RATP Housing

Founded in 1959, RATP Habitat is the social housing subsidiary of the RATP Group. Its 149 employees build, renovate, and manage a portfolio of 9,334 housing units, nearly 40% of which are intended for RATP employees and their families.

Currently, RATP Habitat aims to increase its real estate portfolio by nearly 20% by 2035.

The company has a turnover of €80 million and manages 460 suppliers, processing 16,000 invoices per year.

RATP Habitat wanted to digitize the processing of supplier invoices in order to eliminate paper and, above all, to have a single point of entry for incoming invoices.

Interview with Boris BUDON, Finance Project Manager at RATP Habitat.

What was your initial problem?

Sopra Steria, the publisher of our Ikos ERP, launched a new version of the tool. Unfortunately, we ended up with a solution that no longer allowed us to scan and index paper invoices as they were recorded. In concrete terms, Sopra Steria removed EDM (electronic document management) from its tool. With no alternative solution, we were stuck when it came to scanning our suppliers' invoices...

Faced with our problem, Sopra Steria advised us to contact Docoon.immo (1), as they were already working with them on other projects. As a result, we had to upgrade what was then known as "invoice picking" to a solution for collecting supplier invoices in electronic format via the Freedz incoming invoice digitization platform. In addition, as a private lessor, we are directly affected by the electronic invoicing reform. Our suppliers will therefore have to send their invoices via a Partner Dematerialization Platform (PDP) approved by the DGFiP (Directorate General of Public Finances), which is precisely the case with Freedz (2).

How was the project set up? 

First, we updated our entire supplier database, which was the bulk of the work to be done. We contacted each service provider to request a Kbis extract dated within the last three months, up-to-date bank details, and insurance certificates, which we require in order to carry out projects.

This update took us about six months before we could start the actual digitization process. The Docoon.immo teams supported us throughout the project, particularly Ondine SANCHEZ, Customer Success Manager, who answered our questions and addressed our needs at every stage. She helped us draft letters to send to suppliers before helping them get to grips with the tool.

Can you tell us more about the support you received?

Ondine SANCHEZ organized webinars for our suppliers, in addition to being available by phone or email. As soon as we sent out a communication informing our suppliers that they would now have to submit their invoices on Freedz, she was on hand to answer all their questions and queries. We therefore benefited from responsive support, and within a year, 50% of our suppliers were already submitting their invoices on the Freedz platform.

What benefits do you see from using Freedz for the entire processing of

incoming invoices ?

Obviously, the elimination of paper, time savings in processing incoming invoices, and shorter payment times, which our suppliers greatly appreciate. Last but not least, a single entry point for processing and tracking invoices. Suppliers are also more attentive, and invoices are clearer and more legible.

We also had a real problem with archiving paper invoices—16,000 invoices per year—because they had to be stored and archived. Today, apart from digital archiving (3), we no longer have any paper archiving.

What would you say to a company that is still hesitant to adopt a paperless solution?

incoming invoices?

Don't hesitate to take the plunge! Docoon.immo has a dynamic and responsive support service that listens to customers' needs in order to implement their projects. What's more, with Ondine, we have a dedicated contact person. This personalized support is a big advantage compared to, for example, the Chorus platform, which is often limited to email exchanges, with no dedicated contact person.

What are your short- and medium-term goals in terms of digitization?

We would like to be able to digitize 100% of our accounting documents; we are currently at 80%. Next, we plan to develop an API to enhance the security of data from what I call "the generic invoice sandbox," i.e., all the elements from Docoon.immo that "flow down" into our Ikos ERP.

In addition, we are working with Freedz to develop the digitization of energy bills, which is a major challenge. 80% of our supplier invoices relate to operations, i.e., purchase order-type invoices. We are looking into this issue, particularly for our 9,300 housing units, with delivery points linked to water, electricity, and gas. The goal is for our energy providers to submit their invoices on the Freedz platform. We have one supplier, a competitor of Docoon.immo, which still processes a small volume of our energy bills. We would like to have only one provider with Freedz.

(1) At the time, Neovacom, which powers the Freedz digitization platform. Neovacom is now called Docoon.immo. Read: From Neovacom to Docoon.immo: A new identity, the same expertise

(2) Partner Dematerialization Platform registered subject to approval by the DGFiP (French Public Finance Directorate)

(3) Freedz PDP includes legally valid electronic archiving (10 years)