As the largest buyers of private-sector services, EU governments account for about 16% (i.e. Euro 1,500 billion) of the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP). Still, they lag behind industry in electronic data exchange with suppliers. As a result, European companies miss out on public sector business opportunities because of extensive paperwork required to bid for government contracts - particularly across borders.

Further barriers to interoperability are existing islands of public eProcurement. Many EU countries already use electronic procurement to simplify public tendering and make it more efficient. They have established a number of successful and widely accepted eProcurement platforms. However, most of these solutions are implemented solely on a national or regional level, providing little access to other communities.

PEPPOL therefore opens up a new dimension in public eProcurement with extended market connectivity and EU-wide interoperability, facilitating seamless electronic communication across borders. PEPPOL also efficiently interconnects existing eProcurement communities, thus enabling the private sector to bid for public sector contracts anywhere in the EU.