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Our Subscribers Say...
I think Credit Today is fantastic. You cover many practical topics in the credit field that I use regularly. Just one recent example—a conversation on the ListServ about preferential payments—gave me tips that I used in an actual case. The specific information I picked up from this one discussion saved me $10,000, enough to cover my membership for many years!
- Steve Savino
Manager of Credit & Collections, ASSA Abloy Americas Division, New Haven, CT
Credit Today's Resource Directory and their online e-mail forum (ListServ) provide information on almost any credit-related topic you can think of. It is a great way to exchange information with other credit professionals. As the saying goes, "You don't know what you don't know."
- Scott Goen,
Credit Manager, Big Lots Stores, Inc., Wholesale Division
"We've recently started using the ListServ tool within Credit Today. This is phenomenal and powerful forum for gaining immediate feedback, ideas, and suggestions, relative to any credit topic under the sun, all in a real-time e-mail format."
-Javier Vela, Senior Credit Manager, Global Credit Services, JDA Software Group Inc.
"Being a part of the Credit Today online community is like having the expertise of hundreds of credit managers at your fingertips. These credit execs are willing to help you solve topical business issues as they arise. In the current environment of ever increasing competing priorities which reduce our opportunities to meet peers out of the office face-to-face, this is the most valuable tool you can have on your desktop! It's important that we have a mechanism to reach out to our counterparts quickly to exchange knowledge as well as to stay on top of industry trends."
- Victoria Artis, Director of Customer Financial Services, Pfizer, Inc.
"Over the last 10 years I've seen Credit Today evolve from a monthly credit publication into a quality source of information and guidance for the B2B credit community. The website, with its user friendly form downloads, will take you from examples of new account credit applications to bankruptcy forms and everything in between.
The Credit Today ListServ has become the pre-imminent online forum, providing an opportunity for discussion and comments (and occasional humor) from an impressive list of credit professionals."
David Dungan, Director of Credit
Justin Brands, Inc. (A Berkshire Hathaway company)
Fort Worth, Texas
"There are numerous credit periodicals available to the credit professional today. How good is Credit Today? Is it relevant? I always have to read it late, or online because my credit analysts want to read it the minute it comes in. When my staff wants to read a publication before I have a chance to read it then something is working in that publication. We have cancelled our other subscriptions. When you have the best you do not need the rest."
Ron Woods
Corporate Credit Manager-World Wide
Thales Navigation, Inc.
"The newsletter, coupled with the website and the ListServ, are to us, more valuable than any other credit publication, bar none. I try to use at least one article out of each newsletter for departmental training/discussion sessions."
D. Mark Constantine
Corporate Credit Mgr
Fulton Paper Company
"I love Credit Today and read every issue cover to cover. For me, the greatest perk of a subscription is ListServ. I believe Credit Today's ListServ members may be the most knowledgeable Credit brain trust in existence today. I have saved and categorized hundreds of contributions on a wide variety of topics which I refer to often. It's an easy and cost effective way to network and learn."
Doug M. Thomas
Kimberly-Clark Customer Financial Services |
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Focusing on the Basics
Dan Middleton, CCE, general credit manager for Mercer Transportation Co., Inc. (Louisville, Ky.), has been in the credit profession for 30 years, beginning his career in the late l960s as a credit analyst with Dun & Bradstreet. So it seems a bit odd to see prominent display on his office wall that most basic body of the profession's wisdom, the 'Five C's' of credit (character, capacity, capital, collateral, and conditions). But he insists there is no reason for anyone to be surprised.
"I refer to them every day," he says. "The few times I've ever strayed from them, I've usually lived to regret it." Some of his observations:
Character is probably the most important of the five. "If an applicant has all of the other four but not character, there are going to be problems," he emphasizes. "Character is a moral quality, and if an applicant doesn't possess it, he will 'beat you out of' what he owes you sooner or later."
Capacity. If Middleton's analysis shows an applicant's ability to pay on time is marginal, he refers back to character as the deciding factor. "I talk with the person on the phone and assess his character," he explains. "After having a conversation with someone, I can tell you if he is reputable or not." Often, it's not so much what the person says, but how he says it. For example, a lot of applicants won't provide financial statements. What I pay attention to is the reasons he gives for not for not providing the statement, as how he says 'no." The few times he has overridden his intuition in this area, he admits that he's gotten burned.
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Capital. "This used to mean a lot more in the past than it does today," he notes. While other credit managers have come to accept lack of capital (even negative net worth) as part of doing business, Middleton still pays close attention to such customers. "At some point, people may decide they don't want to put any more money into a company," he explains. "I have to stay ahead of these kinds of decisions."
Conditions. "In my business, I have to know everyone's business. Today's economy is good, but some industries and companies are not reaping the benefits," Since Mercer deals with virtually every industry and does business in Canada, the United States, and Mexico, Middleton must remain on top of economic conditions in virtually all industries in all three countries. "I then have to determine how these conditions will affect each customer."
Collateral. This is probably the least relevant of the five for Middleton, given that he extends unsecured credit. "I do end up with possession of shipments every once in awhile, though, where the customers won't accept shipment and the shippers won't take them back."
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.
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Credit Groups 2012
Wonder What the ROI is on Credit Groups?
Find out here...
It's been 4 years since our original ground-breaking survey on credit groups and we're revisiting this most important topic. Among other topics, we're investigating:
- What are the top services being offered by credit groups
- How much credit groups cost
- What the value of credit group services is
- What the value of credit group services is in comparison to credit reporting services
- How data is submitted
- What percentage of credit groups reveal terms
- What percentage of credit groups share data outside the credit group
And much more...
Click here to participate!
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