Basware,
the leading provider of e-invoicing and purchase-to-pay solutions,
predicts 2015 as the year of global business-to-business (B2B)
e-commerce, fuelled by several key trends that will speed up economic
growth, including innovative financing and e-payment solutions, the
growing reliance on social and mobile computing, advanced analytics and
increased imperatives from governments around the world to remove
technical barriers and create open, interoperable business ecosystems.
The continued corporate focus on increasing cash flow will also drive
the urgency to create a connected global economy.
“B2B commerce will become more agile and responsive as organisations
increasingly rely on innovative, online and real-time invoicing and
payment solutions to break down trading barriers and country borders,”
said Esa Tihilä, CEO of Basware. “The corporate push to improve cash
flow and the implementation by governments around the world to create a
supportive e-commerce infrastructure will further fuel the adoption of
e-invoicing and alternative financing options. This will help make
connected global commerce a reality for organisations of all sizes.”
Basware predicts four key trends will transform B2B commerce over the
next twelve months:
New real-time, online payment and financing options will drive a new
era in consumerisation of B2B
Cash flow continues to be a constant concern for businesses of all sizes
as companies continue to hold onto their cash at all costs and extend
payment terms to suppliers. These common practices create major cash
flow pressure for trading partners, particularly small- and medium-sized
businesses, many of whom are reluctant to take on debt. Traditional B2B
factoring options are time-consuming, involve a high degree of risk and
are costly for borrowers.
E-commerce, open networks and interoperability will continue to be game
changers in 2015. The growth of business commerce networks that enable
real-time e-invoicing, along with worldwide payment networks, are
enabling new payment options as well as the establishment of a new
online financing marketplace. As the next frontier in the
consumerisation of B2B, innovative e-payment solutions for businesses
are speeding up settlement by enabling immediate, electronic payment
once an invoice is approved. These online and real-time trade financing
solutions, such as Basware
Pay, along with new, innovative financing models, are the disruptive
technologies for 2015, changing the old way of doing business. They are
removing suppliers’ dependency on buyers for cash flow, and radically
transforming the one-sided relationship that has favoured the buyer, to
a mutually beneficial B2B commerce experience.
Social, mobile, and the cloud as the new normal
The boundaries of time and space continue to be dissolved, as financial
executives are demanding mobile access to apps anytime, anywhere.
Processes, such as invoice review and approval, can move ahead
efficiently and unimpeded regardless of travel schedules, enabling
companies to better manage and control their payables and realise early
payment discounts and other benefits. Accounts Payable (AP) departments
will rely more heavily on social capabilities within business commerce
networks to communicate with trading partners and address issues in real
time.
As in the consumer world, the cloud has become standard for today’s
finance executives, and they are more readily relying on it to
cost-effectively manage their applications and resources, and access
them seamlessly anytime and from any device.
Government to continue to make e-invoicing the standard worldwide
There is continued push from governments around the world to adopt
e-invoicing to decrease costs, improve tax compliance and efficiency and
reduce fraud. With governments receiving up to 30 per cent of their
Gross Domestic Product from VAT and sales taxes, ensuring tax compliance
is also a key issue that is spurring e-invoicing adoption. More than 50
countries around the world are in various stages of implementing
e-invoicing initiatives. To promote borderless commerce, the EU is
moving ahead to make e-invoicing required for government suppliers by
2015 and the standard method for companies to conduct business shortly
thereafter. The U.S. Federal government has begun implementing the
Invoice Processing Platform at 74 organisations to cut costs and improve
efficiencies, resulting in approximately $5 to $6 million in savings
(about $20 an invoice) to date1.
Analytics to uncover value throughout organisations
Organisations will continue to rely on analytics more heavily than ever
before to drive business results. Analytics solutions are identifying
procurement, spend and payment trends; optimising processes and
technology; and uncovering opportunities for accelerated payments and
other strategies. By leveraging analytics, organisations are realising
improved cash-to-cash conversion cycles, days sales outstanding (DSOs)
and days payment outstanding (DPOs). Additionally, the insight into
spend, cash flow and working capital enabled by automated analytics will
propel a closer collaboration among internal departments, such as AP,
Finance, Procurement and Treasury and extend to external trading
partners. In “Intelligent Finance Organisations: Research Summary,” a
recent study by CFO Research, in collaboration with KPMG, business
analysis was cited as CFO’s top priority for implementing technology
initiatives.
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About Basware
Basware is the global leader in providing purchase-to-pay and
e-invoicing solutions in the world of commerce. We empower companies to
unlock value across their financial operations by simplifying and
streamlining key financial processes. Our Basware Commerce Network, the
largest open business network in the world, connects 1 million companies
across 100 countries and enables easy collaboration between buyers and
suppliers of all sizes. Through this network, leading companies around
the world achieve new levels of spend control, efficiency and closer
relations with their suppliers. With Basware, businesses can introduce
completely new ways of buying and selling to achieve significant cost
savings and boost their cash flow.
Find out how Basware helps money move more easily and lets commerce flow
at www.basware.com.
www.twitter.com/basware
www.facebook.com/BaswareCorporation
www.linkedin.com/company/basware
1 Electronic Invoicing: Why it Matters, highlights from
presentation given by John Hill, Assistant Commissioner for Payment
Management at the U.S. Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service at the
2014 IPP Agency Forum
Copyright Business Wire 2014