Through the partnership, GXS and OB10 will collaborate to build an integrated electronic invoicing solution that will leverage the OB10 e-Invoicing network and GXS Trading Grid, the industry's leading global B2B integration services platform.

Both companies share a common vision to deliver on-demand solutions that automate supply chain processes and complement companies' investments in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, while ensuring high-quality information flows throughout the extended supply chain. Targeted for availability in early 2008, the new integrated solution will improve automation throughout the order-to-cash process, ensuring that customers can depend on a fully automated, streamlined and regulatory-compliant solution that minimises manual intervention, errors and delays.

"From OB10's perspective, this partnership represents the coming together of two leading technology companies that advance the automation of the global supply chain, helping it move faster and eliminating costly errors," said Jamie Gunn, CEO of OB10. "It also satisfies a need for customers making investments in supply chain outsourcing where the invoice process is just one component of the full order-to-cash process. Customers will benefit from a high percentage of first time, straight-through, regulatory-compliant order-to-pay processing."

The OB10 solution enables businesses to comply with global VAT and tax regulations. The EU DIRECTIVE 2001/115/EC, which governs the electronic invoicing process in Europe, requires any company invoicing other organisations in the EU to comply with certain e-Invoicing standards, which include definitions of the types of data that invoices must include and storage requirements for auditing purposes. By utilising the OB10 e-Invoicing solution, companies can become compliant with EU regulations quickly and easily without having to undertake a costly and time-consuming compliance process on their own.

"By partnering together, GXS aand OB10 will offer customers a global e-Invoicing solution that utilises the scale and functionality of GXS Trading Grid and the unique nature of OB10's EU-compliant e-Invoicing service," said Bobby Patrick, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of GXS. "We look forward to working closely with OB10 to explore the ways in which this service can benefit our customers in Europe and abroad."