E-invoicing for FEVITA HUNGARY

E-invoicing for FEVITA in the food industry

FEVITA HUNGARY Zrt. is one of Hungary’s largest companies in the quick-freezing industry. Based in Székesfehérvár with approximately 200 employees, the company keeps its competitive edge by evolving on a continuous basis and by implementing marketing activities. The company decided to switch to fully electronic invoicing processes as part of this strategy. On average, FEVITA issues between 19,000 and 20,000 invoices per year to more than 500 clients. Prior to the implementation of the project, the food company used to issue those invoices the traditional way, i.e. in hard copies, which is an expensive and labor-intensive process. Also, it was not in line with the ideal of a paperless office that helps protect the environment.

The company’s joint project with EDITEL Hungary started in the fall of 2019 and was concluded in January 2020. During the process, two types of invoicing options for clients were developed. One option is the connection to the EDI system, in which case the data exchange takes place directly within the system. The second option – for all the smaller customers who do not use EDI – involves downloading the invoice by clicking on a link provided in an e-mail (PKI – electronically signed).

Judit Szemerei, CFO at FEVITA, recalls the early difficulties: “One of the biggest challenges was invoicing in multiple modules. This is why we changed the methodology later on in the process (close to the deadline) because we found it easier to provide the invoice image from the ERP system with all its data than to let the business partner´s system be prepared for creating several types of invoice images,” she said.

While some clients initially struggled to embrace the new system, in just a few weeks it allowed for much swifter and more transparent business transactions, saving the company both time and money and significantly lowering employees’ workload. Thanks to e-invoicing, the sales-related document is sent to business partners sooner, which in turn means that the data is processed faster and more efficiently. It also speeds up invoice authorization processes. Since significantly less paper is used and printers are used much less frequently, the office overhead is considerably lower. Ultimately, sending e-invoices is a much more cost-efficient solution than sending invoices in the mail.

“With the use of e-invoicing, a company that issues documents with many positions can save hundreds of thousands of HUF or even millions per year,” Judit Szemerei added. “EDITEL Hungary was our partner of choice even before the introduction, and everything worked out beautifully. We knew what we wanted and we got it, the system is up and running and we are very pleased about it,” she said.

Looking forward, the company plans to digitize all invoice-related documents (delivery notes, certificates of receipt, etc.) and encourages more people to switch to EDI. “It is yet another step towards more efficient and swifter communication,” Judit Szemerei concluded

Benefits of EDI for FEVITA Hungary Zrt.

• EDI communication
• PKI billing
• Archiving solution in line with legal requirements
• Significant savings in costs, time, and resources