About Peppol
Peppol is all about fast, efficient, borderless trade. Our document specifications integrate global business processes by standardising the way information is structured and exchanged.
We enable private businesses and government organisations to send and receive standard format business documents on an open and secure network. And we deliver the governance to make it work, via a binding agreement structure that ensures compliance among key parties.
It is important to emphasise that Peppol is not a portal or a provider of exchange services. Peppol is an enabler. Any organisation with a Peppol-certified service provider can trade on the Peppol open network.
No more closed networks. When you connect to Peppol you can do business with any Peppol-enabled organisation, anywhere in the world.
The Peppol approach reduces costs, stimulates growth, drives innovation, and fosters healthy competition.
Here’s how we got started.
The Peppol story
Peppol began in 2008 as a large-scale pilot financed by the European Commission and Consortium members. The goal of the project was to enable frictionless trade between public and private sector bodies – and, ultimately, to increase efficiencies and reduce costs, while promoting healthy competition.
To accomplish its goal, Peppol developed the Business Interoperability Specifications (BIS). These specifications standardised the exchange of common eProcurement documents, such as eOrders and eInvoices. All exchanged on the first open and secure eProcurement network.
Building an open network
The Peppol pilot was a huge success.
At the heart of Peppol is the four-corner model, which enables buyers and suppliers to connect via any Peppol-certified service provider.
Before Peppol was introduced, all eProcurement networks were closed (or ‘three-corner’). Three-corner networks require senders and receivers to connect via the same service provider – a limitation akin to only being able to call people on the same mobile network as you – with no standardisation across networks.
In 2012, the Peppol project was finalised and its services and responsibilities taken over by OpenPeppol: a non-profit international association established under Belgian law (Association Internationale Sans But Lucratif – AISBL).
A democratic, member-led organisation
OpenPeppol consists of both private and public sector members and acts as a de facto standards body, responsible for the development, maintenance and implementation of the Peppol specifications.
The governance process is democratic and fully transparent. Our member organisations set the agenda, elect representatives, and appoint volunteers to lead the Management Committee and the Coordinating Committee (responsible for strategic and technical development, respectively).
Click here to download the OpenPeppol Statutes.
Click here for a full description of the OpenPEPPOL organisation structure.
Going global
Originally conceived as a European project, Peppol has proven so successful that today our solution is used across the world – and expanding rapidly.
As of May 2019, more than 350,000 organisations are receiving business documents via 232 Peppol-certified service providers, operating in 35 countries in Europe, North America and Asia.
Our interoperability framework is just as relevant for trade between private businesses as it is for trade between public and private sector bodies. Swiftly adopted to handle eInvoicing and other core business tasks, Peppol has the potential to support the exchange of any business document, between any organisation, anywhere in the world.
In short, we provide a versatile, shared digital language to do business in.
Peppol is changing the way the world trades. We invite you to be part of that story.
The future is open.
