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Collections efficiency increased due to cloud-based solution

Operating in the self-proclaimed “happiest place on Earth”, the Wine Warehouse distributes fine wine, beer and spirits to companies located throughout California.

The company’s customer base often orders more than once a week, resulting in roughly 15,000 weekly open invoices to collect on.

A challenge to handle that number of invoices in any environment, the matter was further complicated by some sales representatives having to collect payment by hand while on site. Although a common process in Wine Warehouse’s industry, this process led to an increase in Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) and often left sales attempting to reconcile accounts and handle issues better suited for the accounts receivable (AR) department to handle.

Now, the process is more efficient thanks to Esker’s Collections Management solution. Rather than relying on sales to handle invoice questions and receive payment, invoicing and collections are now left to the AR department – resulting in faster collections and a higher level of visibility due to custom reporting tools and real-time metrics being tracked.

On the other end, customers can access a self-service portal. From this portal they may view invoices, setup an auto-pay option or immediately pay, which in turn reduce DSO and improves the customer experience. Not only does the cloud-based solution offer staff newfound capabilities – such as taking payments over the phone or monitoring best possible DSO – it has benefitted multiple teams by centralising all AR information.

“The enthusiasm for Esker isn’t just limited to the AR department,” said Patrick Powers, credit manager at Wine Warehouse. “Our IT team was the one that introduced it to us and recognised its potential. We all love it.”

Since implementing Esker’s automation solution, the Wine Warehouse has managed to streamline its systems, which has led to:
• Increased amount of money collected through solution by 45 per cent over a single year.
• Raised the Collections Effectiveness Index (CEI) to over 80 per cent.
• Greater staff productivity; sales are no longer involved in invoicing and there are less customer calls requesting paper copies.
• Enhanced visibility; customisable reports and real-time Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are easily accessible.
• Customers have self-service options and are able to communicate directly with accounting rather than sales.
• Lowered DSO; sending weekly automated reminders to customers.

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