Electronic Invoicing

Q4 2013 may well be remembered as the inflexion point for AP automation and supply chain finance. The synergy between e-invoicing and supply chain finance (SCF) has been recognized for some time but the reality of business is that despite the benefits staring us in the face, it takes time to put the pieces together and for it to become a reality. Software needs to be developed or adapted, marketing campaigns crafted and pilot programmes need to run their course. This all takes years. So when we see solutions emerging and new offerings launched, it’s not because everyone has suddenly seen the light – the early adopters saw the light a long time ago and what we’re seeing now is the culmination of years of effort. The OB10 deal announced last week follows two years of behind the scenes discussion. Tradeshift’s $3bn fund to support small business is the realization of a vision that Christian Lanng shared with me about 3 years ago and just this week a new player on the scene, Crossflow Payments, emerged into the fading light of late summer after 3 years of research and development.  I met Tony Duggan, the CEO, this week in The City of London to understand what they have to offer.

When it comes to electronic trading, the Latin Americans, most notably Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile, put the so-called developed countries to shame in terms of their ambition. While the Europeans continue to support business processes hardly changed since they were developed by the spice merchants of Venice during the Renaissance, South American governments are building business and tax collection infrastructures that many of us would never have dreamt possible.

The news that OB10 is to go public broke last night - actually a little prematurely - but now it's official and Tungsten and OB10 have announced their intentions. I spent 20 minutes on the phone with a delighted Luke McKeever, OB10's CEO, earlier today to understand the details of the deal that values OB10 at £99 million. Actually, the details are a little mundane - their IPO is of course subject to raising the cash - but assuming they do it will be used to buy out existing shareholders, to build bigger better infrastructure and technology and bolster Express Payments with funds to directly fund some new and innovative supply chain finance offerings. "That's not mundane" you might think - but it is - it's positively pedestrian compared to what Luke told me they are going to be doing in addition to all of this.

In the final extract from The Supplier Engagement Handbook, Jo Harris shares best practices that will help ensure that all of suppliers – not just those with the highest volumes – adopt e-invoicing. Self-guided enrollment To roll out e-invoicing successfully, all suppliers must participate, from the largest and most strategic to the smallest, occasional vendor. You can run self-guided enrollment alongside your high-touch outreach with sophisticated techniques that quickly engage your thousands of lower-volume suppliers. For self-guided enrollment to be effective, the following components are crucial:

It’s not easy to find real best practice advice for e-Invoicing and supplier enrollment. This extract from The Supplier Engagement Handbook describes recommended steps on how to offer suppliers that send a high volume of invoices or have complex organizations a more consultative enrollment approach.

e-Invoicing – high-touch enrollment of suppliers

Accurate contact details

Before starting a communication effort, it is important to have accurate contact information. Ideally, this includes up-to-date details for sales contacts and the people in billing and collections. No one is happier to accommodate your needs than your sales contacts; use them to your advantage.

Compelling communications

Creating a comprehensive and coordinated strategy is essential and must take into account all your stakeholders. A common pitfall is to solely focus on the messages to suppliers. It is just as important to communicate the vision and objectives of the program within your own organization to achieve the necessary buy-in and support. Use a careful mix of channels and media to communicate both internally and externally, including your website, intranet, press releases, social media, posters and existing newsletters.

From outside of Latin America, electronic invoicing in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and the others, seems complex and mysterious. What information that is available to understand it is mostly in Spanish or Portuguese. For those of us who are a little rusty on our Spanish and Portuguese, even the English written information is difficult to grasp because the concept of e-invoicing in Latin America is fundamentally different to the concepts familiar to Europeans and North Americans. But for any business that trades in South America it is crucial to understand the new invoicing landscape.