New infrastructure facilitates public sector tendering within the EU
A common standard for public sector e-procurement has come a step closer today, enabling the pan-European exchange of electronic invoices and other business documents between the public and private sector. Basware, leading purchase-to-pay provider and the key technical advisor on e-procurement for the Ministry of Finance in Finland, have worked together to develop the technical specification and proof of concept for the for Pan European Public Procurement On-line (PEPPOL) platform which is designed to help European companies participate electronically on equal terms in EU-wide public sector competitive bidding.
PEPPOL has been in development since May 2008 and is driven by the European Commission and a consortium of 19 representatives from 13 countries. This EU-wide initiative aims to increase transparency and efficiency of public sector procurement, ultimately enabling any company, including SMEs, to respond to published public tender notices electronically, send other electronic documents to public institutions and to govern the entire procurement process from their own national infrastructure to other national infrastructures. The project is closely linked to the realization of the EU service directive and to improving inner-market efficiency within the union. The total budget for the project is Euro 30.8 million and the pilot infrastructure is due to be completed at the end of 2010.
“While governments are the largest buyers in the EU they are lagging behind major industry in electronic data exchange with suppliers,” said Esa Tihilä, SVP, Basware. “Our own Basware Connectivity services allow buyers and suppliers in the private sector to easily exchange electronic documents so we are in a great position to advise on best practices for creating the European standard for borderless e-procurement. Companies that already have electronic solutions in place will be best equipped to benefit from this new EU platform. We have been working closely with the Ministry of Finance in Finland and PEPPOL working groups to create the technical specifications that will enable interoperability through common transport, content and business process standards, and we anticipate great things as we move towards the pilot phase of the project.”
At the moment, there is very little purchasing taking place across borders in the EU public sector. “The PEPPOL project is one key element in driving a change to this. In order to compete effectively, it is important that EU States improve public sector capability to share documents electronically. PEPPOL is a collaborative project designed to enhance competitiveness and increase efficiency of EU public sector procurement processes. Based on a common platform, PEPPOL will eventually enable the private sector to utilize the network as well as make it much easier for SMEs to do business outside of their own countries, opening new markets to this sector,” says Olli-Pekka Rissanen, special adviser at Ministry of Finance in Finland.
The new procurement infrastructure is expected to be in operation by the end of 2010. Based on open standards, the infrastructure will be independent of operators, which ensures open price competition. In addition to Finland, the consortium supporting the project includes Norway, Denmark, Germany, United Kingdom, Austria, Hungary and Italy.
About Basware
Basware is the global leader in purchase-to-pay solutions with more than 1,500 customers and 850,000 users in over 50 countries around the world. With Basware, organizations can reduce the cost of buying and paying for goods and services and gain visibility and control of their entire spending process by automating manual processes, from sourcing, contract management, purchasing and supplier collaboration to invoice automation. Basware solutions and services enable substantial cost reductions across businesses and deliver value by providing compliance and control, as well as fast return on investment. The solutions are distributed and implemented, either on site or as a service, in Europe, the US, and Asia-Pacific through an extensive network of Basware offices and business partners. www.basware.com
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Press contact: Emilia Vaajoensuu, Communications Manager, Basware, firstname.lastname@basware.com.
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