Peppols is owned by the non-profit organization OpenPeppol, which manages, further develops and bears operational responsibility for this digital solution. OpenPeppol is also responsible for appointing Peppol authorities in different countries to set national and country-specific rules. In Sweden, this authority equals DIGG, the Agency for Digital Government. However, countries without an equivalent institution are entitled to be certified by an entity in another country.
Because Peppol is an open standard, it enables the exchange of standardized machine-readable documents. This includes e-invoices, but also e-orders, e-advance payments and e-catalogs.
It is based on three key pillars:
- The network - Peppol eDelivery Network
- The document specifications - Peppol Business Interoperability Specifications (BIS)
- The legal framework agreement defining the network governance - Peppol Transport Infrastructure Agreements (TIA)
Peppol itself is not an e-procurement platform. What Peppol provides is a set of technical specifications that can be implemented in existing e-procurement solutions and eBusiness exchange services, thereby making them interoperable between different systems in Europe.
In summary, Peppol provides:
- Market opportunity for interoperable e-procurement solutions
- Standards-based business process interoperability
- Peppol eDelivery Network and Peppol Transport Infrastructure Agreements that provide the technical and legal basis for interoperability
- Simplifying and improving the onboarding process for buyers and suppliers wishing to trade electronically.