Mexico’s E-invoicing mandate shows how far we have come since EasyTrade

Mexico’s E-invoicing mandate shows how far we have come since EasyTrade

I’ve watched what Mexico is doing with great interest. The people behind the e-invoice mandate in Mexico are courageous and ambitious but they’re not the first to tackle such a challenge.

Some time ago I chatted to Christian Lanng, CEO of Tradeshift, about his experience in Denmark and it struck me that there could be some interesting insights from his experience in developing the Danish mandated solution EasyTrade. So I asked him. To what extent, if any, I wondered, is Mexico treading in Denmark’s footsteps?

Purchasing Insight logoChristian Lanng: “Mexico’s move to mandate e-invoicing for all companies with a revenue over $20k is not just another step in the inevitable march toward global ebusiness — it represents a new phase of maturity.

“The opportunity to improve efficiency in how a public sector organisation works with its suppliers is becoming increasingly hard to miss. But years ago, when we were considering the challenge at the Danish Government, it was a different world. Nobody had really attempted to create such an ambitious solution before.

“We were the first to identify the priorities of making it free for suppliers. We were also the first to establish the importance that interoperability and openness would have on success. But to do so, we had to start from scratch. This was a world where an option that ticked those boxes simply didn’t exist. So we built it, and the rest, as they say, is history.

“Mexico is facing the challenge in a different time and a different world. A lot has happened in the last 7 years and the nature of the strategy they’re following shows that. Where we encouraged the use of EasyTrade, Mexico is able to leave the decision up to the market — and the options exist to make the transition much easier and more effective.

“This time, it will be up to the people to decide which solution and which vendor is best. The decision on what the most important aspects are will not fall with the Government (beyond establishing the CFDI standard) but with real businesses. In many ways, it will be the ultimate validation of the tenets that were laid down by the Danish Government nearly a decade ago.

“Mexico has laid down the law but it’s the market that will decide where the majority follow. “

Christian Lanng (@christianlanng) is CEO and co-founder of Tradeshift



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