Writing as we do about the use or otherwise of standards, how they originate and evolve, it is sometimes hard to evaluate deployment and take-up objectively. It is also easy to view standards as ‘competing’, with winners and losers. In the field of oil and gas e-commerce we are fortunate in having received the following short history of e-business within Equinor from Arne Johan Larsen (Lead Analyst, SCM B2B/Supplier Integration) that shows how the real picture can be complex and how standard selection depends on much more than a choice of technology. Operating geographies, acquisitions and mergers play a large part in technology selection and standards use.
“In answer to your query about e-Invoice standards use in Equinor, first I need to explain some of the historical background and our rational for systems integration. During the establishment of Trade Ranger back in year 2000, Equinor (at that time Statoil) decided to use xCBL as the backbone integration standard. As Trade Ranger later became Hubwoo (now Proactis), Equinor continued to send and receive procure-to-pay xCBL messages in the exchange with Hubwoo in a ‘3 corner model’, while our customers where free to use PIDX, Edifact, X12, e2b, xCBL etc. in their interaction with Hubwoo. In parallel our Accounts Payables department started to implement point-to-point e-Invoicing with some of our suppliers using xCBL or e2b message standards.
In 2015 Equinor corporate decided to replace xCBL with UBL as the backbone integration standard and started a pilot in 2016 where UBL over Peppol replaced some of the ‘procure-to-pay’ traffic via Hubwoo and most of the point-to-point e-Invoice set-up.
In 2019 Equinor decided to move all supplier integrations to ‘UBL over a 4-corner model’. In parallel Equinor US acquired Brigham Exploration in 2012 an decided to keep the OpenInvoice solution for procure-to-pay interaction with suppliers. OpenInvoice used the PIDX standard for B2B interaction with the suppliers, while the invoice documents was converted to the ‘canonical e-invoice’ setup before being imported to the SAP ERP backend. When Equinor divested the assets originally acquired from the former Brigham Exploration, it was decided that Equinor left the OpenInvoice solution as well.
So to answer your original question: PIDX has officially not been part of the Equinor corporate standards, but it was indirectly used for a while with our US business. As such I can’t say that UBL/Peppol replaced PIDX as e-Invoice standard. As we see it, UBL over a 4 corner model infrastructure (like Peppol and the upcoming BPC in the US) has replaced xCBL via point-to-point and 3-corner model infrastructures.”
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