Electronic orders in Germany and France

The “Forum für elektronische Rechnungstellung in Deutschland” (FeRD) and the “Forum National de la Facture Électronique et des Marchés Publics Électroniques” (FNFE-MPE) are currently working on a common standard for electronic orders, called Order-X. The so-called “e-Ordering” is intended to simplify ordering procedures and speed up transactions.

As an important part of the supply chain, a digitalized ordering process can significantly simplify the work for the purchasing department and the supplier. More and more companies are digitizing their business processes in order to take advantage of the numerous benefits, such as saving resources and increasing efficiency. As part of the electronic ordering process, the customer sends a purchase order to the supplier. This purchase order is then processed by the Sales department as a sales order. E-ordering can save more time within these strategic processes and reduce cost pressure.

A standard electronic data format for e-orders is needed for comprehensive digitization on both the customer and supplier side, which needs to be widely accepted and useable. The Order-X Standard, which complements the electronic invoice formats ZUGFeRD and Factur-X, serves this purpose. The structure of Order-X is similar to a hybrid format in combining a PDF file with an XML file. The PDF file represents the order visually in readable format, while the XML file contains the data in structured form so that it can be processed automatically by the system. This ensures that hybrid formats are particularly suitable for small and medium-sized companies.

Order-X should thus become a lean standard for business data exchange that also works across industries and is internationally recognized. So far, FeRD and FNFE-MPE are still coordinating with other national and international organizations to ensure maximum acceptance and to consider synergies with other projects.

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