The Peppol network has a range of alternatives for exchanging procurement messages between organisations. These alternatives are called business interoperability specifications (Peppol BIS).
As the business interoperability specifications have been specified in advance in the Peppol network, organisations do not need to agree in detail with each trading partner how to deal with the Peppol procurement messages. As the specifications have already been made, exchange of information is easy, cost-effective and on a uniform basis.
Not all operators need the whole range of business interoperability specifications and the corresponding procurement messages as organisations operate in different environments and at different stages of the production chain. For this reason, we recommend that you familiarise yourself with the business interoperability specifications so that you can determine the specifications and the corresponding procurement messages that you need. When making the decision, you should also take into account the requirements and capabilities of your key trading partners: ‘Which business interoperability specifications are supported by my trading partners?’
The organisation’s service provider publishes the business interoperability specifications supported by the organisation in the Peppol address and capacity register (ACL). Using the ACL, organisations can communicate to each other the information necessary for forwarding procurement messages. You should also publish the details of your own organisation, such as the supported business interoperability specifications and the Peppol address, on the website of your organisation.
Did you know? Public procurement in Finland is governed by the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts (1397/2016) and (for central government) the State Budget Decree (1243/1992). This means that when concluding procurement contracts, public sector organisations must comply with special requirements that are not applicable to other organisations. Public sector organisations and the suppliers delivering products and services to them must take these requirements into account when preparing their specifications.
Business interoperability specifications
A range of different business interoperability specifications have been drawn up for the process ‘from order to invoicing’.
| Business interoperability specification | Messages used in the process | ||
| Order Only (Order only 3.3) | Order (Order) | ||
| Ordering (Ordering 3.3) | Order, Order Response (Order Response) | ||
| Catalogue with Response (Catalogue with Response 3.1) | Catalogue, (Catalogue), Catalogue Response (Catalogue response) | ||
| Catalogue (Catalogue without Response 3.1) | Catalogue (Catalogue) | ||
| Despatch Advice (Despatch Advice 3.1) | Despatch Advice (Despatch advice) | ||
| Punch Out 3.1 | Punch Out | ||
| Order Agreement 3.0 | Order Agreement | ||
| Message Level Response 3.0 | Message level response | ||
| Invoice Response 3.2 | Invoice Response | ||
| Billing (Billing 3.0 (Europe)) | Invoice, (Invoice), Credit Note (Credit Note) | ||
| Advanced Ordering (Advanced Ordering 3.0) | Order, (Order), Order Response Advanced, (Order Response Advanced), Order Change, (Order Change), Order Cancellation (Order Cancellation) | ||
Table: Different organisations have different information exchange needs. Organisations can choose which business interoperability specifications and procurement messages are supported in their own information systems.
In this text, three of these business interoperability specifications are described in more detail:
Order Only, Ordering and Advanced Ordering.
1. Peppol BIS Order Only
- In this BIS, the buyer only sends an order and does not expect a response from the seller. The seller does not respond to the order.
- Typically, Order Only is used in the groceries sector or in situations where items always in stock are ordered from the supplier. ‘The buyer orders and the seller delivers, there is no need to check whether the order is OK.’
- The following procurement messages are used in the process: Order
- Read more about Order Only.
Example 1. A grocery store orders toilet paper from a wholesaler.
The store orders 30 packages of toilet paper from a wholesaler. The seller receives the order and delivers the packages as agreed.
2. Peppol BIS Ordering
- In this process, the buyer places an order and the seller responds by sending an Order Response. The seller can
- accept the order or
- reject the order. If the seller rejects the order, the seller can give the reasons for the rejection so that the buyer can place a new order on the basis of this information.
- The seller can also accept changes to the order if this has been specified in the agreement between the seller and the buyer. In that case, the seller should make the changes agreed in advance. These changes may include changes in the number of products ordered, changes in delivery times, replacement products or changes in prices.
- Ordering can be used in the ordering of a wide range of different products and services in different sectors. It is important to note that in this process, the buyer and the seller have fewer tools available than in Advanced Ordering (Section 3). For example, in Ordering, the buyer cannot cancel the order even if the seller accepted changes to the order. In Advanced Ordering, the buyer can also cancel the order.
- The following procurement messages are used in the process: Order & Order Response
- Read more about Ordering.
Example 2. A company orders cakes from a bakery
A company orders cakes from a bakery for a stakeholder event. The bakery accepts the order and delivers the cakes as agreed.
3. Peppol BIS Advanced Ordering
- In this process, the buyer places an order and the seller responds to the order. The seller can respond to the order by
- accepting the order
- by rejecting the order or
- by accepting the order with changes. If the seller accepts the order with changes the buyer can
- accept the changes proposed by the seller and confirm them by sending changes to the order
- reject the changes proposed by the seller and cancel the order
- In Advanced Ordering, the buyer and the seller can also discuss changes to an already accepted order or cancellation of the order. However, neither of the parties needs to accept the proposal for changing or cancelling the existing order made by the other party.
- Advanced Ordering can be used in the ordering of a wide range of different products and services in different sectors. In this process, the buyer and the seller can use more tools than in Ordering (Section 2). Central government will support Advanced Ordering as of 1 April 2024.
- The following procurement messages are used in the process: Order, Order Response Advanced, Order Cancellation & Order Change
- Read more about Advanced Ordering.
Example 3. A municipality orders a first aid course
A municipality sends an order to an organisation arranging first aid courses in which it orders a first aid course that should be held at a school in the municipality on a specific date.
The organisation arranging first aid courses checks its calendar and realises that no instructors are available on that day. The organisation responds to the order and proposes a new date for the course.
The municipality cancels the order by sending an Order Cancellation message because it was essential for the municipality that the course should be held on the day given in the order.
Further information:
Detailed specification documents of the BIS processes, Peppol procurement messages and available code lists can be found on the Peppol website. On the website, you can also find XML examples of the procurement messages. Some of the website content is specifically intended for IT experts.
If you are interested in using Peppol procurement messages in your organisation, get in touch with your system supplier or service provider.
Read more:
Getting to know Peppol, part 1 – Digitalising the exchange of information in procurements