Name: 20% Reduction In Bad Debt at Staples: Collections Automation Journey with AI
Start: 2020-07-24T19:00:00Z
End: 2020-07-24T19:00:29.000Z
Location: BrightTALK
Rating: 4.83

Learn how companies are improving their credit, collections, cash application, EIPP, and deductions management processes for faster and more efficient order-to-cash management. Subscribe for the latest content updates.

Key Takeaways:
1. Approach - Why a company should consider both an indirect FP&A forecast and a direct bottom-up forecast
2. Data - How data could be used to create an objective A/R and A/P 
3. Modeling - How to ensure you are utilizing the right models for each category
4. Variance - Why having variance analysis over multiple time horizons can increase your credibility with your CFO
 
While there is no "silver bullet" available to solve every company's cash forecasting roadblocks, having the right processes in place is a good start. AI is bringing a new focus to cash forecasting with brand new solutions for age-old processes.

What and how you measure something will vary depending on your business, industry, and goals. It starts with a detailed self-assessment of your existing cash forecasting processes. This is essential to isolate gaps in your performance and identify opportunities for improvement. A better forecast can directly reveal potential liquidity constraints ahead so that the treasury department can proactively take mitigating actions.

The Cash Forecasting Maturity Model can help decision-makers perform an in-depth evaluation of their current cash forecasting processes and identify clear next steps to become best-in-class.

Join Tracey Ferguson Knight and Juan Saudino, as they take you through the Cash Forecasting Maturity Model and build robust process areas regardless of your organization’s size and complexity.

Four Pillars of Best-in-Class Cash Flow Forecasts

Since the onset of the pandemic, finance executives have been operating in survival mode. A few months back, the liquidity crisis triggered by the sharp disruption in economic activities prompted organisations to rush toward cash to keep operations going. The message “Cash is King” resonated globally across all enterprise organisations, even the ones who were in a strong position at the beginning of the year. 

As executives look into 2021, they see a rare window of opportunity to enable long-term cash excellence. In this upcoming webinar from HighRadius, our expert Mark Harrison, Founder & CEO at Callisto Grand will share their insight on how to develop and execute a turnaround strategy for the order to cash which will strengthen the cash culture across the organisation to stay ahead in the new economy. 
 
Join them and learn how you could: 
Plan a successful order-to-cash transformation project by focusing on the three levers of people, process and technology
Reduce operational expenditure, improve working capital and optimize cash flow in the new economy 
Leverage technology to move beyond the crisis, support recovery and enable growth in the post-pandemic world

Agenda 2021: Achieving Long-Term Cash Excellence With Digitally Accelerated O2C

Key Takeaways:
1. Approach - Why a company should consider both an indirect FP&A forecast and a direct bottom-up forecast
2. Data - How data could  be used to create an objective A/R and A/P 
3. Modeling - How to ensure you are utilizing the right models for each category
4. Variance - Why having variance analysis over multiple time horizons can increase your credibility with your CFO


While there is no "silver bullet" available to solve every company's cash forecasting roadblocks, having the right processes in place is a good start. AI is bringing a new focus to cash forecasting with brand new solutions for age-old processes.

What and how you measure something will vary depending on your business, industry, and goals. It starts with a detailed self-assessment of your existing cash forecasting processes. This is essential to isolate gaps in your performance and identify opportunities for improvement. A better forecast can directly reveal potential liquidity constraints ahead so that the treasury department can proactively take mitigating actions.

The Cash Forecasting Maturity Model can help decision-makers perform an in-depth evaluation of their current cash forecasting processes and identify clear next steps to become best-in-class.

Join Tracey Ferguson Knight, a 25+ years treasury practitioner and consultant, and Juan Saudino, VP of Professional Services at HighRadius as they take you through the Cash Forecasting Maturity Model and builds robust process areas regardless of your organization’s size and complexity.

In this webinar, Sajeesh Kumar, Global Head for Invoice to Cash at Genpact and Natalie Fedie, Vice President of Customer Value at HighRadius, would explain how digital transformation of order-to-cash could help achieve the CFOs vision of customer-centricity in the new economy. Join them to learn more about  building the right team, arriving at the right processes and deploying the right technology for a customer-first receivables department. 

Key Takeaways:

Build a customer centric DNA within your order-to-cash team: How to communicate expectations, train resources and fill talent gaps
Strategize for digital transformation in the A/R department: Selecting and deploying technology with a customer-first vision
Monitor and track customer experience for long-term growth: Tips and lessons to keep in mind for 2021

Enabling Customer-First Order-to-Cash Teams With Digital Transformation

Since the advancement of technology in order-to-cash, one of the biggest challenges for enterprise leaders is to increase the level of adoption for automation while addressing the age-old question: “How does it impact my job?” The objective of AI and automation is to enable resources to perform more strategic tasks on a daily basis and skip repetitive, more time-consuming clerical tasks. 

In this webinar, our experts from HighRadius and EY will demystify some common myths around technology in finance, while deep-diving into the much-needed skills and mindset for a future-proof order-to-cash. Finance executives will hear more about the learning path to deliver increased value and impact to their organization today and in preparation for tomorrow.

Key Takeaways

1. Create value with technology: How the traditional A/R job roles are evolving
2. Upskill your workforce to stay relevant and deliver value in the digital age
3. Explore a step-by-step guide for finance executives trying to upskill their teams for 2021

Order-To-Cash Workforce 2.0: Upskill Your Team for The Digital Future

Key Takeaways:

1. Defining the ‘new normal’ in credit, collections and deductions operations
2. Leading a remote team: Going beyond digital re-creation of in-office scenarios
3. Leveraging cloud-based technology for a smooth and safe remote working environment

Abstract:

‘Work from home’ is here to stay. With the onset of COVID-19, businesses across the globe have had almost a 100% switch to a remote working environment and according to a number of surveys, it is going to be the new normal. Leading a credit and collections team that had previously relied heavily on office equipment, paper-based data, and cross-departmental interactions for their daily operation, is a challenge that requires more strategic thinking and intensive planning. 

Join this discussion where the panelists from leading companies discuss how they managed their team and pivoted to a sustainable remote working environment with the help of automation and technology.

Remote Credit & Collections: The Right Data and Processes in the New Normal

As more and more customers are adopting pushback strategies to delay payments owing to restricted cash flow, collections leaders need to ensure that their teams are empowered with the right tools and strategies to collect past-due invoices on time. 

Join this session as Camila Durante, Credit and Collections Coordinator, L'Oréal to learn how your team could pivot their collections operations in the new normal to ensure faster collections while prioritizing customer experience. 

Key Takeaways-
Enhance Cash Flow and Reduce DSO with Proactive Collections Management
Collections in the Times of COVID: How should you go about it

Collections in a Recession: Dealing with Delinquency & Terms Extensions

Receivables Management In The Consumer Goods Industry: Three-Step Guide For Digital Acceleration in 2021

The year 2020 has led to some permanent changes in the way most consumer goods companies operate. Finance executives have realized that being digital is not simply a good-to-have agenda item anymore, but a must-have capability for today's market. Technology is the key to managing retailer expectations, collaborating internally for seamless operations, and enabling faster growth and recovery in 2021. 

In the age of eCommerce and digital finance, how does the order-to-cash department need to pivot? In our upcoming webinar, Cortney Herington, former Director Of Finance And Operations at Coca Cola, will establish a three-step strategy that will help A/R leaders at consumer goods companies navigate the challenges of the new economy and deep dive into how automation helps achieve desired outcomes such as better cash flow and working capital.  

Join us as we share specific insights collated from the discussions with our enterprise customers in the consumer goods space and learn how to:

- Build a digital strategy for running day-to-day order to cash operations, for example, cross-team collaboration, worklist prioritization, and cash application
- Establish yourself as a  leader in the competitive market, by leveraging automation to prioritize customer satisfaction and achieve long-term cash excellence 
- Work with digital retailers and eCommerce giants in the new economy: What all should the A/R department be prepared for, and where could technology create value 
- Evaluate A/R automation solutions that would deliver desired value to the office of the CFO, using Gartner’s decision-making framework

Receivables Management: Three-Step Guide For Digital Acceleration in 2021

Key Takeaways:

1. Factors reshaping the future resumés of credit and collection practitioners
2. Dealing with changing payment trends, customer pushbacks, and high delinquency rates 
3. O2C leader’s guide to skills reassessment and team training for the imminent digital future

Abstract:

In an economy where the workplace normalcy is dramatically shifting, the skills required by practitioners need to be equally dynamic. The concept of working from home which has always been vehemently opposed by some organizations has become the only mode for business continuation. Additionally, coping up with changing customer behavior while maintaining a balance between mutual trust and sustained cash flow has become a challenge for customer-facing A/R teams. The economy today stands at the foundation of advancing technology and there is no going back from here.

Join this session where Ken Young, Credit Consultant and former manager of credit and collections at PepsiCo talks about the new workspace pulse and the skills needed for A/R teams to stay relevant and embrace the digital age.

How COVID-19 is Redefining Must Have Skills for Credit and Collections

Key Takeaways:

1) Then vs. Now - Red flag credit risk and receivables metrics that are more relevant today than they were a month ago 
2) Tools that you could leverage to verify data accuracy and timeliness
3) Critical changes in credit policy like defining portfolio-specific terms and conditions


With cash flow being the prime focus amidst these turbulent times, in order to gain more control and visibility over receivables,  finance leaders are giving greater emphasis to conducting customer portfolio analysis and re-evaluating their credit policies. 

Join this panel of credit experts from leading credit bureaus namely Credit Safe USA and Credit Risk Monitor as they share their insights on tracking leading credit risk metrics to enable a predictive scoring model that is more relevant and other customer analysis tips for risk mitigation.

Managing Credit Risk During and After the Crisis

The COVID pandemic has accelerated the rise of B2B eCommerce, with a record 129% YoY growth in eCommerce orders in the U.S. & Canada as of Q2 2020. In order to keep the sales flowing, B2B suppliers are looking to streamline the online purchasing experience for their customers. At American Greetings, the vision has always been to keep the customer first and foster technology adoption for a better end-user experience. A company, with an exemplary story of the customer-centric digital transformation of billing and payments, they are looking to move along the same curve in this age of eCommerce by enabling the integration of digital sales (eCommerce) to digital finance (Electronic Billing & Payments).

Join this webinar with Lauren Kennedy, Senior Manager, Retailer Financial Services at American Greetings, as she talks about the rise of B2B eCommerce and its anticipated impact on their payment processes. In this session, she will deep-dive and give you actionable insights on finding the right partner to automate your billing and payments ecosystem, driving solution adoption within your end-users, and potentially leveraging said technology to deliver value while working on an eCommerce platform.

Key Takeaways

1) ‘Go Where Your Customers Are’ - The rise of B2B eCommerce and how suppliers should plan for it
2) American Greetings automation success story: Driving e-adoption for billing and payments
3) Strategy for 2021: How to fill the gap between your eCommerce platform and your payments system

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American Greetings Game Plan For Managing Payments In The Age Of B2B eCommerce

With over ten and a half years of recovery after the Great Recession of 2008, many economists and finance leaders were anticipating some form of a eventual recession, perhaps even in 2020. But the Coronavirus was something unexpected: It threw the world into a global crisis, something the six other potential pandemics ranging from Ebola to SARS had not done. As year-end approaches, the biggest question looming for next year: “What does the trajectory of the recovery look like, and when will economic activity fully recover to pre-recession levels?

Scott Colbert, Executive Vice President and Chief Economist at the Commerce Bank explains that the answer to that is not easy. From the outcome of the impending Presidential Elections to the availability of a COVID vaccine, several moving parts will steer the direction of the recovery toward the way life was back in February of this year. Join Scott in his upcoming webinar with HighRadius, where he will discuss the economic trends finance executives need to know and understand to spawn the right business decisions for now and in the post-COVID era.

What you will learn:

1. Factors impacting economic growth and recovery in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic
2. Differences between the current economic crisis and past ones: What is the good and bad news?
3. Answers every CFO and finance leader should seek right now for prosperity and growth in 2021
4. Trends of the US economy based on what we see today: Indicators to determine if there is a light at the end of this tunnel

A CFOs Guide To Navigating the Waters of An Uncertain Economy

"Will the coming AI disruptions leave treasury managers unemployable? 

As custodian of cash and liquidity, it’s up to the Treasury to diligently ensure smooth cash flow and visibility at a time when ways of performing tasks keep on transforming. What skills do they and their teams need to hone to continue contributing to the company’s working capital and investment decisions?"

Key Takeaways:

- Must-have qualities of 'doing more with less' with best-of-breed technologies like TMS, API, AI  
- Learn how to be an agile and tech-savvy 'agent of change' in the times of disrupting cash management practices 
- Learn the  shift in responsibilities from reconciling cash positions to support fiscal decision-making with better visibility

Are Treasury Professionals Future-Ready? Must-Have Skill Sets in the Age of AI

More than 75% of cash forecasting challenges lie in forecasting A/R and A/P. Learn how technology can navigate uncertainty and generate accurate long-term forecasts.

Join Ernie Humphrey, CEO, Treasury Webinars to learn:
-Treasurers’ Focus on Forecasting (Pre-Crisis and Today)
-Forecasting Challenges and Framework
-Cash Forecasting Roadblocks Eliminated by Technology in 2020
-Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Build a Better Forecast

Cash Forecasting Redefined: Demystifying A/R and A/P by Leveraging Technology

Explore how to optimize working capital and make better decisions by creating world-class treasury functions.

Crossing the Chasm: The Evolution of Treasury Tech Landscape

Setting up a treasury function from scratch is a daunting task involving streamlining bank structure, identifying process inefficiencies and plugging them with technology. Learn the roadmap on how treasury professionals can build treasury as an add on to accounting and the skills required to progress towards operational improvements.

Standing Up a New Treasury: How to Grow Treasury Out of Accounting

Catch a LIVE demo of AI-enabled Cash Management cloud from solution experts and understand how to drill down into cash positions at company, entity and region levels and monitor cash flows such as A/R, A/P, payroll, taxes at granular levels.

Solution Showcase - Cash Management Cloud

Learn in detail about the evolution of the cash forecasting practice at Mercury Marine with Artificial Intelligence.

Key Takeaways:
Understand how traditional cash forecasting is done using complex excel formulas
Discover how AI transforms a treasurer’s workday and how it empowers decision making

Evolution of Cash Forecasting at Mercury Marine

Key Takeaways:

1. Reduction in DSO by 6 days through AI-enabled collections
2. Auto-transfer of critical accounts to 3rd party collection agencies
3. Proactive collections efforts due to collaborated Credit-Collections operations

Abstract:

Can a smaller team achieve the same ROI as a large one? At Staples, they did not just want to scale up their productivity, their vision was to dramatically decrease bad debt, which, with their 3-step initiative, they were ready to achieve. But they were faced with roadblocks like lack of visibility into critical accounts, paper-based aging and prioritization, and a completely manual invoice-tracking process. The need of the hour was an automation solution that could eliminate these manual tasks and in return help in reducing DSO and bad debt.

Join this discussion where George Uko, Manager of Credit and A/R at Staples Promotional Product walks us through their collections automation journey with AI and how they achieved a paradigm shift at their workplace.

20% Reduction In Bad Debt at Staples: Collections Automation Journey with AI

reductions

debt

collections

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20% Reduction In Bad Debt at Staples: Collections Automation Journey with AI

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