"You don't want any stress when it comes to sending e-invoices"
One customer prefers to receive the invoice as a PDF in an email. Another wants an e-invoice via Ariba, while yet another uses the Tradeshift network. For Barentz, the distributor of ingredients and raw materials that serves thousands of customers worldwide, it was becoming increasingly complicated to meet all those different invoicing preferences and requirements. Global Credit Manager Jimmy Kok was looking for a partner who could take the hassle out of e-invoicing for them. He talks about how he ended up working with 4CEE, the collaboration, and the results.
Barentzserves thousands of customers across more than 65 countries. Worldwide, the company sends out about 250,000 invoices every year. In the Netherlands, that number is approximately 20,000. As Global Credit Manager, it’s Jimmy’s job to ensure that all those outgoing invoices are actually paid.
To pay an invoice, the customer must, of course, first receive it in good order. That’s where Jimmy’s work begins: sending out invoices in compliance with laws and regulations as well as the customer’s preferences or even requirements. And those latter factors make this first step in the Order-to-Cash process—sending invoices—quite complicated.
“It would be absolutely wonderful if we could tell our most important customers that we facilitate e-invoicing worldwide through their preferred network .”
Large companies now only want to receive e-invoices
Jimmy explains that most customers still prefer to receive their invoices as PDFs via email. However, an increasing number of customers are making the switch to e-invoicing. “ A number of our major clients with whom we collaborate globally now only want to receivee-invoices, ” says Jimmy. They use a variety of different e-invoicing networks, including Ariba, Tradeshift, and Tungsten.
Suppliers are then expected to use these networks as well—something Jimmy is eager to accommodate: “I see this as an additional service we can offer our customers. It would be great if we could tell our most important clients that we facilitate e-invoicing worldwide through their preferred network. If competing suppliers can’t or won’t do that, it might generate new business for us.”
E-invoicing networks come with their own user guides
But meeting all those customer preferences is easier said than done, as he quickly realized. Every e-invoicing network has its own set of instructions, and some are much more complicated than others.
For example, at Barentz, invoices for Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands are sent from a single central administration. “But the integration with, say, Tungsten is based on the VAT number. And since we invoice for three countries, we also have three VAT numbers. That means we need three connections. And setting up such a connection isn’t exactly a walk in the park,” Jimmy sighs.
He also regularly runs into problems when checking the invoice status. “Once a customer has switched to e-invoicing via a network, all communication often goes through that network. You can no longer just call or email; instead, you have to log in to a portal to see if the invoice was received correctly. That seems convenient—until you have to do it for maybe as many as two thousand customers across all sorts of different portals.”
Taking the hassle out of e-invoicing
Reasons enough for Barentz to start looking for a partner who could take the hassle out of e-invoicing. Jimmy: “We were working with another company, but they had trouble with a number of integrations and weren’t entirely honest about it. In the end, I was still having to enter invoices manually. That’s not very efficient. All in all, frustrations were running pretty high, so we decided to part ways with them.”
The search for a new partner quickly led to 4CEE. From the start, the collaboration between Barentz and 4CEE has felt right, Jimmy explains. “The dialogue is open and honest. That means we always find a solution together, even when an e-invoicing network isn’t cooperating. I appreciate that they draw up a clear project plan in advance and then actually stick to it. The clear communication makes it a pleasure to work together. Plus, I’m not an IT specialist myself, so it’s great that they have that expertise and know what they’re talking about.”
“I expect e-invoicing to become increasingly important in the coming years. We want to be ready for that!”
Results: seamless outbound e-invoicing
The biggest benefit of working with 4CEE is, above all, the lack of headaches: “You don’t want unnecessary stress when sending invoices; it just has to work. It’s great that we can rely on 4CEE for this. I expect e-invoicing to become increasingly important in the coming years, partly driven by stricter laws and regulations. We want to be ready for that!”
Automated accounts receivable management
But the process isn’t finished or complete once the invoices have been sent. That’s why Barentz also relies on 4CEE’s expertise—in collaboration with partner CreditDevice—to follow up on invoices.
Previously, it was standard practice at Barentz for all credit management to be handled locally by country, region, or entity. Accounts receivable management was handled in a somewhat makeshift manner in Excel, and reminders were sent manually from Outlook.
Jimmy explains that accounts receivable management was primarily handled by the finance manager or even by the sales team. Since they already had various other responsibilities, no one was truly specialized in the area, resulting in less insight and knowledge needed for optimal credit management.
Insight into financial processes
“With the solution from 4CEE and CreditDevice, accounts receivable management is automated, requiring far less manpower to perform the same work. And all this while preserving the expertise and professionalism at the various locations.” Because Barentz has many different branches around the world, it is very important to streamline credit management processes effectively.
The trading company’s growth is still in full swing, so it’s crucial for them as a business to gain a global overview of the financial processes at each entity.
What has automated accounts receivable management delivered so far? Jimmy explains that Barentz’s global financial processes have become much more transparent overall. He also notes that the software is very user-friendly.