We have greatly improved the quantity and quality of our stimulus actions. The benefits are many.
World leader in remote collaboration services
The NTT Communications group is one of the world leaders in Remote Collaboration Services, and is experiencing the strongest growth in the sector. Founded in France in 2001, Arkadin, which later became NTT, offers a complete range of remote collaboration solutions (audio, web and video conferencing, unified communications, virtual events) for all businesses. Through its international network of 53 offices in 33 countries on six continents, NTT and its 1,200 employees deploy professional solutions in SaaS (Software As A Service) mode, serving more than 37,000 customers.
A strategic Credit Management project for the Group
NTT has set up a shared Credit Management center. A dedicated team of 9 people manages collections and debt recovery for the EMEA zone:
- 17 countries and 25 customer accounts
- 12 currencies, 8 languages
- 15,000 invoices per month
- 4,000 customer requests per month
After implementing DIMO Software’s Cashontime Allocation solution in 2011, which automates the processes of identifying, reconciling and accounting for customer collections, NTT decided in 2014 to equip itself with a solution that would enable it to streamline and automate the processes of dispute resolution and debt collection.
The objectives of this project were clearly identified,” explains Geoffroy de Fontenay – Chief Financial Officer:
- Improve customer satisfaction through better management of customer requests
- Increase the productivity and operational efficiency of the collections department (collection performance measurement, task automation, scalable solution with a single database, etc.).
- Reinforce security and internal control, in particular by managing access rights.
After evaluating 4 solutions, NTT chose CashOnTime Collection for its resolutely customer-oriented approach, and DIMO Software for its long-term support, already proven during the Cashontime Allocation project. Implementation of the web solution was rapid, with the CashOntime solution up and running in less than 3 months.
The solution will be implemented with the eCredit and eDispute modules.
Productivity and operational efficiency
“Generally speaking, CashOnTime Collection has enabled us to structure and professionalize our debt collection,” explains Geoffroy de Fontenay.
The productivity gains are considerable for the group. “Thanks to this project, we have defined dunning strategies by customer category, for each country. Dunning actions are carried out automatically, and CashOnTime enables individual dunning actions to be prioritized: dunning is now proactive, before invoices fall due. Information from the 25 entities managed is centralized in a single tool, with no manual reprocessing. This avoids oversights and errors that could occur when work was done on spreadsheets and post-it notes. “We have greatly improved the quantity and quality of dunning actions,” explains the CFO.
CashOnTime also guarantees continuity of service, since if a collection agent is absent, his or her portfolio can be transferred to another member of staff.
More follow-up and customer satisfaction
An essential element for the group, NTT particularly appreciates the dashboards offered by CashOnTime. “Geoffroy de Fontenay explains: “This gives us better monitoring of activity and collection performance. This gives NTT greater control and traceability. Analyses of payment behaviour can be carried out on the basis of each customer’s payment history. Likewise, customized dashboards can be distributed internally (by sales rep, by customer, etc.), making the collections team more visible, more precise and therefore more relevant in its communications. “We’re seeing a real cash culture in-house,” says de Fontenay, “and the teams are more sensitive to receivables, whatever the amount.
With CashOnTime, “you can track the progress of a customer request or dispute. The tool makes it possible to involve other departments more effectively in resolving these requests. As a result, we have seen a significant reduction in the time taken to resolve customer requests and disputes,” explains Geoffroy de Fontenay.
In addition, to secure its customer risk, NTT has chosen to interface CreditSafe’s financial information with CashOnTime. This provides collection agents with alerts in the event of an increase in customer risk.
Finally, another benefit highlighted by Geoffroy de Fontenay: collection forecasts are now more accurate thanks to CashOnTime’s management of payment promises.
What’s next for NTT? “We want to implement the CashOnTime customer portal,” explains Geoffroy de Fontenay. “In particular, it will enable us to make our customers autonomous, since they will be able to retrieve their invoices whenever they wish from a dedicated space”.
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