With millions of active accounts to handle, that's a tall order, but Grainger's
credit department delivers through an innovative business model and a culture of continuous improvement.
That's because a lot of the
credit department's uses for technology--from accounts receivable and the credit approval process to printing duplicate invoices or creating accounts aging reports--have the same basic ideas behind them.
What fuels an efficient, successful trade
credit department? If you ask any number of credit professionals at Ferguson Enterprises Inc., the short version of the answer is simple: the people.
Some have distinct
credit departments that report up the chain of command outside of the sales department, while other firms have their
credit department contained within other departments, such as sales.
Although credit people may have become slightly less averse to DSO and upper management may be slightly less dependent on it, it remains a measure that does not paint a complete picture of the efficiency of a
credit department. As the trend of pushing for more of a seat for credit--or maintaining one gained over time--at the proverbial big table of a business' brain trust continues, it becomes all the more important for credit managers to provide more context on DSO than allowing a flat, cold number to speak for itself.
Reimer works in the
credit department at Barrette Outdoor Living in New Jersey, where he said all fingers are pointing to the eventual use of electronic credit applications due to the company's ongoing growth.
Tara French, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, will assume the leadership and oversight of the
credit department and credit administration department.
In 2011, she returned to Quail Creek Bank as a credit analyst and has been named
Credit Department manager.
In just three years at MidCountry Bank, Amber Benavides has become a go-to person across department lines while also focusing on raising the level of effectiveness in the bank's
credit department. Her main role is to review, improve and approve the bank's written loan requests which tend to have complicated credit structures, accounting issues and unusual corporate structures, all of which she boils down into essential items for decision-making.
Global Banking News-October 16, 2018--BancorpSouth sets up tax
credit departmentBANKING AND CREDIT NEWS-October 16, 2018--BancorpSouth sets up tax
credit department