Whether you are a private company or a public organisation, and whether you send invoices or handle other business transactions, Peppol enables fast, secure and borderless commerce. Peppol integrates business processes by standardising how information is structured and exchanged between parties.
What is Peppol?
Peppol is an international electronic purchasing network that makes e-commerce and e-procurement much easier. It started as an EU initiative, but has now spread worldwide, and the network is open to all. Peppol was launched with the aim of enabling frictionless trade between public and private businesses, ultimately increasing efficiency while promoting healthy competition.
Peppol is a digital infrastructure for business transactions and a standard for business messages. Peppol BIS is the name given to the specifications for these messages, which include, for example, price lists, catalogues, orders and invoices. The non-profit organisation OpenPeppol is responsible for the development, implementation and maintenance of the Peppol specifications. It is now a legal requirement for Swedish municipalities and regions that all purchases are invoiced electronically according to the Peppol BIS standard.
The connection to the Peppol network is done via a certified access point (AP), which allows buyers and sellers in the network to find each other through their unique electronic addresses, known as Peppol IDs. Peppol IDs are managed in a local register (SMP) which in turn updates the central register (SML) with up-to-date and accurate information. The access points then use the central register to find companies and organisations in the network.
What are the benefits of Peppol?
Peppol can be used in conjunction with existing procurement systems and complement existing e-commerce solutions. It works equally well for trade between private companies (B2B) and between private companies and public organisations (B2G). It is very easy for buyers and sellers to find each other in the network, both in Europe and worldwide.
No individual set-ups or complicated agreements are required for each unique business relationship. New customers and suppliers are automatically connected to e-invoicing without testing. However, for e-commerce such as orders and catalogues, some testing may be required, but standardisation makes it easy and seamless. Standardisation also simplifies the change of access point provider, and when you change, you retain both your electronic address in the network and access to your connected customers and suppliers.
A certified operator ensures that your business messages are sent securely, that they reach the recipient and that they are fully traceable. Validation by the sender's access point ensures that the messages are in the correct technical format. All access points are required by the Peppol network rules to do a check on customers sending information, which means that there is less risk of fraudulent invoices or similar compared to paper invoices and open invoice portals. This provides a high level of credibility among connected businesses and organisations.
There are no roaming charges between operators, you only pay for the connection to the Peppol network and for the messages you send or receive, a so-called 4-corner model. Operators sign an operator agreement directly with a Peppol authority, thus avoiding bilateral interconnection agreements.
You avoid the cost of paper printouts, which is also good for the environment, you save time and money on doing less manual work, and you don't have to fix the errors that can occur when manually entering data.
Why should you choose Peppol?
Peppol is rapidly growing in popularity because it is reliable, easy to connect to and easy to use, and it offers clear benefits to the user. You avoid extra costs, your business messages are sent securely and it's easy to find business partners in the popular network. Peppol is also essential for the invoice processing practices of all public organisations.
So the answer to how much you save by being connected to the Peppol network obviously varies from company to company, but the fact that it's a significant amount is proven by the impact Peppol has on the market and we've only seen the beginning.
PipeChain SCM Tyringe is a certified access point and SMP. This means that we have a thorough knowledge of the technology, and that you can focus on your business in peace and quiet. In the next post, we'll take a closer look at how we at PipeChain SCM Tyringe help our customers use the technology in their everyday lives. So stay tuned!
At tyringe.com/en/solutions/trade/ you can read more about our trading solutions.