E-commerce in Greece is on a path of strong growth, as evidenced by the data from the annual survey of the Electronic Commerce and Business Laboratory (ELTRUN) of the Athens University of Economics and Business.

Now, 12,000 Greek businesses use the Internet in an organized manner for their electronic transactions, while for this year an increase of up to 40% in the value of transactions is predicted.

In Greece, approximately 200 million invoices relating to business-to-business transactions are circulated.

A significant number of businesses utilize e-invoicing (electronic invoices) mainly through e-invoicing (electronic invoicing) service providers.

It is estimated that in 2012, close to 20,000 businesses will process 12 million electronic invoices, with a total value of 5 billion euros.

In addition, there is an increase in the use of electronic invoices in the service sector (where the issuance of a consignment note is not required), while the case of the airport "El. Venizelos" which uses 100% electronic invoices and is a best practice both for Greece and for the European area.

E-procurement systems have been utilized by both private businesses and public organizations.

In Greece, over 1.2 million orders have been executed through recognized electronic procurement systems in the last decade, with a total value of over 3.5 billion euros involving 3,500 companies. It is noted that the number of companies registered as service providers that offer electronic procurement services exceeds 5,000.

B-B Electronic Commerce (Business to Business) in Greece started in the mid-1990s with the "EDI Branch Projects" initiative of the Ministry of Development and the pioneering business initiatives of the early 2000s mainly by retailers and food suppliers.

In the last 3-4 years there has been a leap of the order of 100% in the number of electronic invoices and in the number of companies involved.

The fact that in 2012 over 6%-7% of the total B-B invoices will be traded electronically places Greece above the European average which is mainly due to the existing institutional framework (POL 1049/2006), to the integrated services offered by the service providers for small companies and the recognized business benefits it offers.

Especially in the last year, on the occasion of both the initiatives taken by the state to strengthen e-invoicing in Greece, but also the need to cut operating costs of companies, a continuous increase in the rate of adoption of e-invoicing has been observed, resulting in the data document the estimate that by the end of 2012 there will be an increase in e-invoices traded in Greece by 40%.

The benefits for business

Alongside the standard e-invoice that was recently announced, additional important initiatives related to the strengthening of e-invoicing in Greece are underway, such as the dematerialization of digital markings, the dematerialization of the Shipment Note (the first step is POL 1158/2011 which removes the obligation to keep the printed consignment note), the implementation of e-invoicing in public procurement, the training of the audit mechanism in matters of electronic invoice checks, the support-information of businesses to acquire the necessary infrastructure for the utilization of the - pricing.

The point is to take immediate government initiatives for the universal use of electronic invoicing within a 3-4 year horizon, ELTRUN points out.

The importance of electronic invoicing for improving competitiveness for Greek businesses is very great, since its use can save businesses more than €1 billion annually, while it will contribute significantly to the budgeting process of the Greek State, to the fight against tax evasion, electronic crossings and the reduction of fake and virtual invoices.

More generally, businesses as a whole (both those who use and those who do not) recognize the benefits of e-invoicing as important.

Based on research by the Electronic Commerce Laboratory in Greek businesses, it is demonstrated that the use of e-invoices can help to deal with important problems that plague Greek businesses and are related to a reduction in operating costs (52%) and time (51%) but also an increase in their efficiency in individual processes, such as the process of submitting tax returns (18%), management, storage and processing of invoices (63%) but also in terms of overall efficiency improvement (20%).

It is also important that they consider the use of e-invoicing positive in improving their image (23%) in relation to their business partners.

Electronic Procurement through service providers

In recent years there has been a steady upward trend in the value of e-ordering through e-procurement service providers. This trend is expected to continue in the coming years both due to the economic crisis which creates the urgent need to reduce expenses (operational and procurement costs), but also due to the tendency to utilize electronic systems in public procurement (EPP), as well as the continuous increase the use of e-invoicing, which is a stage of the procurement process.

In particular, with regard to electronic auctions, in the last decade their number exceeds 2,500 with a total value of €1 billion and an average price reduction benefit of the order of 20%, while the average auction value is €400,000. More than 3,500 companies have participated in these online auctions. In recent years there has been a significant increase of 190% in the volume of auctions, which is due both to the need to reduce business costs due to the crisis, but also to the publicity given to the results of public procurement auctions.

Of particular interest are the cases of "small tenders" involving procurements up to €60,000, which in the last decade have exceeded 10,000 in number, with the participation of more than 2,500 companies (suppliers) in them.

The advantages in reducing the cost of procurement through electronic systems in the private sector can be exceeded in the Greek State and reach up to a reduction of 30-35% (translating into a saving of public expenses of hundreds of millions per year). Already, the first public health e-auction procurements in 2011 have resulted in procurement cost savings of over 50%.

For this reason, the study proposes the immediate implementation of the electronic public procurement system (EPPS) and the immediate utilization in public procurement procedures (after relevant certification) of service providers that have already been operating successfully for years in the private sector.