The closer we get to the reform's effective date, the more evident it becomes that the assurance our clients have when working with a PA is a guarantee of security and compliance. – Maël Quéré, CEO of Groupe Grenat.
Docoon, a leading publisher of digital trust and dematerialization solutions in France, registered as a PDP, in line with its "partner" strategy, has formed a significant number of partnerships with ERP and CRM publishers and integrators. Here, we hear from Maël Quéré, CEO of Groupe Grenat, an ERP/CRM/BI solutions integrator who was looking for a PDP-approved publisher for his clients with a thorough understanding of the ins and outs of the electronic invoicing reform.
Hello Maël Quéré, could you briefly introduce Grenat and what it does?
Maël Quéré: The Grenat Group is now a company with 30 employees and annual revenue of €3 million, based at two sites in Rennes and Brest.
We are an IT solutions integrator for management software designed for businesses and professionals, particularly ERP and CRM solutions. We also provide IT management services for all aspects of IT hardware and infrastructure (hosting, cloud, security). Grenat is a 40-year-old company with extensive experience in these fields. We have earned the trust of 600 clients across western France, from Brest to Paris. However, we also occasionally work internationally.
In what context did you meet the Docoon Group teams?
M.Q.: Grenat has been an ERP-CRM integrator for Divalto for almost 40 years, since the company's inception in fact. Knowing that Divalto had signed a strategic partnership with PDP Docoon, we wanted to learn more about the solutions offered by Docoon.
Aside from our natural curiosity to meet a service provider who was already working with Divalto, we had to move forward in order to offer our customers a solution for digitizing invoices in preparation for the electronic invoicing reform.
We were looking for a PDP (Partner Dematerialization Platform) solution, so we could rely on a partner that guarantees compliance with the new standards, which is precisely the case with Docoon. It was important for us to anticipate the reform in order to meet our customers' needs with a French player that has a long history in dematerialization, a guarantee of sustainability and technological performance.
What made you take the plunge and integrate Docoon into your solutions?
M.Q.: Several factors led us to choose Docoon PDP as the electronic invoicing reform approached. In addition to the factors already mentioned, the established collaboration between the R&D teams at Docoon and Divalto guaranteed us rapid interfacing between our ERP solution and Docoon's PDP solution. We did not have to plan for any additional technical developments. This point represents a particularly significant time saving.
Then we felt that we shared the same values, which allowed us to "project" ourselves with Docoon. You know, a partnership works when the human relationship is good, and that's the case here. We understand each other well. So, logically, we made the choice to integrate the Docoon Invoice solution, for which we are now ambassadors. .
When did this collaboration begin?
M.Q.: In early 2022, we decided to integrate the Docoon solution for the digitization of sales invoices and also payroll statements. These were the first two areas in which we collaborated with Docoon.
We moved forward in stages. The connectors between Divalto and Docoon gradually evolved. Starting in 2023, we began promoting Docoon solutions to customers for whom we felt it made sense to offer them. Since then, we have successfully installed the Docoon solution for several of them. The process takes time, as the Docoon solution is often the last link in the deployment of an ERP system.
What are the benefits of the solution?
M.Q.: The closer we get to the reform's effective date, the more evident it becomes that the assurance our clients have when working with a PDP is a guarantee of security and compliance.
For customers who have already signed up, the solution for digitizing invoices and pay slips saves them a considerable amount of time. It also saves them money by eliminating postage costs. In short, the ROI is always positive. Docoon provides fairly accurate metrics on this subject, allowing our customers to easily calculate the ROI of the solution. Even with relatively low volumes, the customer comes out ahead.
The digitization of invoices an opportunity for your customers to move forward with the digitization of their services?
M.Q.: Indeed. It all depends on who we're talking to. A decision-maker or buyer for an ERP solution can easily see the benefits of the tool for their entire department. On the other hand, for people who are further removed from sales and distribution departments ,, we feel that this argument is a little more complex to grasp.
ERP remains the backbone of a company's digital transformation. Our partner Divalto's vision is also to partner with the best add-ons on the market, and the Docoon PDP solution adds value to ERP systems in preparation for reform.
Are there any other points you would like to highlight about your collaboration with Docoon?
M.Q.: Yes. We share common values with Docoon, such as a commitment to high-quality work and customer focus. This last point is crucial, because if we don't know our customers and their needs well enough, we risk failing to meet their expectations. We work in IT, which is a technical field, but maintaining good relationships and knowing how to listen to customers is essential. Knowing each user of a solution allows us to develop a tool that is ergonomic, functional, and fun to use.
And then there is the necessary support for change on the client's side. We are also there to facilitate the implementation of a solution. The goal: to enable our clients to focus on tasks with higher added value. In general, this concept appeals to business leaders because it is concrete.
So, how does getting started with a tool work with Docoon?
M.Q. : This is one of Docoon's strengths. Once Docoon has transferred skills to our teams, we take care of integrating the tools for our customers. Once again, learning how to use the tool for invoice digitization is fairly simple for our clients. Today, Docoon only intervenes to open up access for us and give the green light to start using the solution. Our customers report a very positive user experience.
Are there any other projects in the pipeline with Docoon?
M.Q.: We want to integrate more of the other features of the PDP tool, since we can process other types of flows. For us, this will be purchase flow management. We will therefore develop our skills in these additional functions to bring even more added value to our customers. We will have everything we need to comply with the standards required by the legislator. In fact, we are currently preparing a webinar with Docoon on the requirements for electronic invoicing and how Grenat helps companies integrate Docoon tools to comply with the standard and the deadline coming up in 2026.
In addition, we will also examine aspects relating to the use of Docoon electronic signatures.
Thank you for this interview, Maël Quéré.
(1) Sales Administration. Administrative services in general.
