Leading EDI company Data Interchange has announced that has been awarded a place on the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement Online) access point framework.
“CCS has created a framework to support government departments in accessing PEPPOL services,” says Nigel Ransom, Business Development Manager at Data Interchange. “To be appointed to the framework, they examined our technical abilities, our PEPPOL access point and associated infrastructure, as well as our testing, security, high availability and disaster recovery policies. Our services were then tested through a rigorous, structured two-week phase to ensure that the PEPPOL access point and associated infrastructure and equipment were all working correctly. We are delighted that we meet the requirements and are proud to be a PEPPOL access point provider to the UK Government.”
PEPPOL is a European-wide e-procurement protocol that simplifies the purchase-to-pay process between government bodies and suppliers. It offers a standardised messaging protocol for e-ordering, e-invoicing, electronic credit notes and despatch advice. Combined with the adoption of GS1 barcoding standards, PEPPOL’s standardised approach to e-procurement messaging paves the way for the modernisation of material planning and material flow processes within public bodies, helping to reduce errors and to cut burdensome administration through automation.
Unlike traditional EDI, any PEPPOL access point can exchange messages with any other PEPPOL access point without having to sign and set up an interconnect agreement – opening the door to trade between public services and suppliers across Europe.
Data Interchange was one of seven access points that successfully took part in the original demonstration of technology, which was run by the Department of Health to demonstrate that PEPPOL could support NHS requirements. The Department of Health mandated the use of PEPPOL messaging standards with suppliers, as well as GS1 labelling and identification standards to help achieve £1.5bn of procurement efficiencies across the NHS. 
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