Paul F. McIntosh, CCE, director of credit for Collins & Aikman Corporation (Spindale, North Carolina), uses a number of strategies to establish partnerships with customers:

• Customer visits. "I spend about one third of my time visiting accounts," he says. He makes special trips to meet with large accounts. He meets many of the smaller accounts at trade shows.

  He spends time with the CFOs discussing credit and collection issues. However, this is only one of his many strategies and goals in visiting customers.

  Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the Credit & Collection Manager's Letter, which Credit Today purchased in 2006.

  "I like to meet the president of the company," he says. He also likes to visit the credit department to see how it operates. This allows him to offer suggestions for improvement - if asked for such input. Further, he can find out whom the customer sells to, which gives him an idea of how strong the customer will be in the future.

  Occasionally, McIntosh sees a unique opportunity to strengthen a relationship. Recently he visited a customer that was experiencing problems. The CFO revealed an interest in improving the company's manufacturing and delivery processes. McIntosh invited the CFO to visit Collins and Aikman's facility to look for improvement ideas.

• "Revolving" credit. McIntosh tries to set credit limits that support customer requirements on a regular basis. For example, if a customer has average purchases totalling $120,000 a year ($10,000 average a month), he may set a credit limit of $15,000 per month. "If the customer pays within terms, we continue this limit," he says. "In fact, if the customer pays on time and has seasonal requirements, we will extend credit limits to accommodate seasonal changes."

McIntosh knows his methods are effective. "It's not unusual for customers that are having problems to call us," he says. "They might explain that they will be having cash problems for about 30 days and ask if we can work with them. In all probability, we will."

Editor's Note: The above article originally appeared in the Credit & Collection Manager's Letter, a newsletter purchased by Credit Today in 2006. This article originally appeared prior to 2000.