Insight and resolution: How order-to-cash digital transformation enabled Travis Perkins to identify and resolve their process issues

This case-study from Travis Perkins highlights how the data insight provided by digital transformation within O2C can provide visibility over process issues and enable strategic decisions to drive efficiency. The 4D Contact team have extensive experience supporting global businesses on their order-to-cash transformation journey. We provide a flexible outsourced receivables management solution which can support your in-house team during the transformation period – with great success at providing creative solutions to support user adoption when teams have found change difficult.

Like most large conglomerates, Travis Perkins had inherited multiple legacy systems and processes that were unable to provide the business with the data integrity and insight that would be critical to supporting the future growth of the business. 

Following an extensive review of their internal processes, the executive team identified order-to-cash as an area in which digital transformation would drive substantial efficiencies, enabling them to not only deliver a smarter, more efficient collections process based on customer payment behaviours, but also to reduce their customer onboarding time and use real-time credit risk information to make flexible credit decisions, both of which would help support business growth.

Working with a SaaS provider to build a bespoke system to meet their needs, they were delighted that post-implementation they saw substantial gains across the function. However, they were surprised to find their in-house credit and collections team were still not achieving the level of efficiencies they had expected.  Analysis of the data now available from the software highlighted how their team were caught dealing with such a high volume of inbound calls from customers and branches alike that they simply did not have time to make the required outbound calls. It was therefore almost impossible for them to use the software correctly and when they did, bogged down in existing issues, they tended to just used it for data logging rather than to deliver the smart workflows / task management that would deliver the efficiency and results for which it was implemented.

Understanding that their team were already stretched, Travis Perkins decided to bring in an outsourced voice solution to deliver the outbound calls piece whilst their inhouse team continued to manage the inbound call volume. Liberated from the inbound calls, the outsourced collections team were able to use the system as it was intended, and Travis Perkins began to see the results they had expected.  Over a seven-month period an additional £8m in high volume low value debt was collected, with the added benefit of the outbound call centre also managing to deal with issues before customers called in, thus reducing the burdensome inbound call volume.

For Travis Perkins, outsourcing therefore provided a flexible solution which could swiftly resolve the issue they had identified.  With costs easily offset against additional monies collected and with their valued customers experiencing an improved customer service to quote Michelle Maddock, Travis Perkins OTC Programme Director “Both the relationship and the transition have proved seamless, feeling like part of the TP family… (I) will definitely continue to use the service in the future”.