Plans for a special Nordic unit for companies in electronic business communication intensified last week.
The intention is that the association will be linked to EESPA and form a Nordic Chapter to the organization. A total of 62 participants attended the project kick-off - and many spoke warmly about the establishment.
"We welcome this Nordic chapter," says Anna Elverheim, chair of NEA, the Network for Electronic Business.
The member organization that Anna represents is our Swedish counterpart to EESPA (European E-invoicing Service Providers Association). A not too far-fetched idea is that the new Nordics Chapter might step into NEA's domain and take the edge off the latter's collaboration.
But NEA takes the opposite view.
They see this new Nordic forum as an important player.
- When we first heard about the idea of a Nordics Chapter from EESPA, we discussed it early on in the Board. We all agreed that this was a very important initiative," says Anna Elverheim who was one of the people who had time set aside to comment on the said establishment during Thursday's video-televised kick-off meeting.
- From NEA's perspective, we have a strong market position locally in Sweden, but we lack a voice and a drive from a Nordic point of view. Bringing together all the strength of the Nordic countries, which is an important market globally, in a joint department is therefore positive," she continues, emphasizing:
- EESPA as a brand and support also needs to work more at local level. The discussions within the national organizations are still important, but it is good if these are also linked to the issues that exist globally. We are not an isolated island. We are part of a global world where we need to be able to share data with each other.
According to Marcus Laube, who co-chairs EESPA with Bengt Nilsson, the Nordics Chapter should be in place by January 1, 2024, but preparations will be ongoing in the months leading up to that date. With the strengthened anchoring in the North, EESPA is expanding its local presence in another geographical area. A German Chapter (VeR) has been in place since January 2022 and discussions on a similar establishment have been initiated in France, Greece and Italy. Furthermore, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with Australia-New Zealand and the next MoU is currently being prepared for the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East region in general. In addition, productive discussions have been initiated regarding the Digital Business Networks Alliance (DBNAlliance), a US e-invoice exchange network.
So there is a lot going on under the auspices of EESPA - or GENA (Global Exchange Network Association) as the organization will be renamed - and the fact that the Nordic region will be an important component of that network is valuable.
- We feel that this is a really good starting point. We're ready to go as soon as we get the go-ahead," declares NEA President Anna Elverheim.
The opportunity to collaborate more closely across the Nordic borders is something that former InExchange employee Henrik Möller also highlighted during the kick-off meeting. Henrik is currently Product Manager at Tietoevry, but also retains his board positions within EESPA and NEA.
- I really believe that we need to come together in a larger group to discuss current issues and also develop the business side, Henrik believes and reminds, just like Anna, of the extra muscles a Nordic cooperation creates.
- If we are a larger forum, we can also influence more. As a united group, we become a single voice in discussions with the public sector and can perhaps change their minds on certain issues. The operators in Sweden and our Swedish digital authority, DIGG, are not far apart, but we are not on the same page. I think we can improve that through the Nordics Chapter," says Henrik.
"If we are a larger forum, we can also influence more. As a united group, we become a unified voice in conversations with the public sector."
The disagreement that Henrik exposes in Sweden is by no means unusual in the work of creating standards.
- We have special legislation and special specifications locally. We even have local standards to some extent. It's something we need to look at and discuss," says Marcus Laube.
Flemming Christensen, from TrueCommerce in Denmark, told the Nordics Chapter presentation that the Danish government prioritizes its domestic e-invoice structure, NemHandel, over Peppol. Why NemHandel takes precedence is that the network is considered more secure than Peppol.
Then, all the different national VAT reporting systems are a separate chapter. Home-made CTC (Continuous Transaction Controls) variants are hardly conducive to EESPA's vision of simple seamless universal solutions. Recently, the Polish government released an updated version of its domestic e-invoicing system Krajowy System e-Faktur (KSeF). The release prompted Henrik Möller to slam the system.
"It's a tragic example of just about everything," he commented tartly.
The responsibility for the organization of the Nordics Chapter is shared between EESPA and NEA. The planning of Steering Committee meetings, annual activities and invitations to major events will be the responsibility of NEA. Membership fees, invitations to international conferences and the hosting of a Chapter page on the EESPA website will be the responsibility of the former organization.
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EESPA establishes Nordic chapter