F4F has developed a B2B Platform which enables companies to send and receive documents electronically, without the need for re-keying. The B2B Platform acts as the electronic “postal service”, collecting documents from the sender following methods:

• From an IT system directly
• From a file sent using a communications protocol (FTP or HTTP)
• From a website
• From another B2B service provider
• By EDI
• By e-mail
• By fax
• By SMS

… and delivering them to the recipient by whichever means is most appropriate for that company. We can even receive documents on paper, scan them into images and deliver them electronically as both an image and with key data items extracted into a structured file format.

This any-to-any flexibility makes F4F a natural first choice for electronic document exchange, as it removes the constraints and barriers to participation which might be cited by trading partners as reasons for delaying.
Some companies want to limit the scope of the electronic document exchange they do, at least in their initial phase, to just a sub-set of what is possible. This way they focus on a fast return on investment and satisfying the demands of trading partners. To support this approach, F4F has ready-made packages for specific business process groupings:

e-Ordering
F4F’s e-Ordering service enables the delivery of purchase orders to suppliers in seconds, without the need for printing, posting, faxing, or rekeying at the far end. At busy times of the year, when speed and accuracy are critical, the F4F e-Ordering module ensures that Orders are delivered in a way which makes it easy for the recipient to process them and to deliver the goods on time…every time.

e-Billing
F4F is a leading provider e-billing services, enabling businesses across the globe to receive and send invoices, regardless of the format of the source data.  Invoices can be encrypted to the highest level to ensure the safety and security of the information contained therein, and the F4F system has been developed to comply with national and international rules and regulations for e-billing.

Order-to-Cash Cycle
For many pairs of trading partners, the natural scope of the business processes they wish to automate is the cycle from initial Purchase Order (or Contract Call-Off) by the Buyer, through to Confirmation, Delivery Advice and Invoice by the Supplier. Whilst F4F is capable of supporting a far broader range of documents, this is the most common start point and the one which often delivers the fast return on investment for both parties.

Vendor-Managed Inventory
F4F’s B2B Platform also supports the business processes underpinning a VMI business model. From initial Stock Notification by the buyer, Supply Proposal by the supplier, Acceptance or Rejection by the buyer and Self-Bill Notification by the supplier, F4F can support the full document lifecycle.