Enabling open commerce - A Basware guidebook to the new world of open commerce

Enabling open commerce A Basware guidebook to the new world of open commerce ContEntS: 06 ........... open Commerce: Why now? 10 ........... Challenges to open commerce 14 ........... An open and shut case? 18 ........... A circle of benefits 22 ........... State of the nation 26 ........... A best practice approach 30 ........... Good reviews EnABlInG GloBAl CommERCE Introduction utilize take on increasing importance Above all else, managing change at an to business operations and business ever-increasing pace requires agility. results. As this book highlights, toshiba Agile finance leaders and the purchase- is a great example of a company that is to-pay organizations that they oversee leveraging technology to connect with have shown the value and importance of more customers and suppliers in a way getting these strategies correct. Basware’s that improves the relationships and drives Enabling Global Commerce Guidebook efficiencies. But, toshiba is far from the is an excellent resource for business only company leveraging technologies to executives seeking to understand and drive efficiencies, increase effectiveness tackle these issues for the first time and and expand operations to drive significant for those seeking to extend the value they As the Chief Research Officer of a firm that is focused on and lasting value from its purchase-to- gain from their P2P operations today. defining, advancing, and promoting the purchase-to-pay pay operations. Finance leaders must not strategies, processes, and technologies that drive business only focus on this area, they must take a value and accelerate organizational transformation within leadership role or risk losing ground to the competition. the finance and procurement departments of an enterprise, Andrew BArtolini I believe that the timing of Basware’s Enabling Global In the twenty-first century, the only Chief Research officer Commerce Guidebook could not be better. constant in business will be change. Ardent Partners C onsider that in recent years, most And, while globalization, innovation, and finance leaders have been firsthand the resulting increase in competition have witnesses to the dramatic impact helped to streamline and improve business on their organizations of globalization performance, they have also helped to and open trade, which have combined increase business volatility and supply “In the twenty-first century, to simultaneously expand their supply management complexity. the only constant in business will be change. Above all chains and tighten the economic linkage else, managing change at to their trading partners. Companies in Against the backdrop of rapidly evolving an ever-increasing pace, all regions and of all sizes are increasingly supply chains (and customer bases), how requires agility.” global and the need to support business organizations communicate, collaborate, relationships with global trading partners and transact with their trading partners has become a priority of the first order. and the enabling platforms that they A BASWARE GuIDEBooK open Commerce: Why now? 06/07 n Commerce: like many elements of today’s business world, international ope trade is something that we tend to believe only became a reality with the invention of the internet. In an age in which millions of transactions are made every minute from nation to nation, Why now? global commerce is something that for many of us has only been possible thanks to major developments in financial and commercial technology. the reality, of course, is very different World trade organization in 1995, major indeed, and the colourful, dramatic and milestones in the latter half of the 20th well-documented 3,000-year history of Century have forever changed our approach recognized trade routes such as the Silk Road to global commerce. and the King’s Highway attest to this. Global commerce, international business, world Recently, however, the pace of this trade; call it what you will, it has been with us development has quickened. Just a few as long as we have been able to cross borders decades ago, the prospect of doing business with goods for sale. Although the modern overseas was an uncommon one for the business landscape is very different to the majority of finance and procurement historical, the principles remain the same: managers. likely confined to their home gain competitive edge by plying your unique territory, and with a relatively small but trade in a range of territories. well-known circle of potential suppliers and vendors, international trade would have sat Developments throughout history have very much on the “nice to have” list for the refined the process of doing business across majority. borders, but never more dramatically than story have in the past few decades. From the signing of throughout hi Developments g business free trade agreements between European ocess of doin refined the pr e dramatically powers to the ultimate foundation of the across bord ers, never mor s. st few decade than in the pa 13.5% Rate of world trade growth estimated by the World Trade Organisation in 2010, the fastest year on year expansion ever recorded A BASWARE GuIDEBooK open Commerce: Why now? In 2009, exports and imports in the European union alone totalled some $3.2 08/09 ! trillion Innovation is key to the renewed vigor with which spread the risk across multiple territories are start and remain ahead of the curve will reap we view world commerce.