Avelon and eConnect

Avelon is a Dutch specialist in SAP process optimisation. The company focuses on organisations that want to streamline their invoice and procurement processes within SAP, offering both implementation expertise and ready-made components.

One of these components is the E-Invoicing Interface, a standard SAP add-on that automatically processes both e-invoices in XML/UBL and PDF invoices with metadata in SAP. The add-on works on both SAP ECC and S/4HANA, so customers on both platform generations can set up the same chain.

eConnect and Avelon have been working together for some time on invoice processing for SAP environments. The connection between the two solutions runs via eConnect's Peppol service bus: invoices delivered via eConnect arrive directly at Avelon, after which they are automatically processed in real time in SAP.

For SAP customers, this means one streamlined route from Peppol connection to invoice processing in their own ERP system. eConnect handles delivery via Peppol and PDF conversion where needed; Avelon translates the incoming message into the appropriate processing steps in SAP. Suppliers also receive confirmation of receipt.

The Avelon and eConnect chain is visible in practice at Province of Noord-Brabant. The province selected eConnect through a tender process and, together with partner Avelon, set up the chain so that e-invoices arrived via Peppol at the right place within the province and could then flow through to SAP.

In that setup, invoices arrive centrally, are reviewed through workflow steps and, upon approval, flow directly onwards. In case of rejection, the supplier receives a notification with a reason, making correction possible. The complete customer story of the province is at Province of Noord-Brabant: to more than 90% e-invoices in a short time.

Organisations working with SAP ECC or S/4HANA that want to automate their incoming invoice process get, via this chain, a combination of Peppol connection and SAP integration without building custom solutions themselves. The approach suits both government organisations responding to a legal obligation and private SAP customers wanting to speed up their invoice process.

For other SAP implementation partners and system integrators, the combination provides a starting point to use the same chain with their own customers, without first building their own Peppol Access Point.