How Peppol redefines business transactions

Integrating electronic messages in business transactions—from e-invoices to e-orders and more—into daily operations has historically been challenging, complex, and costly. However, the landscape is shifting, making many challenges a thing of the past. Here’s how Peppol is redefining the landscape of business transactions.

Traditionally, achieving a deep integration of electronic business transactions across various processes has been technically complex. This complexity has spanned critical functions such as accounts payable and receivable, sales and purchasing, workflow management, and accounting, requiring integration into diverse business systems.

Moreover, this undertaking has demanded not only significant technical expertise but also substantial financial resources — both the initial investment for implementation and ongoing operational costs.

One of the primary hurdles has been accessibility. Before modern solutions, businesses largely depended on one-to-one Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) connections, rigidly hardcoded connections between companies.

Alternatively, reliance on Value-Added Networks (VANs) and service providers for exchanging information with partners, customers, and suppliers was common. These methods often involved cumbersome FTP file transfers, with the luxury of swift API integrations being notably scarce.

The Peppol network marks a significant departure from the status quo in several critical aspects.

Initiated by the European Union and operated as a non-profit organization, Peppol stands as an open business network that fundamentally transforms how business communications are conducted.

Its key advantage is the consolidation of standardized data formats with a resilient network and distribution infrastructure, facilitating seamless exchanges. Crucially, it features an open directory for participants, greatly easing transparency and connectivity between business partners.

These capabilities have made the Peppol network accessible to companies of every scale, simplifying operations and integration while being remarkably cost-effective. They are also the key to the network’s growth — shifting the logic by redefining the exchange of business messages and offering an inclusive, efficient, and streamlined approach that was previously unattainable. As businesses adopt this next-generation network, the barriers to effective and efficient electronic business messaging are dismantled, marking a new transformative era for business transactions.

Learn more about how to use Peppol for business transactions and transform your processes. Download the ebook Connected business today.