OnGuard, provider of credit management solutions to the global business community, successfully held its first OnGuard User Group UK on 21 September, for its rapidly expanding UK customer base. OnGuard is looking to extend its considerable UK footprint, while supporting its existing UK client base. This user group represents one of numerous steps underpinning this aim.
OnGuard’s UK customers span the automotive, industrial, financial services and energy industries. The group included representatives from EDF Energy, Speedy, SITA, Euromaster, Alcontrol and Bohler-Uddeholm.
New and future product developments
These forums have been designed to allow OnGuard users to find out about and feed into new and future product developments. They also seek to facilitate discussions around the challenges and opportunities of the credit management process more generically to highlight ways in which it can be made as efficient and effective as possible. The user group follows a successful run of similar events in the Netherlands over the past four years.
Speakers at the event included Judith Verloop, Operations Director at OnGuard as well as representatives from Speedy and Atos Origin, an international information technology consultancy firm.
'Spend time with fellow practitioners and learn best practices'
Tony McCormick, Credit Manager at Alcontrol highlights why he found the day so useful, ‘We have been working with OnGuard for almost 4 years now and are delighted they have established a UK user group. It provides us with a chance to spend time with fellow credit management practitioners, learn best practice from the OnGuard experts and share experiences with peers from different industries. This forum will make it even easier to suggest potential developments to the OnGuard solution and we look forward to meeting all attendees again at the next forum.’
'More than just a supplier'
Judith Verloop reflects on the importance of the user group to OnGuard: ‘As a company, we are more than just a supplier to our customers, we are a partner. We are committed not only to the development of the OnGuard software but the credit management discipline as a whole. In terms of our product, client feedback drives the development process. These events give us a real chance to survey users’ experiences. In doing so, we know the strategic direction of our products are completely in line with our clients’ changing needs.’
New functionalities
In light of this development process, OnGuard recently added enhanced customer scoring technology to its core platform as a standard feature in response to market demand. It is also in the process of developing desktop gadgets to provide those involved in the credit management process, from CFOs, and Sales Directors to Distribution Managers etc., with a real-time snapshot of a company’s credit management position including current revenues, accounts receivables, dispute status and collections activities.
Given the positive feedback from the event, the next OnGuard User Group UK is planned to take place in the Alcontrol Laboratories, Chester in early November.