Vendor Case Study: Randstad Optimizes the Order-to-Cash Cycle with AvantGard Receivables
August 5, 2009
Randstad has been able to reduce manual paper-based processing and improve document management in a shared service center environment with AvantGard. Background:
Randstad specializes in solutions in the field of flexible work and human resources (HR) services. Since acquiring Vedior in 2008, the Randstad Group is the second largest HR services provider in the world with major positions in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, India, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom and the south eastern United States. Randstad has over 34,000 employees working from 5,400 branches and in-house locations in 52 countries around the world. Structure:
Randstad's credit and collections structure is centralized in a shared service center in Sydney, Australia. This center handles the majority of accounts receivables activities for the organization's operating locations across Australia and New Zealand. The credit and collections team is comprised of 16 team members, which include 12 collections staff and four allocation staff. Randstad utilizes eight databases of Microsoft's Great Plains marketing software as its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system in each of its different brands.
Challenges:
Prior to investigating receivables technology, Randstad's credit and collections department was utilizing a number of manual processes which were tedious and consumed a great deal of time. Employees had to manually print off statements each month for every single customer, which was draining man hours that could be spent on other more serviceorientated duties. In order to keep up with the ever changing pace of technology, Randstad realized the importance to locate a single, automated solution that could help streamline its orderto-cash processes. The company was looking for a solution that was able to offer a consolidated view and centralized means of accessing essential customer data which would enhance work efficiency. Former disparate databases housing credit and collections made for the inconvenience of having to toggle back and forth between different programs and screens. Randstad also wanted to lower days sales outstanding (DSO) that was resulting from manual processing and a lack of a unified repository for housing customer data. Always looking to improve productivity, the company demanded a solution that could assist them in optimizing the collections environment by offering robust automation and strategic workflow. Solution:
After careful consideration, Randstad decided to select SunGard as its solution provider. AvantGard Receivables fits in well with the company's list of business requirements and came highly recommended, as Randstad's sister company had already implemented the solution in France and was pleased with the results. AvantGard Receivables is a comprehensive credit and collections software solution that is designed to drive automation, workflow and collaboration across the order-to-cash cycle, helping organizations gain visibility and control around their accounts receivables. In selecting AvantGard Receivables, Randstad was aiming to achieve a significant reduction in DSO, improved cash flow and increased and prioritized customer contact. By depending on the solution's automation and ability to generate strategic and highly organized work queues and resulting mass correspondence, Randstad was confident that they would be able to achieve their desired outcomes. Randstad's IT department was able to collaborate with SunGard at every stage of the implementation of AvantGard Receivables. The company was impressed by the expertise and patient nature of the SunGard staff in supporting them in getting the solution up and running in a brief amount of time. Furthermore, the project implementation was completed within the budget outlined by Randstad management. Results:
While still in the early stages of using AvantGard Receivables, Randstad has already experienced a number of positive results. Among these have been an elimination of manual processes, a unified database for the view and exchange of client information and a measureable increase in the number of customers that accounts receivable team members are able to reach out to on a monthly basis.
 As soon as we implemented AvantGard Receivables we were measuring positive results. It has automated numerous manual tasks and thereby allowed our employees to devote more time to making actual customer contact. 
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-- Erin O'Brien, Group Manager Payables and Receivables, Randstad
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Randstad's initial requirements were for a solution that would help lower DSO and equip collections staff with the tools necessary to operate more efficiently. Replacing a number of disparate client databases, AvantGard Receivables has provided Randstad with an integrated solution across a single, unified platform. The solution is supporting the staffing company's accounts receivables department to automate processes and institute controls by segmenting customers and applying proper collection strategies. Credit and collections staff have truly been empowered by the AvantGard Receivables solution. The company particularly values the collections module, which has been invaluable in helping to establish automatic work queues and producing mass correspondence. As a result of AvantGard Receivables' structured workflows, front-office managers at Randstad have become more organized in how best to allocate work. Dispute resolution is another area in which Randstad has seen progress. AvantGard Receivables is helping Randstad to intelligently escalate queried accounts and notify branch staff accordingly, enabling the company to automatically identify and assign ownership of queried transactions and track and escalate unresolved issues. With the automation, workflow and appropriate controls that AvantGard Receivables has put into place in Randstad's collections department, the company will see additional benefits in the form of decreased DSO, as well as a considerable reduction in operating costs. "We have been impressed by the knowledge and helpfulness of the SunGard staff members, who were eager to help us at each stage of the implementation."
Erin O'Brien, Group Manager Payables and Receivables, Randstad www.sungard.com/avantgard ©2009 SunGard. Trademark Information: SunGard and the SunGard logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of SunGard Data Systems Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. All other trade names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. About AvantGard Receivables
AvantGard Receivables helps companies manage strategic and major accounts as well as order life-cycle, credit risk, collections, dispute resolution, cash application, dashboards and reporting for all accounts. Additionally, AvantGard Receivables provides collaborative solutions for sales and customers. About AvantGard
SunGard's AvantGard is a leading liquidity management solution for corporations, financial institutions and the public sector. AvantGard provides chief financial officers and treasurers with real-time visibility into cash flows and increased operational controls around treasury, receivables and payments management. The solution aggregates data for a single view of cash, drives productivity through automation, and fosters collaboration between trading partners. For more information, visit www.sungard.com/avantgard. About SunGard
With annual revenue of $5 billion, SunGard is a global leader in software and processing solutions for financial services, higher education and the public sector. SunGard also helps information dependent enterprises of all types to ensure the continuity of their business. SunGard serves more than 25,000 customers in more than 50 countries, including the world's 50 largest financial services companies. Visit SunGard at www.sungard.com.
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