FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT SIGNED FOR ELECTRONIC BILLING SERVICES, USABLE BY APPROXIMATELY 200 DAFNE CONSORTIUM COMPANIES

• The Dafne Consortium chooses Intesa Sanpaolo as its digital document management partner
• The transfer from printed management to electronic management of invoices will guarantee a considerable reduction in business costs for the companies
• The Intesa Sanpaolo solution is based on a simple, module-based architecture that interfaces with the company IT systems and covers all steps in the billing process
• Intesa Sanpaolo is providing advisory services to help companies in the implementation, testing, customisation and training stages of the new service
• Novartis Farma and Comifar Distribuzione are among the first companies in Italy to have adopted the paperless orders-billing system

Milan, 19 May 2009 – Intesa Sanpaolo and the Dafne Consortium – the B2B community arising from cooperation between the pharmaceutical and interim distribution industries to promote the use of direct electronic links and the adoption of common language standards among all players in the pharmaceutical supply chain – have signed a framework agreement for the provision of electronic billing services, usable by all the 200 or so company members of the consortium.

The Dafne Consortium, during the definition stage of the framework agreement (which established the validity of electronic billing for administrative, accounting and tax purposes, along with the storage rules), launched a new project for the adoption of digital document management, which resulted in choosing Intesa Sanpaolo as its servicing partner.

Intesa Sanpaolo, acknowledging the need expressed by the Consortium for use of Dafne proprietary format software (EASY DAFNE), implemented its own system with integrated electronic management and full interface with documents that cover the entire billing cycle: from issue via the various channels available (printed, e-mail, electronic) to the creation of related collection and payment tools, from automatic invoice reconciliation to final document archiving valid for tax purposes. The service is based on a simple, module-based technology easily integrated with the IT systems of the individual companies.
The transfer from a printed due and paid billing cycle to paperless solutions will allow Consortium members to achieve considerable direct and indirect cost savings in relation to administrative billing management.

Through this agreement, the pharmaceutical industry (whose key customers include local health authorities and hospital authorities) can also count upon a shared solution, already tested and ready-to-use as soon as the enactment decrees are issued calling for the compulsory use of electronic billing in relations with Public Administration, introduced in the 2008 Italian Finance Act as part of its efficiency improvement measures.

To encourage the adoption of electronic billing services, Intesa Sanpaolo is offering advisory support to Consortium members during the implementation stage (integration testing with company ERP systems, customisation and user training, also in e-learning mode). Following the success of testing completed over the last few weeks, the pilot stage for Novartis Farma and Comifar Distribuzione, among the first companies in Italy to adopt paperless document management at business community level, from issue of electronic purchase orders to issue of electronic invoices and related regulatory record storage, has already begun.

The rollout schedule envisages the entry into the business community of another two companies (GlaxoSmithKline and Farcopa) to complete the pilot stage, as a preliminary to extension of the service to all Consortium members.

 
For information

Intesa Sanpaolo
Corporate and Investment Banking Press Office
+39.02.8796.3531 – 3119
stampa@intesasanpaolo.com