E-invoices could save businesses €246m annually
Irish businesses can save 2% of their turnover by cutting out paper invoices and optimising related supply chain processes.
Based on Irish GDP of €1.23 billion in 2010, this equates to €246m in untapped potential savings. In 2011, more than 5m European companies are expected to exchange more than 3bn e-invoices, but the majority of businesses in Ireland continue to send and receive paper invoices.
According to Bruno Koch, author of E-Billing In Europe and Abroad, “Electronic and automated invoice processes can result in savings of 60-80% compared to traditional paper based processing.”Thus the payback time on investments in e-invoicing projects can be as short as six months.”
Difficult trading conditions have led to a greater consensus amongst businesses on the need to reduce overall organisational costs.
“Having the capability to embrace and master continued supply chain change will be key to Irish businesses,” says Michael O’Brien, head of marketing at Celtrino, a Dublin firm specialising in document automation.
Ireland is falling behind its European counterparts who are moving towards electronic trading across all public sector organisations, he believes.
“As a small, open economy we are placing our public and private sectors at a disadvantage by not automating paper-based processes across the supply chain,” he said. By mandating electronic trading within the public sector, the Irish economy stands to make huge savings while also leading to increased efficiencies in both the public and private sectors.
“In all the recently commissioned Government reports on the economy not one of them referenced the potential of automating paper-based processes,” said O’Brien.
“We found this strange considering that the European Union is forging ahead with several key initiatives in this area and there is a block of members states that have already benefited by billions by mandating their public sectors to trade electronically by automating paper-based processes.”
He cites the success of www.motortax.ie as one example of the efficiencies that can be achieved by automating key processes.
“Thousands of SMEs in Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway are already up and running and have a distinct competitive advantage over their non-electronic trading Irish neighbours,” he said.
