Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

EGS Launches eInvoicing Solution for Public Sector Organisations to Further Streamline Electronic Purchase-to-Pay Processes

Developed in Partnership with Large Local Authorities, EGS eInvoicing Addresses the Specific Requirements of the Public Sector

EGS Ltd, the UK’s largest and fastest growing ecommerce Exchange for the public sector and its suppliers, today announced the general availability of its new eInvoicing solution for the public sector. Developed in partnership with a number of larger EGS local authority customers,
EGS’ eInvoicing solution addresses the specific requirements of public sector organisations.

Delivered as a simple to use web-based solution, EGS eInvoicing enables the secure exchange of invoices between suppliers and their customers through the EGS Exchange. This provides significant economies of scale for both parties and ensures that invalid invoices are rejected before reaching the buyer’s accounts payable process.

A large CC can expect to save more than £250,000 a year by processing 200,000 invoices electronically through EGS’ eInvoicing solution. This not only streamlines efficiencies, but also eliminates the need for traditional re-keying of paper-based invoices, releasing both resource and budget.

EGS’ eInvoicing solution integrates with other parts of the purchasing process and can be integrated with an organisation’s accounts payable and accounts receivable systems, including seamless integration with back end ERP systems and all major financial management systems, such as Oracle and SAP. As supplier participation is critical to the success of an eInvoice implementation, EGS provides three different supplier options, two of which are at zero cost of the supplier. The company also provides a comprehensive engagement process for suppliers. Unlike other eInvoicing systems, EGS has been designed specifically for the public sector with input directly from public sector organisations. As a securely hosted external service, it requires no significant investment behind the firewall.

“Electronic purchase to pay methods result in per-invoice cost reduction improvements of 50-60 percent,” said Steve Busby, Sales Director of EGS Ltd. “Buyers and suppliers alike want to eliminate the time consuming paperwork associated with the billing and payments process, significantly reduce processing costs, and improve the overall efficiency of accounts payable and receivable activities. We understand the unique pressures facing public sector organisations having to integrate purchasing, payables, and treasury decision making and process changes, as well as compliance and avoidance of penalties, whether government or supplier imposed. Point-to-point initiatives are simply not cost effective and EDI has very low adoption, yet costs remain high for processing large volumes of paper invoices, routing and approvals. We have developed our eInvoicing system directly in partnership with our current customers, in order to ensure the functionality and supplier engagement process is fully validated for public sector organisations, such as local government, police and fire services and universities.”

Based on a three year subscription and license basis, EGS eInvoicing pricing is dependant on organisational size and volume. Early adopter customers are already live and trading through EGS eInvoicing solution, which is now being offered on general availability.

EGS is already the market leader for eCommerce services for the public sector, including its eProcurement service. The new eInvoicing solution is the result of months of development, close consultation and escalating customer demand to harness even greater efficiencies in the purchase-to-pay lifecycle.

The whole of the UK public sector represents fifty percent of the total UK economy. According
to the Office of Government Commerce, there's £110 billion of non-capital spend in the public
sector per annum. The Government mandated that by 2010, the key 2,500 public sector bodies’ 50,000 suppliers will be trading electronically. Major savings are predicated on a collaborative environment. e-Procurement systems provide greater information to buying organisations on where to find the best deals, enabling them to take advantage of aggregated buying and reduce their costs by 35-40% through better intelligence.

About EGS Ltd
Founded in 2000, EGS Ltd is the UK’s leading supplier of ecommerce Exchanges for the public sector. The company’s Shared Service ecommerce solutions are used by over 150 public sector buying organisations. EGS operates a series of inter-locking regional and sector focused ecommerce exchanges, providing services designed to automate and reduce the costs and timescales associated with the procurement to pay lifecycle. The services save considerable time and cost for both buying organisations and suppliers alike. EGS is the biggest and fastest growing ecommerce Exchange for the UK public sector with more than 50% market share, making it the market leader in its field, and the most successful Exchange of its kind in Europe. With the largest Shared Services customer base, EGS has 150 public buying organisations linking with 30,000 of their chosen supplies and the main contracts from Public Purchasing Consortia. Electronic purchasing is taking off. EGS has seen a 500% growth in the use of its services in past two years alone, and expects the trend to continue.


For further info, contact:

Vanessa Land
Devonshire Marketing
Tel: +44 (0)870 242 7469
Email: vanessa@devonshiremarketing.com