"Long before discussing rates and prices, it was the quality of the support provided during the implementation of the project that convinced us." – Yves de Laroche, CEO of ERP iXbat by CGSI.
As a leading player in digital trust and dematerialization in France, Docoon adopts a "partner" approach by entering into numerous agreements with ERP and CRM publishers and integrators.
Yves de Laroche, CEO of CGSI, explains why his company chose to integrate the Docoon Approved Platform (PA, formerly PDP) as a white label solution, with the implementation of the electronic invoicing reform fast approaching.
Hello, Yves de Laroche, can you tell us about CGSI's activities? Yves de Laroche: CGSI is the publisher and integrator of the iXbat solution, the construction ERP dedicated to mid-sized companies. And, between you and me, the company will be celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2028!CGSI's history began in the accounting sector, before rapidly evolving into an ERP-type offering and then specializing in management software solutions dedicated to the functional needs of construction companies. Our aim was to provide a solution that was 100% tailored to the specific needs of this highly demanding field.
By creating the iXbat ERP, we have provided a structuring tool for business management that perfectly addresses all the issues faced by mid-sized companies in the construction industry (with turnover of €15 to €20 million and more than 200 employees). The major advantage of our solution is that it is modular: our customers use the components they need, and we are based in France, so we are close by and responsive!
Today, we are proud to count among our clients major companies such as Léon Grosse and Razel-Bec, a subsidiary of the Fayat Group—France's leading independent construction group—as well as many others! Our growth is in line with our ambitions, as we are set to exceed €2.8 million in revenue this year and are aiming for €3 million by 2026.
What was the context that led you to enter into a partnership with Docoon? Y.D.L.: Before the electronic invoicing reform came into effectlast fall¹, we had positioned ourselves as a dematerialization operator (OD, now known as SC for Compatible Solutions). At the end of last year and the beginning of this year, we realized through discussions with our customers that they were far from imagining the impact the reform would have on their day-to-day business.
At the same time, with the government's decision to place APs at the heart of the reform, we did not want to end up in a situation where we would have to interface our solution with different Approved Platforms chosen by our customers. This would have been a time-consuming and complex process, requiring additional technical developments to connect different APIs. Above all, we would not have provided any added value to our customers, who would inevitably have needed support from several different players.
Let's be clear, this decision by the government is first and foremost a threat rather than an opportunity. In the construction industry, information systems are not yet a priority, even though things are changing with the gradual digitization of site management and the arrival of a new generation. Our fear was that our clients, who are not yet sufficiently mature in terms of digitalization, would commit to PA platforms that are still in their infancy or insufficiently equipped to technically manage the reform and its consequences. We would then run the risk of finding ourselves on the front line with, for example, blocked flows. A risk multiplied by the number of different Approved Platforms selected by our customers! It therefore seemed obvious to us to turn the threat into an opportunity by choosing to rely on a reliable service provider, capable of mastering the ins and outs of the reform, and thus meeting the needs of our customers with a sustainable offer.
What was your approach to finding the right partner? Y.D.L.: We conducted market research and screened the 85 companies that were already PA-certified at the time of our search. We grouped them into three categories: players from a related, competing, or identical field to ours, with solutions equivalent to ours; those with a core business focused on EDM (Electronic Document Management), archiving, and electronic signatures; and finally, players clearly offering PA as a gray/white label solution. We selected 10 companies, excluding the first category. This type of partnership involves a commitment of at least 10 years, and we needed a partner capable of handling critical billing flows for our customers.
What were your main criteria for making your choice? Y.D.L.: The technical expertise of our future contacts, the reliability of the solution provided by the publisher, and the scalability of its technology.Why did you choose Docoon PA? Y.D.L.: Of the three companies shortlisted, we chose Docoon because, beyond the reliability and robustness of the solution, we understood that Docoon's gray/white label offering is designed for publishers like us. We wanted to be sure that we would receive comprehensive support for our project, which is what Docoon does on a daily basis with other software publishers. Long before discussing rates and prices, it was the quality of the support provided during the implementation of the project that convinced us.
We are confident that we are working with people who know and understand the issues faced by publishers, such as the fact that workflows are not standardized in the construction industry. This provides security for us and our customers.
I suppose that being able to improve the management of incoming invoice flows for your customers is an opportunity? Y.D.L.: Of course! We know that the automatic document reading (ADR) and automatic document recognition (ADR) technology we offer our customers will disappear in favor of Docoon PA, which we will offer as a white label product.
We will offer our customers a much higher quality solution for processing incoming invoices, with advanced features that we do not have with OCR technology.Once again, it is crucial for us to bring addedvalue to our customers as part of a major reform.
Why did you choose to operate as a gray brand? Y.D.L.: Offering a white label PA requires expertise and investment to obtain certifications. The Docoon solution is the right one for our size of company and our customers, who will be reassured to see that we are working with a reliable and recognized player in the market.
We signed this partnership with Docoon very recently, but I can tell you that the market is already responding very positively to our decision to offer an approved and integrated platform. In fact, I probably shouldn't say this, but we are seeing serious players making offers to our customers at astronomical prices for services. This proves that some players want to take a position, but on unreasonable terms. Our role, and our responsibility, is to have made the right choice so that we can listen to, advise, and support our customers as best we can at the dawn of the electronic invoicing reform.
Were there any other factors that influenced your decision? Y.D.L.: Yes, additional factors. In particular, the fact that Docoon PA includes 10 years of electronic archiving and a qualified eiDAS ² electronic signature.
For our customers, for example, integrating the Docoon Approved Platform will enable them to completely digitize incoming supplier invoices, saving them considerable time. It is important to understand that our customers manage a wide variety of documents, which complicates the management of supplier invoicing: purchase orders, contracts, work reports, industrial supply purchases, equipment rentals, invoicing for temporary workers and subcontractors working on a construction site, etc. It is often a headache to reconcile these invoices with the company's own data and actual expenses.
On average, among our customers equipped with the LAD RAD device, 80% of invoices are reconciled. With the integrated PA iXbat/Docoon, our goal is to reach 100%. The normalization and standardization of flows managed by Approved Platforms is much more efficient than current digitization and automatic reconciliation tools. We plan to enhance this offering with artificial intelligence in order to move towards 100% automatic reconciliation.
What are the next steps? Y.D.L.: A major step, as we are launching this offer this September. And to top it all off, the launch will feature the new iXbat 3 version, including a new generation of ERP in terms of HMI (Human Machine Interface).
Thank you, Yves de Laroche, for answering our questions.
(1) On October 15, 2024, in a press release, the government announced that it would no longer offer a free service for sending and receiving documents via the Public Invoicing Portal (PPF). SCs will see their role reduced, as they will no longer be able to play an active role in transmitting tax data to the administration, an area now reserved for PAs.
(2) eiDAS: electronic IDentification Authentication and trust Services. European reference standard governing electronic transactions within the 28 member states of the European Community.
