Centrifuge and crossinx move invoice documents on the blockchain
Purchase orders, order confirmations, invoices — businesses need to handle a multitude of documents within the supply chain. To make delivery processes more transparent, Centrifuge and crossinx, the leading German provider for financial business collaboration, jointly launched a pilot project for blockchain-based document exchange. In a decentralized network, all participating companies will be able to access their entire document trail via the blockchain.
More transparency and automation make document exchange future-proof
“Our customers often complain about non-transparent processes within their supply chain,” says Marcus Laube, the CEO of crossinx. “There is often uncertainty about the status of an order or which invoice has already been paid. Unnecessary dunning charges are the result. That’s why we’ve teamed up with the experts from Centrifuge. Making use of blockchain technology in this particular case creates more transparency, as all documents and information on the transfer of goods as well as the current delivery status can be accessed more quickly. All participants with specified access authorization are updated and on par with everyone else.”
The pilot project is part of the “Network of Networks” initiative in which several leading global players aim to improve the interlink between their supply chains. The process is simple: if a customer orders goods, the authorized representative can view the order on-chain. If she accepts the order, she adds her confirmation to the decentralized network. Once the goods have been produced and delivered, crossinx eventually places the order on the blockchain. Initially, the project started with two customers, both large chemical companies. In the future, however, the decentralized network will be available to all participants of the Financial Supply Chain.
Blockchain as means to access new markets
“For crossinx, the project is the first step towards a broader offer of supplier financing. In the long term, the cooperation with Centrifuge should eliminate EDI as the standard process of document exchange and establish the use of blockchain technology instead. After the trial period we plan to process financing via the blockchain so that invoices can be paid automatically and accounting can be linked directly to the tax office,” explains Marcus Laube. “Only by increasing automation will companies be able to meet the growing demands of the tax authorities for invoicing.”
Martin Quensel, Chief Customer Officer of Centrifuge, is looking forward to working with crossinx: “Our goal has always been to offer our services to as many companies as possible, large and small, regardless of location or industry. In this context, we are very proud of our partnership with crossinx. crossinx’s customers come from a wide variety of industries and differ greatly in size. But there is one thing they all have in common: Like us, they all rely on crossinx’ expertise in e-invoicing and B2B collaboration”.
At Centrifuge, we believe that blockchain technology will not only make e-invoicing processes more efficient but more importantly enables businesses to broaden their service portfolio and customer reach. “For us, transparency and traceability are only first steps. In the long term, crossinx can offer its solutions via Centrifuge to anyone — even outside their network — and at the same time easily combine them with the services of others.”, explains Maex Ament, CEO of Centrifuge.
About Centrifuge
Centrifuge is an open, decentralized operating system to connect the global financial supply chain. It allows any business, no matter how big, to transact on a global network while maintaining ownership of their data, including their validated company details, their reputation, business relationships, and subsequent transactions.
Twitter: @centrifuge
Website: http://www.centrifuge.io/
Medium: https://medium.com/centrifuge
About crossinx
crossinx is the leading German provider of financial business collaboration and supports over 150,000 companies in digitizing their financial and business processes. Through its network, crossinx offers flexible, scalable solutions for e-invoicing, EDI and supply chain finance, including the financing of invoices. Companies, their customers and suppliers can use the services worldwide, regardless of existing IT infrastructure and company size.
With a billing volume of more than 25 billion euros and over 100 national and international employees, the Frankfurt-based company is pioneering the B2B Fintech market.
