Piloting of invoice data exchange via the eDelivery channel between selected companies from Ukraine and Poland was launched on 9 October 2020. The eDelivery pilot – implemented by EU4Digital as part of its activities in support of eTrade – is an important stepping stone towards ensuring the secure, reliable, affordable and effective exchange of cross-border invoice data between Eastern partner countries and with the EU.

The eDelivery solution, introduced by the European Commission, addresses major drawbacks of current unstandardised and paper-based data exchange, such as additional financial burden, chain of delay or endangered businesses and data. 

The participating companies are among the biggest players in the Ukrainian market:

• Kernel – one of the leading and largest producers of sunflower oil and a major supplier of agricultural products.
• Premier Food – national leader in the provision of integrated catering services and the supply of quality meat and dairy products.

Understanding the potential and significance of the eDelivery pilot, one of the biggest electronic data interchange service (EDI) providers in Ukraine – EDIN – (also EDI provider of Premier Food) decided to get involved and to support with the pilot preparatory activities.

To ensure the smooth exchange of invoice data with Polish counterparties, certified Peppol eDelivery Access Point service provider – Edison S.A. – agreed to be involved in the piloting and support in data exchange from the Polish side. In Ukraine, the very first Peppol eDelivery Access Point was established, maintained and managed by State Enterprise ‘DIIA’ – a subordinate agency of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.

How will the pilot work? The participating cross-border trade partners will exchange invoice data in the Peppol eDelivery Network. The pilot will be considered successful if companies from Ukraine and Poland can exchange standardised invoice data at the moment the invoice is issued using the eDelivery solution. The EU4Digital Facility will then prepare recommendations regarding the required legal, organisational and technical adjustments to be made for full scale solution implementation on a national level.

Find out more: What is eDelivery, why does it matter for the Eastern Partnership, and what is EU4Digital doing to help?