What is Peppol and how has it changed document exchange?
Peppol was created as an initiative of the European Commission supporting the digitisation of public procurement, but it quickly stopped being a solution solely for administrations. Today it is the standard for electronic communication between companies and institutions operating in different countries – without the need to create separate integrations with each business partner.
The most important thing, however, is that Peppol is not a "one‑country system". It is an entire communication network that enables document exchange wherever it operates – both in Europe (e.g. Belgium, the Scandinavian countries, the Baltic states or the Benelux) and globally within the Peppol International initiative. It is therefore currently a global system, also used in Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
For companies operating in international supply chains this means a concrete benefit: instead of building separate connections with partners in each country, only one integration with a provider such as EDITEL is needed, which has specialised in electronic document exchange for over 40 years – and treats e‑invoicing as a natural extension of EDI capabilities.
Who is a certified Peppol provider?
Entering the Peppol network does not involve installing a program or activating an account. A company needs a certified technical operator that enables communication in the network standard. Such an operator is the certified Peppol Access Point. Certification of these entities is carried out by OpenPeppol AISBL – the organisation responsible for the development and security of the entire ecosystem. This gives users confidence that documents transmitted through the network meet technical and regulatory requirements and reach recipients in a standard‑compliant manner.
In practice, a Peppol provider does far more than just "sending invoices". They register the company on the network, assign a Peppol ID, integrate communication with the ERP system, ensure compliance with European standards and monitor the correctness of document exchange. In other words, they enable a company to operate effectively in the digital flow of international documents.
It is worth remembering that an invoice is only the beginning. A professional provider manages the entire document flow in the supply chain – from order, through delivery confirmation, to invoice – providing validation, format conversion, flow monitoring and archiving. EDITEL delivers this within a single integration, simultaneously handling EDI, Peppol and national CTC models.
Why is the role of a Peppol provider so important today?
The importance of a Peppol provider grows with the pace of digitisation in administration and business. More and more countries use an architecture based on standards compliant with EN 16931 and directly implement communication via the Peppol network. An example is Belgium, where the solution is an important element of electronic invoicing, but also other markets developing network models similar to Peppol, such as Croatia using eDelivery mechanisms. This clearly shows that choosing a Peppol provider is not a short‑term or purely technological decision.
How to choose the right Peppol provider?
Choosing a provider should be based not only on access to the network but above all on the quality of integration and the stability of cooperation. Certification of the operator and their experience in integrating financial‑accounting systems are crucial, as this stage often determines the real convenience of using digital invoices. Network coverage is also important – a professional provider enables communication wherever Peppol operates, not just in selected countries with mandatory e‑invoicing.
Equally important is technical support and document transmission monitoring, which guarantee continuity of business processes. An example of such a company is EDITEL – a certified Peppol provider that operates as an Access Point and SMP, thereby providing a secure connection to the network and integration with ERP systems used in companies across various industries. EDITEL is a leading international provider of EDI and e‑invoicing solutions, active in over 20 countries, serving almost 50,000 companies and processing about 1 billion transactions. EDITEL’s technical support team works 24/7, and over 200 employees ensure operational stability and smooth implementations.
Why choosing a Peppol provider is a decision for years?
Peppol is a communication infrastructure developed on an international scale and increasingly used as the foundation for digital document exchange between companies and public administration. Therefore choosing the right Peppol provider essentially means choosing the direction of electronic communication development in the organisation. A well‑made decision at this stage simplifies not only current invoicing processes but also future integrations in an international environment.
