'Technology is evolving faster than we could have ever imagined,' said Inge Keymolen, Logistic Transformation Lead at AB Inbev, who delivered the opening presentation of Basware Connect Belgium on Oct. 17, 2019.
Traditionally, the venue for Basware Connect Belgium was a brewery. The Stella Artois brewery in Leuven is AB Inbev's second largest brewery in the world. The first traces of the beer brand, which began as a Christmas brew, can be traced back to 1366. Since then, much has changed, and not only in the brewery itself.
"Imagine not having to go to Munich for beerfest anymore, but being able to have that same experience in your own home with VR glasses," illustrated Inge Keymolen. In her presentation, she explained how AB Inbev is trying to make a digitalization shift in different areas and improve the customer experience. 'Sometimes a small change can already improve the customer experience with your company.'
How the procure-to-pay landscape is rapidly changing was a central theme at the annual event for Belgian Basware customers and associates. The way companies and institutions interact with their customers and suppliers and the way they handle their spend data has changed significantly in recent years.
Perttu Nihti, SVP Head of Products at Basware, noted that today a lot of commerce takes place online. 'We live in a world where you can buy almost anything at the touch of a button. But that also has a price," he said, referring to the risks involved in doing business online.
Earlier this year, for example, a man from Lithuania confessed that he had become $100 million richer by sending fake invoices to Google and Facebook. 'To prevent this kind of thing, you need visibility in the chain. Connecting your suppliers is the first step. Then you need to gather data and increase its visibility.'
For Bechtle, a fast-growing IT company headquartered in Germany, automation and digitalization are a key driver of growth in the coming years. Edo Hemmes, integration manager at Bechtle, told Connect Belgium about the integration between the ERP package and SimplerInvoicing, a network of ERP and accounting software providers that enables electronic invoicing for everyone.
Finally, Maarten Laukens, Global Business Advisor at Basware, took the participants through the trends in Visible Commerce. By Visible Commerce, Basware means full transparency: it's not just about understanding the transactions of money, goods and services, but also transparency about who is behind the transactions. Laukens elaborated on the tax gap (when the amount of taxes actually collected is less than the amount that could have been collected), which arises as a result of non-compliant behavior.
Looking ahead to 2020, Basware announced that Basware Connect will take place next year in Berlin from April 21-23.