otc best practices - cforia software · 2015-07-02 · best practices can be easily deployed a...
TRANSCRIPT
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
OTC Best Practices in FSSC Environments
June 23rd, 2015
Lyle Wallis, CCE
VP Credit Research Foundation
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
CRF FSSC Webinar Agenda
Welcome
CRF Platinum Sponsor Intro
FSSC OTC Best Practices
Q & A
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
CRF Platinum Partner
For 15 years Cforia Software has served over 230 customers managing $240B of Working Capital in 55+ countries
Cforia’s sole focus is delivering technology transformation to streamline order to cash (OTC) processes and results in Local, Hosted and Financial Shared Service Center Environments
Best practices examples are based on direct experience with a global enterprise customer base
Cforia Software is also a continuing contributor to CRF News & Management Review publications
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
CRF Guest Speaker Today
Chris Caparon has led the
implementations of over 230 Order-
to-Cash (OTC) Improvement
Projects globally, integrating real-
time data across multiple ERPs
Systems, Countries, Currencies
and Languages significantly
impacting DSO/DBT and available
Working Capital.
Chris has degrees in both Electrical
and Computer Engineering from the
University of Michigan
Chris Caparon
COO, VP Professional Services
Cforia Software
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Cforia Clients Studied
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Cforia Global Deployments
230 Cforia clients in 55 countries managing $240 Billion in working capital across 150+ million yearly transactions
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
State of Global WC Today
2014 Working Capital Management Survey: “In the US, 51% of
the companies included in our research reported a deterioration
in working capital and receivables performance.”
2014 Global Working Capital Survey: "Working capital remains an
obvious and key source of cash, but relative working capital
management performance has stagnated over the last five
years.”
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
FSSC Defined
Shared Services Organization (SSO): Business model enabling resources of a common operational discipline to be utilized across an entire organization (e.g. PTP, RTR, T&E and OTC)
Financial Shared Service Centers (FSSC): Designed to drive better customer service, lower operating costs, reduce duplications, simplify procedures and processes and deliver better overall analytics and facilitate continuous F&A operational improvements
Shared Service Organization (SSO) are particularly well suited for back-office operations, like Order-to-Cash (OTC) - especially Collections Prioritization and Cash Acceleration, Dispute and Deductions Management, Cash Application and Credit Provisioning, Decisioning and Risk Analytics.
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Challenges with Distributed Model
1. Organizational structures with solid line reporting to local management and dotted line reporting to corporate finance
2. Best practices are impossible to scale, replicate and produce predictable outcomes
3. Duplications of global finance and & accounting efforts
4. Global reporting and a single view of financial data can be difficult to impossible if the organization has grown through M&A
5. Collectors from multiple BU's calling same Client payables department contacts - multiple times a day
6. Universal and real-time credit policies are difficult to enforce across that business model
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Distributed OTC Services
Why does MedCo
Supplies call me
so many times ?
BradCo AP
BradCo
Cust # 341
BradCo
Cust # 458
BradCo
Cust # 231
BradCo
Cust # 981
BradCo
Cust # 312
ERP 1Braces
Divison
FTE 1
BradCo
Cust # 887212
BradCo
Cust # 674391
BradCo
Cust# 572122
BradCo
Cust# 458231
BradCo
Cust# 883011
ERP 3Recovery & Rehab
Products Div.
FTE 3
BradCo
Cust # F321
BradCo
Cust # F493
BradCo
Cust # F401
ERP 2Implants and Joint
Replacements Div.
FTE 2
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Consensus FSSC Goals
1. Optimizing FTE allocation and efficiencies
2. Increased Customer Responsiveness -
make doing business with your company
easier
3. Providing a world-class experience to
internal customer(s)
4. Deliver focused and quantifiable financial
improvements
5. Cultivate continuous improvement
processes within financial supply chains
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Financial Benefits of FSSC
Reducing Operating Costs o Maximizing FTE Performance (How measured?)
• Increase # of customers & transactions per FTE
o Labor Arbitrage
• Reduce the cost/FTE’s of outsourced customer portfolio
components
o Paper
• Billing, postage, supporting documentation storage
o Facilities Optimization
o Banking Fees
• Lock box and processing fees
Improving Financial Performanceo DSO/DBT reduction releasing working capital and decreasing
WACC related expenses
o Compress Disputes and Deductions Resolution & Prevention
o Minimize Reserve Balances and Write-Offs
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
FSSC Configuration #1
The decentralized model is reorganized to exchange the dotted
and solid line responsibilities without any physical changes
Change reporting structure, centralize command and control over
OTC to a central corporate resource (or one per geocenter)
Benefits
Best practices are enabled
Focused FTE activity drives financial performance
Common KPI and reporting can be enabled depending on the
number of systems being used
Challenges
# transactions & customers managed per FTE is unchanged
FTE utilization is often times less than full time
Fixed costs are unchanged
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
The centralized model
Both the organizational structure and the physical locations of the
FTE’s are centralized by geocenter
Benefits
Best Practices can be implemented across FSSC
Overhead optimized as the # transactions & customers
managed per FTE increases
FTE utilization is 100%
Common KPI & Analytics Enabled Across Systems
Challenges
Loss of local customer and product knowledge puts customer
experience at risk
Internal customers (business units) are now physically
disconnected from supporting finance resources
FSSC Configuration #2
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
FSSC Configuration #3
A hybrid centralized model with captured offshore FSSC
Benefits
Best practices can be implemented
Overhead is optimized through labor arbitrage
FTE utilization is 100%
Common KPI and reporting can be enabled depending on the
number of systems being used
Challenges
Loss of local customer and product knowledge puts customer
experience at risk
Cultural, language and access to FTE talent pool must be
managed
FTE turnover at remote location
Disputes management is problematic
Reporting is a challenge, especially if a BPO is engaged
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Challenges to Optimizing FSSC
Multiple ERP and billing systems of record
FTE will be aligned by ERP system and not by customer
portfolio
Multiple touch points across FSSC for each common customer,
often times to the same AP contact
More than one customer number/bill-to for the same customer
within ERP system (within one company, across many)
Multiple touch points across FSSC for each common customer
FSSC’s manage more than just one type of All customers are
not created equal
Small, mid-sized, national, intracompany, export and other
types of accounts all require different treatment methods
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Challenges to Optimizing FSSC
FSSCs manage many different sizes of customers and types of
transaction
Call-centric customer management is the most expensive
treatment method. Need to align treatment method with
customer type
Collections vs. disputes handling mixed within one ledger
Disputes management is a critical requirement for FSSC to deliver
a great customer and internal customer experience
Reporting, Dashboards and FSSC metrics are not delivered well by
generic ERP software
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Best Practices in FSSC
ERP and O2C system consolidation
Customer harmonization and portfolio optimization
Zero touch collections for small account treatment
Mid-size to large account management
Proactive collections
Disputes and deductions management
Reporting, dashboards and metrics
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Multiple ERP Consolidation
Aggregate data to create a single database to drive your
FSSC
Data includes data outside of your ERP system
Credit Bureau Data, Payment Behavior, Scorecards
Imaging of documentation (invoice reprints, shipping
documents and images, POD’s, etc…)
Best practice is to synchronize in near real time to keep the
FSSC tightly tied to source systems
Best practice is to enable bi-directional transactions where
needed
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Best Practices : Multi-ERP / System
Option 1 – Migrate to single ERP instance
Pros: Single worldwide instance benefits the entire enterprise
Cons:
o Not driven by FSSC but by IT and the business. This may
not be an option
o Expensive, time consuming and there is a significant cost
of delay
o M&A strategy is always ahead of IT execution
Option 2 – Utilize an O2C 3rd party application
Pros
o Can be driven by FSSC to solve O2C problem (always an
option)
o Less expensive than single ERP project and much quicker
o Built specifically to optimize FSSC challenges
o Quantifiable and justifiable ROI
Cons
IT pushback and resource constraints
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Consolidated Data
Cforia DB
C&C
Workbench
Dashboards
AR DB
Cash
Application
Automation
Cash Application Write-Backs to ERPs
Customer
Self Service
ERP 3
ERP 2
ERP 1
Email and Fax
Servers
Database Server ApplicationsInvoice
Copies
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Benefits to Single AR Database
Best practices can be easily deployed
A global view of cash - global reporting in seconds and minutes
and not days or never
Credit management can be done from a single location across
all the dependent customers/ERP systems – total visibility
FSSC is scalable independent of IT strategy and resources
Customer experience is maximized because of access to a 360
degree view of enterprise data
Internal customer experience is maximized because of
transparency and visibility
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Customer Harmonization
Do not align FTE’s by ERP system or brand but by
portfolio
Consolidate like customers into a single point of contact
This is done by country because of currency, language, bank
accounts and culture
Multiple Brands must be taken into consideration
Even FSSCs using a single ERP systems can leverage this
technique
Allows the FSSC to be infinitely scalable and support a
companies M&A strategy
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Current State
BradCo
Cust # 341
BradCo
Cust # 458
BradCo
Cust # 231
BradCo
Cust # 981
BradCo
Cust # 312
ERP 1Braces
Divison
FTE 1
BradCo
Cust # F321
BradCo
Cust # F493
BradCo
Cust # F401
ERP 2Implants and Joint
Replacements Div.
BradCo
Cust # 887212
BradCo
Cust # 674391
BradCo
Cust# 572122
BradCo
Cust# 458231
BradCo
Cust# 883011
ERP 3Recovery & Rehab
Products Div.
FTE 3FTE 2
Why does MedCo
Supplies call me
so many times ?
BradCo AP
MedCo Supplies SSC
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Customer Harmonization
BradCo
Cust # 341
BradCo
Cust # 458
BradCo
Cust # 231
BradCo
Cust # 981
BradCo
Cust # 312
ERP 1Braces
Divison
Brenda
BradCo
Cust # F321
BradCo
Cust # F493
BradCo
Cust # F401
ERP 2Implants and Joint
Replacements Div.
BradCo
Cust # 887212
BradCo
Cust # 674391
BradCo
Cust# 572122
BradCo
Cust# 458231
BradCo
Cust# 883011
ERP 3Recovery & Rehab
Products Div.
MedCo Supplies
is easy to do
business with !
Mary Jo
BradCo AP
BradCo Consolidated Customer
Hierarchical View of all Invoices across all ERP Systems
1 call replaces 3 calls
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Global View of Cash
BradCo
Global
(USD)
BradCo
Switzerland
(CHF)
BradCo
Germany
(EUR)
BradCoBradCo
BradCoBradCo
Invoice InvoiceInvoice InvoiceInvoice InvoiceInvoice Invoice
ERP 1 ERP 2 ERP 1 ERP 2
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Case Study Example
Multi-billion dollar medical device manufacturer grew thru M&A and
had a common customer base across 5 operating divisions running
on different ERP systems of record (3x legacy, 1 SAP, 1 Oracle)
Multiple customer records existed within each ERP system for the
same customer/AP contact
Went to shared service center without automation and did not see
the FTE efficiencies expected
Went with AR automation solution to create single AR database to
manage FSSC
FTEs assigned at consolidated level
Benefits
5-1 scaling of FTE/customer
20-1 scaling of customers/FTE
Customer now has one point of contact to manage entire
relationship
20% reduction in DSO
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Small Account Treatment
Methods Zero touch collections for small customers (100% portfolio
coverage)
E-dunning process to replace call-based collections
o One button press can replace 100s of phone calls (mass send)
Enable customer self-service and online payments
o Customers can reprint their own invoices and statements
o Pay their bills on line via ACH, credit card or other
Automate cash application for all online payments with 100% hit
rate
Only call these customers when required
o Credit risk class is high
o Customers who only respond to calls vs. dunning
o Other exceptions
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Lifecycle of an Invoice
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Benefits
Exponential scaling of customers per FTE
100% cash application accuracy
Outstanding customer experience
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Mid-Large Acct. Treatments
Midsize accounts tend to be more call-centric and have more
complex ledgers than small accounts o Reconciliation more than dialing for dollars
Eliminate call prep time by segregating aging by clean (non-
disputed invoices) and dirty (exceptions like disputes, deductions,
UAC, credits, etc) receivables across multiple currencies (if
necessary)
Prioritization of these calls must be predicated on driving maximum
cash flow – How is their work queue aligned with cash flow? o A combination of transactional status (stage of collections) and
customer delinquent clean receivables balance
o Do not overwhelm collectors with non-prioritized action items that
are not directly tied to cash flow generation
Do not call volunteerso Use DBT trending and # touches MTD metrics to optimize
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Benefits
Improve collector efficiency by 30+ % by minimizing call prep
time and not calling customers who don’t need to be called
Optimize cash flow by taking a holistic approach to prioritization
Use the appropriate prioritization logic to ensure the right
accounts are being touched
Invoice status and value combined with clean
receivables customer balance will ensure each FTE call
will maximize cash flow
Mid-Large Acct. Treatments
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Proactive Collections
Large invoices defined – The pool of transactions in any
organization that materially impact cash flow
Large invoices must be excluded from normal collections
processes
o They tend to be disputed or require more engagement to obtain
payment
Large invoices should be engaged pre-term to determine payment
status
o Significant for cash flow forecasting
o Significant for impacting FSSC performance
Disputes will be identified pre-term and significantly compress the
delay in resolution cycle time
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Disputes identified / coded by type
All supporting documentation is digitized and attached to dispute
Disputes must be routed to responsible party for resolution
Aging of disputes by responsible party is critical
Implement root cause analysis system on closed disputes
By type and disposition method
Disputes reporting should be a critical KPI for FSSCs as it directly
impacts the internal/external customer experience
In organizations with complex disputes and deductions it is a best
practice to segregate responsibilities between collections and
disputes management FTEs
Proactive OTC & Disputes
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Benefits
Significant reduction in dispute cycle times
Increase in cash flow and cash flow reporting
Improve internal/external customer experience
Can see efficiency gains in collections/disputes with segregation of
duties and FTE sub-process focus
Proactive Collections
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Without a single O2C database reporting is difficult to impossible
How long does it take you to create your month end reports?
The best metrics and KPI’s are not delivered by generic ERP
software
Month to date (MTD) customer touches & days from touch
Number of touches / dispute and deduction
Cost per touch for disputes is powerful
Days beyond terms instead of DSO
Trending and historical analysis of all metrics
Credit risk classifications
Utilize multi-currency customer hierarchy for global visibility for your
strategic accounts
Credit exposure, payment trends by geocenter/customer, etc…
Providing dashboards to internal customers improves their
experience
Reporting Dashboards and Metrics
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Example
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
The goal of FSSC is to simultaneously reduce cost, improve
financial performance while delivering an outstanding
internal/external customer experience
Optimizing performance requires a combined organizational
and technology strategy that is scalable and repeatable
Tracking metrics and measurements over time is critical to
validate implemented best practices
In Summary
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Top 10 OTC Areas for O2C
1. Accounts Receivable Collections Methodology
2. Invoice Dispute and Deductions Resolution Handling
3. Order Hold/Release Decisioning and Processing
4. Application of Invoice Payments - Cash App
5. Optimizing Lockbox Handling
6. Generating Reports and Departmental Performance Analytics
7. Billing Process Methods
8. Multi-ERP Consolidation & Global Customer Management
9. Credit Risk Management
10. OTC Organizational Effectivity
** See addendum slides for detail on each topic
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
CRF Webinar Q&A
Lyle Wallis
http://www.crfonline.org/
Chris Caparon
ww.cforia.com
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
FSSC Value Propositions
Global Visibility across Multiple ERP Languages & Currencies
Finance Data Aggregation & Integration
Global Parent/Child Receivables Portfolio Roll-Up & Credit Risk
Mitigation
Clean vs. Dirty Receivables Segmentation & Prioritization
Credit, Collections and Dispute Management Workbenches
Order to Cash Process Improvement, Workflow, Escalation &
SLA’s
Remittance Processing with Auto Application of BAI, BAI2,
MT940, EDI 820, Excel and CSV Payment Data
Finance Analytics, Departmental KPI’s, CEI’s and Exec
Dashboards
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
CRF FSSC Addendum
FSSC Key Operational Areas
• Order To Cash (OTC)
Accounts Receivable Collections Methodology
Invoice Dispute and Deductions Resolution Handling
Order Hold/Release Decisioning and Processing
Application of Invoice Payments - Cash App
Lockbox Handling
Generating Reports and Departmental Performance Analytics
Billing Process Methods
Multi-ERP Consolidation & Global Customer Management
Credit Risk Management
OTC Organizational Effectivity
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Collections Methodology
Observations:
50-60% AR portfolio coverage every 30 day cycle in order-to-cash
(OTC)
Call-Focused collections processes "Rainbow" of sticky note
reminders
Walls filled with filing cabinets and lots of dog-eared folders
Printed aged trial balance sheets with margin notes
Manual, Excel or other non-database driven prioritization
No hierarchical account aggregation for midsized, large, chains and
strategic accounts
Off-System/Manual Credit or Collections workflow & processes
Promise-to-Pay (PTP)reminders are in calendars, spreadsheet or
manual
No ability to separate sub-ledgers to optimize collections and disputes
performance
Not managing collections process via exceptions
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Best Practices:
Segregation of "Clean" versus "Dirty" receivables to optimize resource
effectivity, minimize call prep time, improve reporting and streamlines
OTC sub-process
Client Portal for Self Service (e.g. Reprint Invoices, generate
statements, make disputes, make payments)
100% portfolio coverage every 30 days
"Free" customer touches via email/fax
Automatic generation of work queues by Segment, Treatment, Risk
Class and Specialization
Single solution for managing all aspects of AR Collections (No
“Alt+Tab”)
Full visibility of parent/child hierarchy for exposure, priority and work
queues
Prioritization PTP’s with auto closure
Collections Methodology
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Average Project ROI's Realized:
Segregation of "Clean" versus "Dirty" receivables to
optimize resource effectivity, minimize call prep time,
improve reporting and streamlines OTC sub-process
Client Portal for Self Service (e.g. Reprint Invoices,
generate statements, make disputes, make payments)
100% portfolio coverage every 30 days
"Free" customer touches via email/fax
Automatic generation of work queues by Segment,
Treatment, Risk Class and Specialization
Single solution for managing all aspects of AR Collections
(No “Alt+Tab”)
Full visibility of parent/child hierarchy for exposure,
priority and work queues
Prioritization PTP’s with auto closure
50-60% AR portfolio coverage every 30 day cycle in order-to-
cash (OTC)
Call-Focused collections processes
"Rainbow" of sticky note reminders
Walls filled with filing cabinets and lots of dog-eared folders
Printed aged trial balance sheets with margin notes
Manual, Excel or other non-database driven prioritization
No hierarchical account aggregation for midsized, large,
chains and strategic accounts
Off-System/Manual Credit or Collections workflow &
processes
Promise-to-Pay (PTP)reminders are in calendars, spreadsheet
or manual
No ability to separate sub-ledgers to optimize collections and
disputes performance
Not managing collections process via exceptions
10-25% reduction in Days Past Term (or DSO)
40-50% improvement in Portfolio coverage
20-80% reduction in inbound call volumes about
invoice related issues
15-40% improvement in OTC resource productivity
Can absorb significant sales volume growth without
adding headcount
Collections Methodology
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Dispute/Deductions Mgmt.
Observations:
Disputes not identified within payment term - typically 7-10 day
post-term discovery
Little to no ERP tracking of Disputes - Most coded as "Unknown"
Disputes recorded in spreadsheets
Disputes hidden in receivables pool
Little tracking or progress reporting
Few collaborative resolution tools
Little prioritization or segregation
Manual delays navigating vendor AP portals for status updates
Root cause analysis difficult or impossible
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Best Practices:
"Pre-Term Touches" improving overall collections effectivity
AR automation tool tightly integrated with ERP and supporting
evidence (e.g. POD’s, imaging and digital docs)
Tracking case created and routed to resolution support teams
Cases prioritized by type, value and risk
Root-Cause analysis by code and resolution process >prevention
focus
Resolution Cycle compression methods
AP vendor portal automation to help streamline processes
Dispute/Deductions Mgmt.
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
"Pre-Term Touches" improving overall collections
effectivity
AR automation tool tightly integrated with ERP and
supporting evidence (e.g. POD’s, imaging and digital docs)
Tracking case created and routed to resolution support
teams
Cases prioritized by type, value and risk
Root-Cause analysis by code and resolution process
>prevention focus
Resolution Cycle compression methods
AP vendor portal automation to help streamline processes
Disputes not identified within payment
term - typically 7-10 day post-term
discovery
Little to no ERP tracking of Disputes - Most
coded as "Unknown"
Disputes recorded in spreadsheets
Disputes hidden in receivables pool
Little tracking or progress reporting
Few collaborative resolution tools
Little prioritization or segregation
Manual delays navigating vendor AP
portals for status updates
Root cause analysis difficult or impossible
Average Project ROI's Realized:
10-50 % reduction in dispute resolution cycle times
100% Dispute and Deduction tracking
30-90% improvement in Root-Cause Tracking to help
eliminate chronic recurring upstream issues
Dispute/Deductions Mgmt.
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Hold/Release Decisioning
Observations:
Multiple FTE’s reviewing and releasing customer held orders
Many “nuisance holds”
o Seasonality, blanket orders, parent/child challenges
ERP credit checking logic out of alignment with credit policy
Not integrating risk into credit checking process
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Best Practices:
Managing by exception only
Modifying ERP credit checking process to minimize nuisance holds
Integrating risk into ERP credit checking algorithms
Leveraging bureau data and peer data
Implement proper parent/child credit granting
Hold/Release Decisioning
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
FTE’s releasing orders
Dual Cash App systems and screens
Manual electronic data interchange
automation
SWIFT MT940/942/95’s managed by people
and not automation systems ("electrons")
Credit checking optimization
Hierarchical Cash App approaches with flexible
matching rules for max hit rates
System based EDI automation
MT940/942/95 automation
Resource efficiency (up 50%+)
Automated Exception ID and handling
Average Project ROI's Realized:
Headcount reduction
Improving order cycle time Reduction of bad debt
Increased customer satisfaction
Hold/Release Decisioning
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Cash App & Pmt Resolution
Observations:
Auto-Apply rates below 90%
Dual Cash App systems and screens
Manual electronic data interchange automation
SWIFT MT940/942/95’s managed by people and not automation
systems ("electrons")
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Best Practices:
90%+ Match based on algorithmic cash application methodology
Hierarchical Cash App approaches with flexible matching rules for
max hit rates
System based EDI automation
MT940/942/95 automation
Resource efficiency (up 50%+)
Automated Exception ID and handling
Cash App & Pmt Resolution
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Auto-Apply rates below 90%
Dual Cash App systems and screens
Manual electronic data interchange
automation
SWIFT MT940/942/95’s managed by people
and not automation systems ("electrons")
90%+ Match based on algorithmic cash application
methodology
Hierarchical Cash App approaches with flexible
matching rules for max hit rates
System based EDI automation
MT940/942/95 automation
Resource efficiency (up 50%+)
Automated Exception ID and handling
Average Project ROI's Realized:
15–80% operational cost savings
1-2 reduction in Days Past Term (or DSO)
20-50% reduction in inbound call volumes about
payment related issues
Increased customer satisfaction
Cash App & Pmt Resolution
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Lockbox Handling
Observations:
High merchant bank lockbox fees
High manual lockbox related activity
1-3 day delays in payment processing and cash application
Keying errors, data transfer issues causing reduced hit rates
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Best Practices:
Low or $0 Lockbox related fees
OCR solutions w/auto-cash automation
Minimum payment latency
OTC resource use optimization
Lockbox Handling
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
High merchant bank lockbox fees
High manual lockbox related activity
1-3 day delays in payment processing and cash
application
Keying errors, data transfer issues causing reduced hit
rates
High merchant bank lockbox fees
High manual lockbox related activity
1-3 day delays in payment processing and
cash application
Keying errors, data transfer issues causing
reduced hit rates
Average Project ROI's Realized:
30-90% reduction in Lockbox relates fees
60-70% elimination of data transfer and keying errors
15-50% faster payment processing and cash
application
Lockbox Handling
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Dashboards and Analytics
Observations:
Spreadsheets, Pivot Tables and PowerPoint graphics – manual &
time consuming reporting
Most AR activities are offline and require manual aggregation
Limited historical reporting
Blended& fragmented AR data makes precise metrics difficult
DSO is primary AR measurement
IT needed for any report changes or data mining / analytics
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Best Practices:
Segmented days-beyond-term (DBT) measurements and granular
controls
DSO and best possible DSO
Full client transaction life-cycle visibility
Alerts on business best practices
Executive dashboarding, team goals and flexible user-managed
analytics
Ability to auto-generate reports& distribute metrics and analytics
Streamlined KPI’s and historical performance data reporting
Finance analytic independence from IT
Dashboards and Analytics
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Segmented days-beyond-term (DBT)
measurements and granular controls
DSO and best possible DSO
Full client transaction life-cycle visibility
Alerts on business best practices
Executive dashboarding, team goals and flexible
user-managed analytics
Ability to auto-generate reports& distribute
metrics and analytics
Streamlined KPI’s and historical performance data
reporting
Finance analytic independence from IT
Spreadsheets, Pivot Tables and PowerPoint graphics –
manual & time consuming reporting
Most AR activities are offline and require manual
aggregation
Limited historical reporting
Blended& fragmented AR data makes precise metrics
difficult
DSO is primary AR measurement
IT needed for any report changes or data mining /
analytics
Average Project ROI's Realized:
80-95% elimination of Excel base reporting
70-80% increase in automated reporting to
management
New financial controls for improved decision making,
performance tracking and customer management
Dashboards and Analytics
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Billing Process Methods
Observations:
40%+ physical mailing of invoices
Mailing service for invoice delivery
Centralized mail service vs. distributed
Not leveraging best practices in bulk postal rates
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Best Practices:
Automated electronic delivery - fast, inexpensive delivery, flexible
options
Print/mail outsourced to specialists who can lower per piece costs
significantly
Billing Process Methods
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Automated electronic delivery - fast,
inexpensive delivery, flexible options
Print/mail outsourced to specialists who can
lower per piece costs significantly
40%+ physical mailing of invoices
Mailing service for invoice
delivery
Centralized mail service vs.
distributed
Not leveraging best practices in
bulk postal rates
Average Project ROI's Realized:
50-95% elimination of physical mailing requirements
90% elimination of delays related to physical mail
activity
Billing Process Methods
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Multi-ERP & Global Customers
Observations:
Separate/distinct systems of record
Limited visibility of customer exposure across OTC systems
Disconnected Parent/Child relationships in systems
Collectors aligned by ERP screen and not by portfolio
Cross border consolidation not possible
Top 20 customer report takes from days to never
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Best Practices:
Data consolidation of multiple systems
Global visibility and Client exposure
User definable customer hierarchies to minimize FTE touch points,
maximize visibility
Use of client payment metrics across all bill/ship-to from all systems
Align FTE’s by portfolio regardless of ERP system
Multi-ERP & Global Customers
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Data consolidation of multiple systems
Global visibility and Client exposure
User definable customer hierarchies to minimize FTE
touch points, maximize visibility
Use of client payment metrics across all bill/ship-to
from all systems
Align FTE’s by portfolio regardless of ERP system
Separate/distinct systems of record
Limited visibility of customer exposure across OTC
systems
Disconnected Parent/Child relationships in
systems
Collectors aligned by ERP screen and not by
portfolio
Cross border consolidation not possible
Top 20 customer report takes from days to never
Average Project ROI's Realized:
20-100% increase global client risk roll-up by
Parent/Child
20-50% resource efficiency through elimination of
redundant manual activity
High value strategic accounts globally visible for
optimal handling
Multi-ERP & Global Customers
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Credit Risk Management
Observations:
Manual provisioning of new credit lines, limits and terms
Manual credit scorecards
Manual integration of bureau data
Infrequent review of credit lines
Lack of payment behavior visibility
Credit risk not tied into collections process
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Best Practices:
Auto and auto-assist in establishing new accounts
Automated & multiple scoring methods
Automated integration of bureau data
Frequent review of credit lines/exposure
Weighted/blended payment information
Hierarchical credit management for strategic accounts.
Credit Risk Management
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Auto and auto-assist in establishing new accounts
Automated & multiple scoring methods
Automated integration of bureau data
Frequent review of credit lines/exposure
Weighted/blended payment information
Hierarchical credit management for strategic
accounts.
Manual provisioning of new credit lines, limits
and terms
Manual credit scorecards
Manual integration of bureau data
Infrequent review of credit lines
Lack of payment behavior visibility
Credit risk not tied into collections process
Average Project ROI's Realized:
20-50% efficiency improvement in Credit Provisioning,
Decisioning and Risk Analytics
40-80% rise on Credit Review frequency
15-50% reduction in credit risk from action taken
based on new analysis
Credit Risk Management
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
OTC Organizational Effectivity
Observations:
Decentralized AR Limited segmentation of OTC issues
Limited specialization of OTC teams
High replication of complex/time consuming issue resolution activity
Lower volume throughput across OTC operational teams
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Best Practices:
Move to Shared Service Center
Specialized OTC process experts
Matrixed portfolio ownership(e.g. contracts, orders, collections, credit,
disputes)
Automated high yield issue segmentation and resolution treatments
Lower training costs, faster time to value
Increasing customer satisfaction
OTC Organizational Effectivity
Greg Coulter, Managing Director
Cforia Inc. USA +1.866.859.1054 / +1.818.871.9687 UK +44 (0) 203.286.0039 www.cforia.com
Move to Shared Service Center
Specialized OTC process experts
Matrixed portfolio ownership(e.g. contracts, orders,
collections, credit, disputes)
Automated high yield issue segmentation and
resolution treatments
Lower training costs, faster time to value
Increasing customer satisfaction
Decentralized AR Limited segmentation of OTC issues
Limited specialization of OTC teams
High replication of complex/time consuming issue
resolution activity
Lower volume throughput across OTC operational
teams
Average Project ROI's Realized:
15-50% faster turn-around on OTC process execution
100% portfolio coverage each 30 day cycles through
automation touches
20-40% improvement in client issue resolution
resulting in improved client response
OTC Organizational Effectivity