In recent weeks, PayStream Advisors has seen several instances of electronic invoicing expansion and growth both world-wide and industry-wide. From increasing adoption in the UK, to more systematic compliance in Latin America and the Middle East, it is clear that AP automation is on the move to becoming a global business standard. The latest development in this movement was seen last week when the Ocean Freight Industry EIPP Standards Advisory Board launched its own set of eInvoicing standards guidelines. This announcement marked a major landmark within a major trade for eInvoicing. 
EIPP Standards Advisory Board is an independent organization comprised of ocean industry executives from around the world. Through research and regulation, they seek to enhance processes in Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment (EIPP). The new guidelines will focus on key handling processes and required data elements for invoice and credit note presentment, and their aim will be to establish a standard for the ocean shipping industry to improve how electronic messages exchanged between parties should be prepared, transmitted and received.
The guidelines will cover invoice processing, credit note processing, and EDI messaging guidelines within the ocean freight industry. For invoice processing and credit note processing, the guidelines will support the automation of many key functions, including acknowledgement, routing, verification, payment and accounting, and tax reporting and auditing. The EDI messaging guidelines will provide standards for data transmittance and format structure.
For companies operating in the ocean freight industry, these new standards guidelines are very welcome. “As a global logistics and transport company, we count on fast and efficient collaboration to expedite business,” said Leendert Vis, Chief Information Officer of JF Hillebrand, “and standardized processes make it easier to collaborate internally, as well as with external partners and customers. For instance, we count on electronic invoicing to avoid manual data entry and enable automated error detection when the invoice doesn’t match our anticipated charges. By establishing these guidelines for e-invoicing, we are laying the foundation for standards driving greater automation, resulting in improved cost-savings and accelerated processes.”
With an AR landscape that is constantly evolving, today’s AR departments are challenged to accomplish more with existing, or even shrinking, resources. By enforcing regulations and streamlining EIPP processing in an entire industry, the EIPP Standards Advisory Board is making a bold move that will be beneficial for many organizations.
For those seeking more information on EIPP movement, PayStream Advisors is currently developing a market discovery report on Electronic Presentment and Payment (EIPP) solutions. This report will explore the trends, challenges, and innovations within EIPP solutions, and it is intended to help AR, Treasury and IT buyers make vendor and technology selection decisions as they evaluate new EIPP automation strategies and solutions. Look for the release of the EIPP report this Q3.
