In the transforming phenomenon that the European business sector is currently experiencing, with the disappearance of some large and medium sized companies and the appearance of a multitude of new small companies (many of them sole trader), the provider profile is also changing, especially in the case of the services sector.
Business transformation: Entrepreneurship
This change in the purchasing process of companies has much to do with the growing acceptance of electronic invoices, as well as the gradual uptake of technology and the advantages that this brings to the Accounts Payable processes.
Firstly, this generation of entrepreneurs that appeared during the crisis, knows a lot about efficiency and maximum optimization of work cycles to make the Company profitable. This attitude, in the service that they are giving as providers, no matter what the service contracted, ends up seeping into the company that receives it, infecting it with this vision of performance and optimization. Actually, the company does not just see it as a way of reducing costs, but also it has a lot to do with improving the efficiency.
On the other hand, the entrepreneurs that have had to construct their business using tools that have low or zero setup costs, use new technologies intensively in their management, and generally, in the services that they give. This closeness to and normalization of the relationship with technology that the entrepreneur brings to the company, is a key influence in the perception that they will have about the incorporation of technology in their processes.
Business transformation:The role of electronic invoicing
But if there is one key factor driving change in the area of accounts payable for businesses, it is the fact that all these entrepreneurs and small businesses work seamlessly and routinely with electronic invoicing. What's more, it is very likely that they have never issued an invoice in any other format. The accounting management applications used by these small businesses include this option by default. And they have opted for this type of solution because it helps them to be efficient and to have visibility of their business and automated accounting without having to employ an accountant.
If companies, in their process of provider optimization, select these small companies with the best quality/price relationship in their services, they will also be experiencing a homogenization in the format of invoices received: the process must be optimized for electronic invoices.
This transformation of the business sector structure offers a competitive advantage to the companies that follow this evolution, as has happened with the agents of this change, in this case the small companies, that are one step ahead in agility and efficiency.
