For the first time in New Zealand, a group of New Zealand credit managers from a diverse range of industries held a credit management round table discussion, which was facilitated by credit management software company OnGuard New Zealand. The purpose of the discussion was to understand the credit challenges facing New Zealand businesses and to assess the best solutions to maintain healthy cash flows.
Attendees included credit managers from Air NZ, Kensington Swann, Winstone Wallboards Ltd, Catholic Diocese of Auckland, Metrowater and the Executive Director of the New Zealand Credit and Finance Institute of New Zealand (NZCFI).
One of the key points arising was that “investing in technology is key”, as Kensington Swann’s National Credit manager Sue Hill put it: “Having good internal credit management technology gives managers more time to communicate directly with customers. The adoption of technology means that my firm can concentrate on avoiding obstacles, such as value issues. It has been highly effective.”
Marc Vergroesen, manager of OnGuard New Zealand explains that “in the last three or four years, businesses have become aware that dedicated credit management software has added value compared with standard ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems. Standard business software offers no more than standard facilities for debt management. Specialized credit management software does a lot more than just sending reminders, like collections management, risk management, query management, reporting and much more.
All attendees agreed that, the combination of technology and personal communication, is the key to ensuring a healthy cashflow. “It’s quite a refreshing outcome”, Marc says. “Even though the group of business people was so diverse, regardless of who their clients were, technology and good old fashioned ‘talking to the customer and having the correct information on hand’ were the most important factors in keeping cash flow steady.”
