, Logistics en Service (SLS) manager, Voestalpine Railpro delivers an integrated total package for the Dutch railway. Railpro operates in the new development-, breakdown- and maintenance market. 

The solutions of TIE Kinetix improve the quality of the service and establish cost savings.

“TIE is looking forward to support Voestalpine Railpro with the introduction of Business Integration based on EDI in de railway construction and maintenance sector. EDI is new in this sector and Railpro can build on the knowledge and experience of TIE, obtained in other sectors. With this collaboration, TIE enters a new market, in which many potential customers can profit from the TIE solutions in combination with the GS1 standards.”, says Jan Sundelin, CEO of TIE.

Source: Euronext

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Voestalpine Railpro selects TIE Kinetix Business Integration Platform.

About Rotaform
Rotaform supplies organizations with the production of both commercial and administrative mailing: direct mail and transactional mail. Their strength is that they can do that through paper and digitally: sending documents on paper or via e-mail or Internet (EBPP) and also the road to the Digital Note. Prior to the dispatch, Rotaform analyses the document flows together with their customers to ensure the most efficient and expeditious processing.

More information:

Marconibaan 8
3439 MS NIEUWEGEIN (NL)

T   +31 320 279900
E   info@rotaform.nl
W  www.rotaform.nl

About the EEI Platform
The EEI Platform’s main objective is to support the penetration of electronic invoicing and automated invoicing in Europe in order to enable anyone to benefit from the great advantages that it offers. The EEI Platform focuses on the activation of individual companies, trade associations and the public sector to apply electronic billing and payment.
In addition, participants will achieve results on publicity, penetration of electronic invoicing, standardization, accreditation and promotion of the participants. EEI Platform is a variant of the Dutch Electronic Invoicing Platform (ELFA), a grouping of organisations in the Netherlands that play an important role in the implementation process, as well as substantive information, news, background and developments in the fields of electronic invoicing.

Participation in the EEI Platform
Participation in EEI Platform is not only for providers of electronic invoicing and automated invoicing. Participation is also open to users, public institutions, educational institutions and industry associations. Moreover, organizations whose activities border to electronic billing services -such as credit organizations and financial institutions- are also invited to join.

Visit www.eeiplatform.com for more information. Here you can check the latest European news, the EEI Platfom Business Case and the subscription form.

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Dutch document service provider Rotaform chooses EEI Platform.

Across Europe eVAT rules apply to both the supplier and to the recipient of goods and services. The supplier is obliged to select a technology that guarantees the authenticity and integrity of the e-invoice created – authenticity assures the message content was actually created by the person or legal entity that signed it, and integrity shows that no changes could have been made to the content of the e-invoice during transit without detection. Conversely it is up to the recipient to ensure the e-invoice is stored in such a way as to be assured of the authenticity and integrity during the storage period (7 years in Belgium).

Recognising the advantages of VAT corporate governance through e-invoicing, including reduced paperwork, reduced costs, as well as improved customer relations and greater operational efficiencies, the Port Authority sought a solution that would comply with current legislation. Stakeholders in the project also recognised the need to reduce their carbon footprint across the supply chain and therefore welcomed the initiative.

As an authorised participant in Adobe’s Certified Document Services (CDS) programme, GlobalSign’s DocumentSign solution enables the Port Authority to digitally sign their PDF documents and to embed the trust status of the e-invoice and the creation time for recipients to easily view and store. The solution leveraged the expertise of GlobalSign, Adobe and SafeNet to offer a compelling proposition to the Antwerp Port Authority to meet their e-invoicing requirements.

“We needed a reliable partner to generate added value for our business and for our customers”, said Jan Goossens, Software Development Manager, Antwerp Port Authority. “GlobalSign, with its extensive security expertise and leading technology is the best choice to prove the authenticity of our invoices and bring peace of mind to us and all our customers.”

“We’ve seen a marked increase in the number of projects across the whole of Europe in recent months as the worldwide economic climate causes enterprises both large and small to re-evaluate their invoicing processes to drive down costs and remain competitive,” said Steve Roylance, Business Development Director, GlobalSign. “DocumentSign is not only a cost effective and easy solution for businesses to use, but is also compliant with European e-VAT legislation.” Background on the Antwerp Port Authority The Antwerp Port Authority offers an ideal gateway to Europe with future expansion plans in place to meet the 8% increase on freight year on year through its central European location on the Belgium coast.

Antwerp is currently the second largest port in Europe and the fourth largest in the world with 170 million tonnes of freight volume. More than 200 forwarding companies based in Antwerp help to secure shipping contracts across multiple market sectors including steel, fruit, coffee and tobacco. Numerous stevedoring companies handle more than 16,000 seagoing ships and 65,000 barges annually that call at the port.

Background on the three way partnership for success – GlobalSign, Adobe and SafeNet
In 2003 Adobe Systems Inc took the visionary steps and created a compliant solution known as Certified Document Services (CDS) to address the growing need for document Authenticity and Integrity across multiple markets. The key components of the service leverage core skills from Certification Authorities such as GlobalSign to deliver digital identities to organizations under a defined certificate practice statement including certificate status information and secure time information. SafeNet Luna SA hardware security module (HSM) is used to store digital signatures and protect cryptographic keys. SafeNet HSMs provide reliable protection against compromise for applications and information assets to ensure regulatory compliance, reduce the risk of legal liability, and improve profitability. Both elements are essential to the overall framework of the CDS solution aiding the Port authority to meet the requirements of the directive.

www.globalsign.com

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Antwerp Port Authority Partners with GlobalSign to meet eVAT Legislation.

The initiative is intended to bring the citizens of rural areas closer to all three levels of Government in Spain by enabling them to benefit from the approximately 900 central, regional and local public services available on the eGovernment portal ‘060.es’.

Named ‘Telecentres training and revitalization plan’, the €2 million project relies on the network of Red.es Telecentres; those free Internet access points located across Spain’s rural areas. Over 500 Telecentres trainers will, within 1 500 Telecentres, instruct the population on how to perform operations via the eGovernment portal and to obtain information by electronic means.

In this light, printed and audiovisual information material have been designed in a clear language, with practical examples of the citizens’ daily life aspects, so as to demonstrate the advantages of the portal. In addition, distinct multimedia information packs are being conceived following the specific profiles (youngsters, women, seniors, immigrants, etc) structuring the portal. This material will include information on each target group’s most used services, as well as on the use of the national eID card.

Miguel Sebastián, Minister for Industry, Tourism and Trade stressed that following the successful deployment of Telecentres, his department will concentrate its efforts on the “valorisation of the infrastructure” by adding “services associated to the Telecentres”. He informed that the launch of the ‘Telecentres training and revitalisation plan’ is the first measure in this direction, and that it is based on the Training axis of the Avanza2 programme.

The plan has already started being implemented in 304 Telecentres in the regions of Andalusia and Asturias, with 150 dedicated trainers involved. Later on, the plan will focus on the regions of Castile and León, the Canary Islands and Murcia, and then on Galicia, the Valencian Community, Castile-La Mancha and Extremadura.

Source: Epractice.eu

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Promoting eServices in rural areas in Spain.

About the EEI Platform
The EEI Platform’s main objective is to support the penetration of electronic invoicing and automated invoicing in Europe in order to enable anyone to benefit from the great advantages that it offers. The EEI Platform focuses on the activation of individual companies, trade associations and the public sector to apply electronic billing and payment.

In addition, participants will achieve results on publicity, penetration of electronic invoicing, standardization, accreditation and promotion of the participants. EEI Platform is a variant of the Dutch Electronic Invoicing Platform (ELFA), a grouping of organisations in the Netherlands that play an important role in the implementation process. as well as substantive information, news, background and developments in the fields of electronic invoicing.

About RetailPay
RetailPay from Nieuwegein (NL) is the answer to the retailers’ desire to maximize efficiency in their industry. RetailPay calculates and processes more than 4 million invoices per year. This is possible thanks to a state-of-the-art system combined with a huge dose of customer focus, strict discipline, enthusiastic entrepreneurship, active attention for the entrepreneur, a transparent way of working and extreme discretion.

More information:

RetailPay BV
Marconibaan 8
3439 MS NIEUWEGEIN
Mr.  B. Dijkman
dijkman@retailpay.nl
www.retailpay.nl

Participation in the EEI Platform
Participation in EEI Platform is not only for providers of electronic invoicing and automated invoicing. Participation is also open to users, public institutions, educational institutions and industry associations. Moreover, organizations whose activities border to electronic billing services -such as credit organizations and financial institutions- are also invited to join.

Visit www.eeiplatform.com for more information. Here you can check the latest European news, the EEI Platform business case and the subscription form.

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: RetailPay next party to join EEI Platform.

The survey found that despite the multiple advantages electronic invoicing offers for business owners – cost-effectiveness and more efficient resource administration among them – 40 percent of European companies currently show no direct interest in performing the switch from paper-based to electronic invoices mainly because their initiatives are hampered by pre-existing regulatory compliance requirements to various country-specific e-invoicing systems. Moreover, over half of the European companies which have subsidiaries and operate their businesses in six or more countries worldwide admit concern regarding the implementation of an e-invoicing system, mainly due to problems arising from the need to comply with multiple national e-invoicing legislations across the globe. Also, a quarter of the survey participants admitted that VAT compliance and auditing requirements – which are an integral part of the invoicing process – are also a problem in the context of dealing with different financial legislations in various countries, each with its own requirements and compliance standards. Therefore, although the benefits of implementing an electronic invoicing system are evident to European business owners, the survey conducted by independent research company Vanson Bourne shows that in actuality, e-invoicing implementation is undermined by its dependency on country-specific compliance regulations and by national VAT and tax compliance requirements.

Source: Sterling Commerce

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: E-invoicing implementation hampered by regulatory compliance requirements in Europe – study.

I was disappointed to find that one of the conclusions implies that electronic signature is seen as a barrier for further development of the electronic invoice, and a feature that some of the members of the expert group see as superfluous feature.

In my opinion, electronic documents need ways to reinforce security to allow to tell apart fake documents from authentic documents. Ths is generally true even for informative documents with less impact on companies results.

It is also true that electronic signature is not the only way to reinforce security regarding autenticity of documents. For example, a document can be assumed to be authentic if it is retrieved from a trusted source, even if it is not completed with an electronic signature. But then we must define what are the requirements of such “trusted sources” to keep that assumption.

On the other hand, both approaches, electronic signatures and reference or trusted sources (which in turn frecuently are based in electronic signature derived schemes) need more precise definition to avoid lack of interoperability, which, in my opinion is the real barrier for electronic invoice wide deployment.

Some common authenticity mechanisms are required both for electronic invoices (those that are born electronically from the beginning) and for invoices certified scanning (invoices digital copies that become equivalente to an original, after a security mechanism has been added to a common scanning).

This approach, “certified scanning”, has been initiated in Spain with high success.

Certified scanning is a process in which an electronic signature is applied to a image file while it is scanned from a document paper. This image is stored in a secured database and the main concepts and terms of the paper document are added as metadata to the contextual fields of the image file in the database.

Once a paper document is “certifiedly scanned” the digital copy becomes equivalente to an original, and the paper source can be destroyed. The new “electronic original” can then be used for auditing purposes.

For the companies that receive thousands of invoices, “certified scanning” adoption imply benefiting from most of the advantages of the electronic invoice without dealing with the slow adoption pace that their suppliers could show.

If we want to support “certified scanning” we need a common definition of the requirements for that conversion. And they should not be very different form the requirements for “electronic invoices” .

If we accept authenticity mechanisms not based in electronic signature, they should be common for both approaches. And if electronic signature is still to be used in the future as the authenticity mechanism of the electronic invoice, the broad options in variants should be reduced and clearly defined (in my opinion, the XL definition of CAdES -TS 101 733- or XAdES -TS 101 903- should be used, including both validation and timestamping, from the signer side).

Source: ePractice

This article is from E-invoicing Platform. Read the original post at: Future trends in electronic invoicing.