E Invoicing Goes From Strength to Strength
The implementation of automated procure to pay and invoice processes continues to grow, with a reported 90% of large enterprises having either fully realised the procedure, or gearing up to do so.
There are a number of factors in play, aside from the obvious cost and labour savings, which are contributing to the current climate of growth, leading more and more organisations to jump on the e-invoicing bandwagon.
The legislation put in place by the European Union, EU Council Directive 2001/115/EC, has certainly played its part, by allowing electronic invoices to be recognised as the legal form of invoices inside the EU. Secondly, an ever-growing base of third party providers offering a wide spectrum of services is slowly eroding the barriers that have prevented full trading partner participation previously.
This in turn has led to everyone from suppliers to buyers tapping in to the benefits at hand, with small trading partners able to join automation programs without having to re-structure their existing systems. 2008 has certainly been prominent year for e invoicing, with all signs pointing to the continuation of a sharply rising trend in 2009.
