EXECUTIVE INSIGHT
We continuously cleanse, enrich and validate supplier data with our partners to help ensure that payment details are accurate, which reduces errors. Over time, this data intelligence highlights payment trends and areas for optimisation. What we’ re seeing on average is about 10 % of supplier bases changing over the course of a year. We can have the dialogue, and our partners can have the dialogue, saying,‘ You shared that these were your top thousand suppliers from 2024. We’ re seeing very different trends in 2025 – what’ s going on?’
This is a unique approach that helps you mitigate and predict fraud risk and better optimise payment methods. For example, if you’ re doing a major construction project this year with a hundred new suppliers, let’ s plan for that and set them up on the most cost-effective, secure payment channels instead of retroactively correcting inefficiencies in how they are getting paid.
By having all this data upfront and looking at it together on an ongoing, proactive basis, you can instantly see the trends from month to month, which then lets you take action. That’ s pretty rare from my understanding. That level of real-time visibility is what sets us apart.
Q. THAT MULTI-CHANNEL APPROACH TO SUPPLIER COMMUNICATION, HOW IS THAT MORE EFFECTIVE THAN TRADITIONAL METHODS?
» It is effective because you need to get the right message to the right person.
Just like us as consumers, we’ re going to respond to the best-targeted advertising. Certain high-touch suppliers require personalised communication and senior-level outreach. They might need to be communicated multiple times, perhaps through physical mailers, emails, websites and updated email signatures.
We help manage and / or coordinate that. We help consult on how to take the most advantage of software you’ re using and the processes you’ re trying to support. Having AI helps us with targeting. We’ re now 93 % accurate in our predictive capability around how suppliers would like to be paid and set up, which enables us to prescribe a very effective and targeted approach to supplier management. It’ s digital-first, but when you add phone and other methods it generates
86 April 2025