KONE is an international company specialized in installing, modernizing and maintenance of elevators, electric staircases and automatic doors. They are present in more than 40 countries, represented by somewhat 800 services centers.

KONE BELUX became the market leader in Belgium. And of course it wants to keep this position. Therefore KONE BELUX invests in clients, her co-workers and her products and services. Credit Management is essential to finance these investments.

“Several years ago the credit department’s situation was stable and perfectly controllable by our team of dunning employees”, Didier Moreaux, CFO of KONE BELUX, says, “but obviously the payment behavior on the Belgian market has worsened. At the end of 2007 the amount of unpaid invoices was elevated considerably. That’s the reason we had to look for a solution.”

Even before the media spoke of an economic crisis, mister Moreaux reacted proactively by acknowledging and anticipating the importance of Credit Management. “In the first place a positive evolution of results in the field of DSO is very important. Therefore the Credit Department had to evolve along with reality. There was little structure and the department had to be integrated in the operational process.”

The two most important issues for the company were results and structures. In that search for a solution Triple A Solutions entered the scene.

“After the presentation of the company I was convinced that Triple A Solutions would be able to deliver a qualitative service that could serve our needs adequately”.

Triple A Solutions proposed three solutions:

• Hands-on support of the existing dunning team with experienced credit professionals
• Centralization of files to raise efficiency
• Improvement of procedures in search of  a higher productivity

In the first place, the focus was set on collection. Unpaid invoices were collected in a fast and well-considered way.  The DSO decreased fast and the ageing balance showed a significant improvement.
Simultaneously with this operational support, a new structure was implemented, which was the centralization of credit files. This way we could work in a much more structured way.

“Next the operational support and thanks to their expertise in Credit Management, Triple A Solutions has implemented structure into our organization. AAA  as our partner in adapting procedures was a logical choice.”

Adapting procedures is a delicate issue. It is as some sort of balancing exercise between necessary company procedures and company culture. For Triple A Solutions these two elements go side by side unconditionally because every company is unique and works in a different way.

“This way the collecting procedure is promoted and we can follow-up the payments of our clients in a more pro-active way. Moreover, we evolve from an “isle-mentality” to a “business-partner-mentality”, which is essential for good credit management”.

The main points that mister Moreaux wanted to see differently have changed or are in full construction. “Rome wasn’t built in a day either.”

“Triple A Solutions brought the right solution at the right time. They foresee in qualitative co-workers who dispose of the necessary knowledge and capacities. Next to that Triple A Solutions is very communicative, interested and keeps in close touch with every project. To me this last aspect is the cherry on the pie.”

“They succeeded in the completion of the project and they proved what they’re worth.”