RS Components join OB10 electronic invoicing network.

Network subscription is final initiative to deliver paperless purchase-to-pay process for corporate customers

London, April 09, 2003 - Open Business Exchange, (OBE) the worlds leading electronic invoice delivery provider announced today that RS Components, the leading high service industrial components distributor has joined the OB10 electronic invoice delivery network.

RS Components membership of OB10 to provides them with an electronic invoicing capability and as a result the company can now offer its corporate customers a complete paperless, purchase-to-pay process. OB10 allows RS Components to send invoices electronically, delivering those invoices in the format required by customers individual accounting systems - safe in the knowledge that the OB10 service takes care of compliance with VAT and Sales Tax legislation across Europe and the US.

Often cited as one of the leading businesses in the eCommerce environment RS Components describe their membership of the OB10 network as "the final piece of the e-procurement jigsaw".

Weve always sought to use new technology to make it more cost effective for our customers to trade with us," says Paul Parker, General Manager e-commerce at RS. In our line of business streamlining the end to end order process is particularly relevant. Our average order value is 80. For many of our customers the cost of administering that purchase can be more than the value of the items ordered. We therefore make every effort to bring that cost down as part of our service offer". The company has embraced all the major e-procurement technologies and also created their own free e-procurement tool 'PurchasingManagerTM for RS customers. "Our ordering and procurement control software has removed the hassle from this part of the process, and our goal is to address the whole acquisition process," says Parker.

The one problem that RS couldnt solve was how to invoice electronically. RS's customers' accounting systems vary in the software they use and the way that software has been configured. Delivering invoices in formats specific to individual customers accounting systems was clearly impractical given the size and diversity of RS's customer base. Furthermore RS were concerned with legal issues surrounding VAT, mindful that sending invoices electronically could have involved complex discussions with HM Customs and Excise as they sought approval for each and every electronic invoicing link to their customers.

We were introduced to OB10 via one of our own customers [Computacenter] who asked us to send them electronic invoices over the network," recalls Parker. What was interesting about the request was that we werent being asked to send the invoices in a particular format - but could send our invoices as they came out or our accounting systems. Clearly, given our own ambitions in this area we were interested in what OB10 could do for us and the rest of our customer base."

What RS found was a solution that addressed their two main concerns - those relating to multiple invoice formats and VAT issues. The fact that joining the OB10 network is non-intrusive, without the need for either RS or its customers to install any hardware or software was also a major attraction.

"Trying to create an electronic invoicing solution for all our customers would have been prohibitively expensive and complex for us," says Parker. "With OB10 however it just happens. There are no integration issues, all the mapping between our systems and our customers' is done for us, and not just in the UK. In summary, OB10 takes all the headaches of electronic invoicing away."

Membership of the OB10 network fits into a bigger picture of e-commerce for RS and has enabled the company to deliver on its vision of a complete electronic process. For us and our customers, being on OB10 reduces the cost of trading and, refreshingly, involves neither party in technical integration projects - a marked contrast to our experiences with earlier e-procurement initiatives," says Parker. Electronic invoicing seemed like it was going to be the most difficult problem to solve. With OB10 its actually surprisingly simple for all concerned. In fact we have now commenced discussions with our suppliers to look at receiving invoices from them via the OB10 network".

Alain Falys, CEO Open Business Exchange says, We're pleased to welcome RS Components to the OB10 network. RS have long been regarded as one of the companies that set the standard in e-commerce and we're glad that OB10 membership will help them maintain that position. RS join an ever-growing number of companies on the network, including organisations such as Pearson, Fisher Scientific, Computacenter and Cargill who are all using the network to improve their trading relationships. The network is growing at 25% month on month as companies across Europe and the USA switch to electronic invoice delivery."

About RS Components
RS Components UK is part of the Electrocomponents Group which is listed on the London Stock Exchange in the Support Services sector. Electrocomponents has 27 operating companies - 2 in the UK, 11 in the rest of Europe and 14 in the rest of the world, including Japan and the USA.

Through the RS Components and Allied (USA) subsidiaries they distribute over 300,000 products to over 1,500,000 technical and industrial professionals throughout the world.

The companies provide the best service levels in each of the marketplaces: unrivalled choice, availability, support and reliability. The commitment to service is reflected in their continued success.

www.electrocomponents.com
www.rswww.com
About Open Business Exchange

Open Business Exchange (OBE) runs the global OB10 network, which enables organisations to electronically deliver and receive invoices to and from their accounting systems in the format of their choice without the need to install any proprietary hardware or software. The network is the first to seamlessly connect multiple billing and accounting platforms to enable the automation of key back office invoice processing functions for both buyers and suppliers with a non-intrusive service offering.

For buyers, the elimination of paper handling, manual error prone data entry, filing, storage and scanning delivers significant cost savings of up to 80%. For suppliers, cost savings accrued from the reduced paper mailings, guaranteed and confirmed invoice delivery and reduced 'debtor days are the most common reasons for subscribing to the network.

www.obexchange.com
www.ob10.com

For more information contact:

Dan Chappell or Bryan Taylor @ Brands2Life
dan.chappell@brands2life.com, bryan.taylor@brands2life.com
+44 (0) 20 7386 6200