The credit management sector is in full swing. The digital revolution also found its way into this field. What digital trends should you be aware of as a credit manager in order to keep the liquidity of your company in order? Three digital trends to stay ahead and make the digital revolution work in your favour.
In order to minimise the credit risks within your company, you need to do more than just keep a close eye on the cash position of your company. It is at least equally important to move with the developments in your field. Of course, the digital revolution is a part of that. With these three digital trends, you gain more insight into the liquidity of your company and stay ahead.
#1 Personalising customer contact
Personalising customer contact is an important development in credit management and Big Data is the key to success. Tailoring your communication to your customer becomes a lot easier by applying segments to your debtors. This way, you can apply a different collection strategy for each group. Big Data helps you with that. By combining your own internal customer data with data from external parties, you collect valuable information, such as what groups involve an increased payment risk. You can then create segments within your debtors. For instance, there could be a segment of customers with which you make a payment arrangement. This allows you to communicate effectively with your customers and keep your cashflow healthy.
#2 Preventive customer acceptance instead of reactive credit management
Credit managers are moving their customer acceptance strategy from reactive to preventive. This is a trend that has been going on for some time and is continuing unabated. Instead of reacting at the moment there is a payment problems, credit managers now look at the potential credit risks with the acceptance of the customer. Big Data is a good partner here as well. As a credit manager, join forces with a data scientists for the strong combination of computing power with your (own) expertise. This allows you to, for instance, obtain all data you need to prevent fraud or payment risks.
#3 Predicting payment problems
Predicting payment problems using artificial intelligence has been possible for a while, but it is now being taken seriously in credit management as well. Companies are increasingly building their own algorithms that predict payment problems. A model that, based on company or customer profiles, purchasing behaviour and payment behaviour, provides insight into the liquidity of your company. This will help you know, for instance, whether there are certain months in which your company does not receive cash or what groups present payment risks. You can then act accordingly in order to keep the cash flow balanced.
Follow these trends and you will ensure that you stay ahead as a credit manager and have the digital revolution work in your favour by gaining more insight into the liquidity of your company.
