How Rexel Canada is optimizing their processes with automated receivables
Rexel Canada is a leading distributor of electrical products. Part of the larger global company Rexel (RXEEY), the company is headquartered in Paris with billions in sales.
Problem
In 2012, Rexel Canada ran its credit and collections operations under five decentralized managers. To help improve results, Rexel brought in Geoff Last to lead as the newly created National Credit and Collections Manager. Faced with five independently operating organizations, Last encountered various processes and also faced skepticism regarding his ideas for improvement. Across the five organizations, Rexel had 55 people supporting the credit and collection functions. “Before GETPAID, the teams were printing aged trial balance reports, highlighting them with markers and making notes on them,” Last says. This practice provided zero visibility to the actual work being performed and did not lend itself to providing a platform to improve results.
Solution
Rexel in Paris and in the U.S. had already begun using GetPaid when Last began searching for a solution that could provide automation. During this time, Rexel Paris began a “Cash-in-motion” study to review working capital. Based on this study, the Paris office recommended that Rexel Canada implement GetPaid as well.
Automation was a key element for Rexel Canada. With the implementation of GetPaid, it has instituted risk-based collections, dispute management, the GetPaid mobile app and the customer portal.
Outcome
GetPaid offers so much more than smoother cash flows. With GetPaid, Rexel Canada has improved DSO by 2 to 3 days, increased revenue with the same number of resources, and reduced overdue AR and outstanding disputes. Automation was a key element for Rexel Canada, and each component provides a real benefit to achieving automation. Rexel Canada has also effectively combatted customers attempting to extend payment, improved visibility into what teams are doing, and improved the ability to change priorities and achieve collection and cash flow targets.
Testimonials
“The GetPaid system allows us to be scalable. It provides us with better visibility into what the teams are doing. We can monitor how up to date each collector is within their collection queue. We can see how many strategies they manually adjusted, which starts conversations around whether we need to adjust our strategies system-wide to be even more effective. One of the biggest benefits for us is how easy it is to change priorities to achieve collection and cash flow targets.”
—Geoff Last, National Credit & Collections Manager, Rexel Canada