Telema customers save €125 million: highlights of 2023

In 2023, Telema network processed more than 23,7 million electronic documents. On average, companies using Telema EDI services save 20 minutes per single e-document. In 2023, this makes 10,7 million hours in total. Using last year’s statistics of monthly personnel costs in retail, Telema’s customers have saved an astonishing €125 million. 

Last year, Telema provided services to more than 15,000 users in more than 2500 companies. Our document volume reached 23,7 million documents. The majority of our customers are located in the Baltic states, but altogether in 67 countries by the end of the year 2023. The most commonly exchanged document types are invoices, orders, despatch advice, receiving advice, and more and more also accounting documents like general ledger entries.

Large EDI network

In 2023 more than 9 500 new EDI connections were created. Over 200 bigger and smaller new enterprises joined the Telema network, among them

• In Estonia: LIDL, Osama Eesti, FEB, Saudade, Figuraata, Foodie restoran, N58, Premier Hotels,
• In Latvia: Bolt and Wolt Market, Malko, Virši-A,
• In Lithuania: Wolt Market, Aco Nordic, Statyk Pats, Etovis, and many others.

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) services are business-critical services. More than 5500 shops (buyers) and 1500 suppliers in the Baltic States have entrusted their most important business processes to Telema. Every day, they exchange over 70,000 electronic documents (orders and invoices) via Telema EDI network.

Partnerships and collaboration, Peppol

Many businesses engage with partners, including suppliers and customers, beyond their domestic borders. This makes EDI and e-invoicing roaming an important initiative. In 2023, Telema added another three EDI roaming operators to its network. At the end of the year, we have 29 roaming partners in 14 countries all over the world.

Telema Certified Partners‘ program is aimed at better customer experience in joining Telema EDI network. Customers of those companies enjoy activation of standard EDI services for free (from Telema side). In 2023, CompuCash SIA became the new certified partner. At the end of 2023, there are 39 certified partners in the Baltic States supporting 30 different ERP software.

The Peppol (Pan-European Public Procurement Network On-Line) network is expanding, albeit at a slower pace than anticipated. In 2023, Telema, a Peppol Access Point provider in the Baltic region, observed an additional 5 customers begin to exchange documents with their partners over Peppol. Nevertheless, we expect the rate of growth to accelerate, particularly in Latvia, where B2B invoicing will be compulsory from 2025, with Peppol being the designated channel. Telema is prepared to provide Peppol Access Point services to all parties interested.

1.4 million euros into R&D and product development

If a retailer’s order does not reach the supplier by the deadline, the products won’t be on shelves when consumers need them. This is why Telema considers its systems’ reliability of utmost importance and takes great pride in its very high SLA (Service Level Availability) of 99,9%.

Such high SLA wouldn’t be possible without continuous research and development of Telema core systems. Over the last 5 years, Telema has invested more than 5 million euros into developing its EDI service. In 2023, we invested more than 1,4 million euros and plan to invest another million euros in 2024.

Telema MatchFlow: A Revolutionary Step in AP Automation

2023 also marked the launch of Telema MatchFlow, a long-awaited solution that automates the 3-way matching of invoices to purchase orders and goods receipts. MatchFlow particularly benefits manufacturing sectors by automating 80% of their purchase invoice processes. Early adopters such as Leden, Nordic Milk, Tere, and Farmi are already enjoying the transformative benefits of MatchFlow. Telema’s commitment in the coming year is to deepen this impact by building additional integrations with the biggest ERP systems and expanding our user base.

Environment, Society, Governance – Telema cares for the ESG

In November 2023, the Telema ESG team began participating in an ESG masterclass organized by the joint institution of Enterprise Estonia (EAS) and KredEx. The training program is scheduled to conclude in April 2024, during which Telema’s ESG strategy and roadmap will be developed. Telema places significant emphasis on ESG matters and, beyond aligning its own operations with ESG standards, perceives a chance to support client firms in ESG-related areas. This is chiefly achieved by minimizing manual labor and waste related to processing documents in purchase and sales departments.

Customer Satisfaction NPS 68

Year after year, Telema customers are giving useful feedback to Telema during the NPS survey. In 2023, we received over 1400 answers that resulted in an NPS of 68. This far surpasses the industry average. In addition to being glad that our customers are satisfied, we also highly value the improvement suggestions for our products.

Educating the Society

As a leading EDI and e-invoicing operator in the Baltics, Telema strives to foster growth in the electronic data exchange and e-invoicing industry. In collaboration with the public sector and educational institutions, we organized seminars and lecture series, and presented at conferences, such as:

• Delivered lectures on e-invoicing and e-data exchange topics at universities in Estonia (Taltech, Estonian Business School, Tallinn University of Applied Sciences, and Mainor) and in Lithuania (Kaunas University of Technology).
• Participated and presented at conferences (e.g., the Lithuanian Supply Chain Conference and the Estonian Procurement Management Conference).
• Conducted webinars in partnership with our good partners Softera, Excellent, BCS Itera, Ektaco, Oixio, Directo, and COOP Bank.
• Contributed to webinars on real-time economy topics organized by the County Development Centers.
• In November, conducted a webinar on “ESG and e-invoices” in cooperation with the Estonian Ministry of Finance.

In total, Telema participated in or helped organize nearly 30 events, webinars, lectures, or conferences in 2023.

“Reflecting on the past year, 2023 stands out as a particularly successful chapter for Telema. We didn’t just hit important financial milestones, including a turnover of 5 million euros; we also provided our customers with significant savings, amounting to €125 million in total. But what really warms our hearts is more than just the figures. This year, we launched innovative products like Telema MatchFlow and took a significant step forward as a Peppol Access Point provider, showcasing our dedication to innovation and top-notch customer service. It was a year filled with growth, great customer satisfaction, and a deeper dive into our ESG commitments. We are looking forward to building on this success and making the future even brighter for Telema and our community.”

Hele Hammer, Telema CEO
March 27, 2024