Cegedim, an innovative technology and services company, announces that it has been picked by Air France KLM to roll out tax-compliant e-invoicing for its client invoices. The Group’s operations in 150 countries will use the Cegedim e-business GIS platform (Global Information Services) to implement e-invoicing using EDI and PDF for every client of the Group and its subsidiaries worldwide.

The two companies have been working together since late 2013, when the Air France Group expanded the scope of its electronic invoicing. It launched a call for bids in spring 2014 for a project to include all of the Group’s activities: Air France for passenger flights, Air France and KLM for cargo. Cegedim submitted the winning bid for outgoing invoices, garnering business that represents 3.5 million invoices annually.

Franck Lucas, Head of Finance IT, Air France KLM:
“First of all, it was crucial that we ensure continuity of service for our French clients, who are already connected to the e-invoicing platform. In addition, we wanted to use the opportunity of switching to a new supplier to optimize service quality. Our goal was to extend the life of an efficient invoice management solution and interactive client relationships, and – if possible – improve the system’s overall performance while cutting costs,”

Mikaël Darphin, Finance and Corporate IT project manager, Air France:
“We went for a robust, proven solution and a service provider who understood our processes (note: Cegedim was already handling certain aspects of the Group’s e-invoicing as a subcontractor) and who had the ability to manage complex projects with tight deadlines, in this case just seven months,”

A trusted partner for a multifaceted project

The complexity stemmed primarily from the Group’s diverse array of businesses, but also from the wide geographic scope: each country has its own rules on the information contained in invoices. No fewer than 12 different types of PDF will be used in 6 different languages.

The roll-out began in fall 2015 for clients of Air France’s passenger flights throughout its network in France and abroad. Air France’s cargo activity was added between December 2015 and January 2016, and KLM’s cargo activity was the last to join the system in March-April 2016, ahead of the planned extension of EDI connections to large corporate clients and the creation of a link to the State-run CHORUS PRO platform for public sector clients.

The key challenges of this project were to harmonize processes across different Group entities at the global level and ensure the interoperability requested by certain clients. Air France KLM’s project heads summed up by saying.

Christophe Rabah, GIS Business engineer at Cegedim e- business:
“In reality, this was several projects in one, with different levels of involvement at different business units and in different countries. The volume, complexity and international scope of the project demonstrate Cegedim’s ability to partner on large-scale endeavors at every point in the digitalization chain. Our flexible, reliable solution is suited to a wide variety of business sectors and national legislation. We were proud and pleased to work with Air France KLM on this major performance-enhancing initiative.”