The SMP (Service Metadata Publisher) is Peppol's address book. When an invoice is sent, the SMP is queried to find out how the receiver is reachable. If the SMP is unavailable, invoices cannot be delivered. Many Peppol providers use third-party SMP technology. That creates a dependency: if that third party has technical problems, your invoice traffic is affected.

eConnect has deliberately chosen a proprietary SMP implementation, fully OASIS SMP-compliant. The European Commission lists eConnect on the official list of eDelivery SMP conformant solutions, which has only ten solutions worldwide. Thanks to a built-in caching layer, the eConnect SMP is always available, independent of the uptime of other providers. a strong position in the Dutch Peppol network are in the eConnect SMP. That combination of proprietary technology, proven compliance and scale gives you the assurance that your invoice traffic is not hindered by third-party dependencies.

This provides extra confidence for critical processes with tight payment deadlines.

When you connect to eConnect, your organisation is automatically registered in the SMP. This means that suppliers can immediately find you on the Peppol network and send you e-invoices. You do not need to configure anything yourself. The registration covers not only invoices, but also other document types such as orders, despatch advices and status messages, depending on what you want to receive.

The caching layer of the eConnect SMP ensures that lookups are always available. If the SMP of another provider is temporarily unreachable, eConnect uses the cached information to still deliver the invoice correctly. This increases the reliability of the entire delivery process. For software vendors operating as white-label partners, the SMP offers an additional benefit: their customers are registered under eConnect's Peppol certificate, without the partner having to manage their own SMP or undergo their own certification. This saves significant costs and technical complexity.

Yes, you can transfer your SMP registration to eConnect in a controlled manner without having to change your Peppol address. The migration is handled via a migration key within Peppol's existing processes. This means trading partners continue sending to the same address and mainly the technical handling changes in the background. For your operational teams, the process remains recognisable.

During the transition, the migration is guided so the chance of missed messages is minimised. In practice, this means routing and registration are transferred step by step rather than with a hard cut. This lets you maintain continuity and plan the switch without unnecessary disruption to your invoice flow. After completion, you use eConnect's SMP features, such as caching and centralised management.

Especially with larger supplier networks, this controlled approach is important to keep operational risks low during the transition.

Want to map out the migration process and technical dependencies in advance? Check the documentation: Read more about Peppol and SMP.

That depends on what you want to achieve. If you exclusively want to send invoices via Peppol, an Access Point is sufficient. You do not need your own SMP registration, because it is your trading partner who must be registered as a receiver.

If you also want to receive invoices via Peppol, an SMP registration is necessary. By registering your organisation in the SMP, other parties on the Peppol network know that you are reachable, via which Access Point they can reach you and which document types you can receive. Without that registration, suppliers cannot find you on the network.

There is one more scenario where an SMP registration is relevant, even if you primarily send: if you want to receive status messages (Invoice Response) about your sent invoices. The receiver then sends a status update back (received, approved, rejected, paid) and for this you must be registered as a receiver of that document type.

With eConnect, SMP registration is handled automatically when connecting. You do not need to configure anything yourself.

The SMP and SML work together as Peppol's address and routing system. The SML (Service Metadata Locator) is the central register that tracks which SMP an organisation is registered with. The SMP (Service Metadata Publisher) then contains the detailed information: which Access Point the organisation is connected to and which document types it can receive.

It works in two steps. When an invoice is sent, the sender's Access Point first queries the SML with the receiver's Peppol identifier. The SML responds with the address of the correct SMP. Then the Access Point queries that SMP for the technical routing information: the address of the receiver's Access Point and the supported document types.

This two-step system makes the Peppol network scalable and decentralised. There is no central point that manages all registrations. Every Access Point provider can run their own SMP, as long as it complies with the OASIS SMP standard. eConnect is one of the very few parties with a proprietary, fully OASIS SMP-compliant solution, which guarantees independence and reliability.