The use of e-invoices will simplify and speed up many things, but their introduction initially requires effort. From ANWR’s point of view, it is also essential to comply with legal requirements in order to avoid legal consequences.
“Our self-image as an enabler organization is to support our affiliated dealers in their corporate management. This also includes advising them on non-market topics and giving them recommendations for action,” says Josef Sax, head of the trading division at ANWR Schuh GmbH. “In July and August we made our consulting team fit with the help of internal and external experts. The next step was to prepare the know-how in such a way that we can pass it on to our dealers in an easily understandable and solution-oriented manner.”
For this purpose, ANWR organized five online seminars. In these, Patrick Schütte, trading coordinator at ANWR Schuh, and Johannes Schnütgen, concept manager at ANWR Schuh, explained the invoice workflows with and without central settlement and also delved into the procedural documentation. Based on this, the participants received recommendations for action in practice. Due to the collaboration with the group’s own DZB BANK and the billing portal service provider RAW, the majority of ANWR dealers’ invoices are already automated in accordance with requirements, ANWR reports.
A total of almost 230 participants took part in the webinars. “The feedback was extremely positive,” said Sax. “Above all, the comprehensible preparation and communication by the speakers was highly praised by everyone.”
In addition to the webinars, information was shared via newsletters and the ANWR knowledge world. There was also the offer to take part in a digital consultation hour. The topic is also currently being discussed in the ANWR Erfa rounds. “It is important to us that we look at such topics from a retail perspective and design our advice accordingly,” says Josef Sax, describing the future consulting strategy.
According to its own statements, the ANWR Group is committed to a sustainable reduction in bureaucracy. Frank Schuffelen will be responsible for this task in his role as CEO of ANWR Group eG. As a member of the executive board of the German Trade Association (HDE) and the Mittelstandsverbund (ZGV) as well as the German Economic Council, he is intensively committed to optimizing the framework conditions for the work of retailers, according to Mainhausen.
