21 Apr 2010 China Missing an Electronic Invoicing Opportunity
In a recent report by Celent they report the surprisingly low rates of adoption in parts of Asia. China, Japan and India in particular are relatively slow to integrate electronic invoicing.
Why is this suprising?
The reasons for the slow adopting include tardy implementation of purchase to pay processes and importantly, a general hesitancy for business to engage closely with their banks as technology partners. But these issues should not be seen as problems. Rather, they are opportunities.
In the 1990s, the huge boom in business in what was described as the technology sector, stole swathes of market share from established competition largely because new businesses were able to take advantage of new technology without the cost and distraction off having to decommision legacy systems. Using established marketing and business practice and attacking mature pre-existing markets, they were able to leap frog the established competition by standing on their shoulders and launching themselves into the new millenium. This is exactly what China and India can do now.
Electronic Invoicing – With or Without the Banks
Fully automated and integrated purchase to pay processes utilizing electronic invoices to integrate and streamline the financial supply chain – with or without the banks (see Dynamic Discounting – Kicking the Banks When They’re Down) – is much easier in a growing economy compared to establish economies with legacy business processes and legal frameworks and provides a platform for business with an even lower cost base than Asia enjoys today.
