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04 September 2024 Blog Lasernet Autoform DM Formpipe Cloud Application ERP Solutions Document Management Dynamics 365 SaaS Private Sector Interview

Exploring the Growing French ERP Market with Cédric Caussé

In May 2024, Formpipe acquired Dictymatec, a leading Lasernet sales and implementation specialist. Along with his Dictymatec colleagues, Cédric Caussé has joined the Formpipe team. He brings with him many years of valuable experience and extensive knowledge of the growing French ERP market.

Meet Cédric Caussé, France Partner Manager at Formpipe

To truly understand why Cédric was such a stalwart to Dictymatec and now Formpipe, we need to go back 15 years. Cédric started his career in IT and, before joining Dictymatec, was unaware of the ins and outs of ERPs and output management. “I had no idea about this market or about output management and that a project like Lasernet could exist. I had to learn everything,” he said. And learn everything he did.

After working with his Dictymatec colleagues for over seven years, Cédric’s knowledge of Lasernet is extensive. He worked closely with clients in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and North Africa, and his expertise in the implementation, training and optimal use of Lasernet allowed customers to make the absolute most of the powerful customer communications management software.

Before joining Formpipe, Cédric was one of just four Dictymatec team members distributing and integrating Lasernet into their clients’ ERP systems, including SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Infor, Sage and more. Despite being a small team, it was clear they had a remarkable ability to sell, implement and develop Lasernet-based solutions. With Formpipe hoping to further extend its reach into other ERPs beyond Dynamics 365, Cédric and his colleagues are going to play a vital role in expanding Lasernet’s presence in the ERP market, something Formpipe’s Head of ERP Partner Sales, Daniel Maurer, touched on in a recent edition of Formpipe in Focus.

How has Cédric’s role changed post-acquisition?

Despite the recent acquisition, Cédric’s day-to-day has, for the most part, stayed the same. Asked what a typical day looks like in his new role as Formpipe’s France Partner Manager, he emphasised the importance of maintaining regular contact with partners. “I keep in contact with them to help during pre-sales, demos, quotes and for everything else that helps them sell the products,” he said. While keeping in close contact with current partners is undoubtedly a central aspect of this role, Cédric is also tasked with finding potential new partners to expand Lasernet’s ever-extending footprint.

What’s happening in the French ERP market?

The French ERP market is expected to grow more than 8.5% CAGR from 2024 to 2029 as more organisations seek solutions to overcome challenges related to operational visibility and fragmented data. While Microsoft Dynamics 365 is the ERP of choice for many Formpipe customers, it’s not the only ERP Lasernet supports—far from it!

Cédric explained that Dynamics 365 tends to be more popular in North America and Northern Europe, and it isn’t as widely used in France as other ERPs. “The French market is a little different from what we see in other European countries,” he said. “The number one is SAP, and there are several other main ERPs on the market, including Sage, Infor and Cegid.”

The ERP market in France has undergone a major shift over the last decade. Modern ERPs’ cloud-based architecture, data analytics and automation capabilities make them indispensable tools for business across various sectors. When asked what he thought the most significant change was for ERPs, Cédric said: “The cloud.” 

He explained that cloud adoption was generally quicker in other countries, and France’s relative slowness was something others with knowledge of the market also noticed. “In France, maybe we may have been a little slower than other countries, as people didn’t want to use the cloud as much in the beginning,” he said. 

However, in 2020, necessity forced people who were unsure about the cloud to swiftly take their feet off the digital transformation breaks. “COVID has accelerated digital transformation for all companies,” Cédric said. “Things changed really quickly, and now we only do cloud projects.” However, big changes tend to come with big challenges.

Challenges facing the French ERP market

Asked about the biggest challenges facing the French ERP market, Cédric drew attention to the sheer number of ERPs available to businesses. “There are many, many different ERPs in the French market, and this can be difficult because we don’t work with all of them.” With such a large number of ERPs on the market, Cédric explained that some customers were keen to use ERPs from their country. For example, French customers may turn to French-made ERPs because they offer an intuitive solution developed natively in French, tailored specifically to meet the country’s regulatory requirements and accounting standards.

Cédric also noted that demand for ERP systems and integrations tends to fluctuate, with demand in France dampening slightly over the last six to eight months. “The situation is quite complicated right now, but it’s not the first time something like this has happened. It’ll come back in a matter of time,” he said. Despite these challenges, it’s clear that the future of the ERP market is undoubtedly bright. As organisations continue their digitalisation efforts, ERPs will remain a key efficiency driver.

Broader ERP market trends to watch

Asked about the broader ERP market trends he was seeing, not just in France but across Europe and beyond, Cédric singled out AI as the one to watch. He said, “Everyone’s talking about AI, and it’s going to be the next big thing across different IT sectors, including ERPs.” Many of the main providers have already integrated AI capabilities into ERP platforms. SAP, for example, offers embedded AI capabilities, including its AI copilot and customer demand prediction feature. 

Similarly, Infor’s Augmented Intelligence Service uses AI to identify market trends and process vast datasets quickly. These capabilities are just a snapshot of the AI capabilities many ERPs currently offer, and their offerings are only going to proliferate. Cédric said it best when he said, “We’ll know more about what this will look like in the coming months.”

However, as influential as it will continue to be, AI isn’t the only trend to watch in the ERP space. In recent years, the market has seen a significant increase in the number of small, independent ERP systems emerging. This shows that ERPs are no longer the reserve of large organisations—they’re also being designed to support SMBs. 

While these broader market trends are undoubtedly reshaping ERP offerings, the regulatory landscape is another significant catalyst for change for all technologies. For ERPs, this comes in the form of changing EU e-invoicing standards.

ERPs and changing EU e-invoicing standards

One of the most common document types distributed using Formpipe software is invoices, specifically e-invoices. Many of the most popular ERPs have had e-invoicing capabilities for at least a decade. However, functionality pales in comparison to the features of document management software like Lasernet. Despite the prevalence of e-invoicing in ERPs, upcoming regulatory changes are putting significant pressure on businesses that have yet to embrace this technology fully.

The transition to e-invoicing has been a long time coming. Over the last decade, the European Union has introduced e-invoicing rules as part of its digital agenda. The rules aim to optimise invoicing processes, improve tax compliance, and allow for smoother data sharing. While the e-invoicing rules are being rolled across the EU, implementation timelines vary across member states. In France, the e-invoicing mandate for all businesses was originally due to take effect on the 1st of July, 2024. However, it has been postponed to the 1st of September, 2026. By the deadline, all French companies, regardless of their size, are obligated to receive e-invoices. 

In a Beyond the Document episode released in June 2023, Cédric sat down with Ben Saxton to discuss the e-invoicing regulations and their impact on the French market and the wider globalised world. During their discussion, he outlined the main benefits of e-invoicing and placed special emphasis on automation. “Anything that can be automated is a good thing because users can stay focused on tasks with more value,” he said. This, as it happens, is where Lasernet shines.

Futureproof your technology stack with Lasernet

Lasernet, Formpipe’s flagship solution that Cédric has distributed and implemented for the past seven years, has much to offer businesses using ERPs. Irrespective of the ERP system in use—be it SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Sage, Infor, Infosys, IFS, or Oracle—Lasernet extends ERP system functionality to work the way you want it to. The software has helped our customers reduce their total cost of ownership (TCO) of document processing by up to 50% and increase productivity by more than 35%. But don’t take our word for it. The proof is in the pudding or, in the case of our German food manufacturing customer, the burger.

BÜRGER improves efficiency and reduces operational costs with Lasernet

As Cédric’s experience proves, Dynamics 365 isn’t the only ERP Lasernet is compatible with—it works for any ERP. As part of its SAP rollout, German food manufacturer BÜRGER chose Lasernet to improve efficiency and reduce operational costs. 

Replacing four separate systems, including rival output management software, BÜRGER’s decision to rely on SAP with a Lasernet integration significantly improved efficiency and user-friendliness. Stephan Melz, Head of IT at BÜRGER, said, “Using multiple output management systems for different ERPs was a legacy issue and one we were keen to address. We’ve been using Lasernet for many years and have always been impressed with its user-friendly functionality and reliability.” If you’d like to learn more about how Lasernet transformed BÜRGER’s legacy issues and boosted efficiency, please read the full case study.

Opportunities abound

After talking to Cédric, it’s clear that the next few months are filled with opportunities for the French market. With him and his three Dictymatec colleagues joining the France sales team, Formpipe will continue to extend its reach into other ERPs beyond Dynamics 365 and help more businesses, big and small, realise the power of Lasernet.

Are your ERP systems document and output management capabilities lacking? Book a demo below to see Lasernet in action.

Cédric Caussé
Partner Sales Manager (France)