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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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Credit Investigations--Digging Deeper
There are credit applicants out there who will tell you anything they think you want to hear. But you can't let that chilling thought freeze the decision-making process. You've got to use the best information sources available to you, probe them deeply, and never lose sight of the value of that old, reliable, "gut feeling."
The Dun & Bradstreet report on a prospective customer did not inspire much confidence. There had been a UCC filing and other apparent difficulties. But the report also referenced a parent company, so Credit Manager Tim Mayfield of EFTC (Phoenix, Ariz.) pulled a report on them as well. That was when things got even muddier.
"The parent company was cross-referenced to the subsidiary and to another company as well," he says. "I called the vice president of finance, and he said they were in the process of being bought out. But I could see there was something funky going on.
"The first company referenced the second company, which referenced the third company, which referenced the first company--completing the circle. They were using each others' assets to create net worth."
Needless to say, Mayfield declined to extend credit. The wisdom of this decision was confirmed three months later when the whole three-company contrivance filed for bankruptcy.
Checking Them Out
Mayfield cites this episode to illustrate the value of D&B reports in checking out credit applicants. He also relies on audited financial statements (although he acknowledges that these can be several months old and effectively out of date when he receives them) and on contacts (usually by phone) with the customer.
The Best Credit Departments in the World!
You'll learn what's working at credit departments ranging anywhere from Fortune 50 operations to those with just one (overworked) person. Just a few of the world's leading credit departments featured include Campbell Soup Company, Georgia Pacific, BJ Services Company, USA, VF Jeanswear, USXpress, and Canon USA.
Check out Credit Today's
Credit Department Profiles
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"These contacts can give you a gut feeling for the type of company you're dealing with," he says. "I want to make sure they understand and appreciate the impact of the business relationship on them and on us."
A contract circuit board manufacturer, EFTC is a leader in high-mix electronic services for many companies in the aerospace and medical equipment industries. Customer relations often involve lengthy and complex design and engineering partnerships.
"When I call a credit applicant and don't get through right away, I leave a message," he says. "If I get a quick reply, it shows that what we're doing is important to them. It's often little things like that that tell you a lot."
Credit terms, stated on the credit application, are net 30 days "unless otherwise written." But he emphasizes that written exceptions are unusual. "Requests for longer terms are really red flags," he says. "You have to wonder why they can't process invoices in 30 days."
Controllers and CFOs
Mayfield usually tries to talk to the controller or the CFO. "They have the pulse of the company," he notes.
They also have the very latest information. He recalls an instance in which the customer had reported sales of $25 million on their credit application but for whom the D&B report gave only $12 to $15 million.
"I asked them why the discrepancy," he says. "They told me they had just won some bids they hadn't expected to win, and I was persuaded that their business actually had increased that much.
"I also pointed out that the D&B report showed them paying in 70 days and asked what the problem was there. They said they'd had snags with their payment process but that they were automated and expected them to be straightened out. We approved them for credit, and we've had really good relations."
Editor's Note: The above article originally appeared in the Credit & Collection Manager's Letter, a newsletter purchased by Credit Today in 2006.
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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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