PPL begins receiving electronic invoices from suppliers through Enporion

In early October, PPL Accounts Payable began receiving electronic invoices from suppliers through Enporion, PPL's e-commerce marketplace. Developing the ability to receive "e-invoices" through Enporion was a major objective of PPL's e-commerce strategy team formed in November 2004 with members from Financial Process Support, Cash Operations, Information Solutions Services Group, Supply Chain and Enporion.

The e-invoicing initiative was rolled out at PPL's e-commerce strategy meeting on Sept. 29 for suppliers that provide commodities to PPL under existing Enporion contracts.

Since the meeting, those suppliers have transmitted several hundred e-invoices to PPL through Enporion. E-invoicing is an industry best practice supported by independent research findings that include the following:

• World Class AP organizations using e-invoicing can reduce processing costs up to 600 percent, have 44 percent fewer errors and reduce discrepancy resolution costs up to 350 percent. (source: The Hackett Group)
• Invoice processing cycle times can be reduced up to 65 percent to take advantage of discounts and avoid late fees. (source: Aberdeen Group)

In 2004, Accounts Payable processed approximately 196,000 paper invoices from suppliers. The results of the e-invoicing initiative to date indicate that plans for further implementation with PPL's approved suppliers offer the potential for substantial savings.

If you'd like more information on PPL's e-invoicing initiative, contact Richard Goch, manager-Strategic Sourcing at ETN 220-6853 or rjgoch@pplweb.com.