Synergy Airways

CHALLENGE

Deal with increased balance sheet liability

This global airline company operates an exclusive rewards club for its flyers, who accumulate air miles towards a variety of rewards, such as free travel, seat upgrades and premium gifts.

Issues which arose with the air miles program were an increased balance sheet liability due to unredeemed air miles and difficulty for members finding suitable redemptions for their accumulated miles. The challenges included attracting new customers to the loyalty programme, promoting the airline brand and giving members a unique product offering superior to the airlines competitors.

The airline wanted to ensure an enhanced shopping experience for those customers not only on board the aircraft, but before and after they chose to fly. As the air miles program is aimed at a predominantly well-off segment, any solution would have to meet their exacting requirements.

A further challenge was the time to implement a solution. There was an increased focus on promotions and sponsorship to generate higher brand awareness in the marketplace. To support these major marketing investments, project delivery deadlines were extremely tight.

SOLUTION

An exclusive shopping experience

The decisions was taken to source services from the Broker group and use the expertise of Broker finance to ensure that all financial elements were optimized and managed expertly.

An exclusive shopping experience was designed and rolled out globally for the airline. The solution consisted of a paper-based and online catalogue, which allowed customers to browse and choose from a vast array of products.

Orders could be placed via a call centre or directly via the web-shop
and customers had the option to select various payment methods, from air miles to credit cards or a combination of both. Broker has handled the trade spend and debt management processes for the client’s paper-based and online catalogue since its inception.

RESULTS

A worldwide success

  • Shopping service available in over 60 countries worldwide
  • Global logistics network capable of delivering all products to every country
  • Management and control of monetary transactions
  • Hosting of dedicated Paypage for client

Payfast

CHALLENGE

Extending payment offering

As a forward-thinking business this global payment services provider uncovered a way to complement their existing European payment by offering Direct Debits. As a way to optimize their service portfolio and unlock new business potential, the client offered their customers Direct Debit as an additional payment method in Europe while receiving the revenue in
their designated currency.

However, with little expertise in handling direct debits in Europe, this Global Payment Service Provider looked to Broker as their full-service partner – capable of providing Direct Debit and related services (reconciliation-to-reporting) in key European countries. The service was required on a white label basis so that it could be provided as part of the clients processing suite.

SOLUTION

White label and reliable

In Broker the client found a full-service partner who was reliable, efficient and skilled in the creation of the tailor made service they required. To facilitate the white label service, Broker would receive real-time and offline bank account validation requests and process direct debit settlement files from the client on behalf of their merchants.

Broker tailored the program even further by selecting partner banks in Europe and opening trust accounts on behalf of the client as well as setting up and managing the local payment and information flow. As a result, the client could rest assured that Broker adhered to all local banking requirements
and regulations for each country – and, or, bank.

Broker’s services and approach were perfectly integrated and aligned
with the clients processing suite, enabling them to provide a complementary payment offering to their global merchant base.

RESULTS

A full-service partnership

  • Collection of over £98 million on behalf of the clients merchants since 2005 annual growth rate of 25% with regards to transactions.
  • Improved cash flow and reduced Days Sales Outstanding.
  • Reduce of fraud and late payments.
  • Upgrade of security standard based on Broker finance’s certifications and experience.

Sona Energy

CHALLENGE

Help create attractive prices and ensure efficient billing

Innovative energy service providers are facing tough competition in the fiercely-contested electricity and gas market. In order to gain new customers they have to offer not only innovative and sustainable products, but also have to create attractively-priced offers and guarantee excellent energy billing and customer services.

SOLUTION

Integrated customer service

An integrated service for customer service and energy billing enables innovative energy service providers to focus on energy procurement and marketing. On the one hand this ensures cost control, while on the other hand the companies gain a strong partner for implementing the regulatory and statutory requirements as well as energy management processes.

In conjunction with our customers we have implemented different components from our comprehensive service range in accordance with their requirements and the products offered. These include classic front-office customer service activities, for example customer advice and care. But we also offer effective back-office activities such as customer registration, handling customers who switch providers, auditing and customer billing.

RESULTS

A successful transition and operational excellence

  • Handling customers who switch providers (standardized data and document management, switching suppliers in accordance with GPKE/GeLiGas regulations.
  • Auditing (checking the network usage payments, plausibility check of consumption figures, market partner communication).
  • Customer billing (processing payments, commercial dunning procedures and collection).
  • Customer service (customer care via telephone and in writing, clarification of questions on customer registration and bills receivable and billing).

Oak Tree Solutions

CHALLENGE

Deal with outstanding debts

Oak Tree Solutions, is the UK’s number one classified and community website. It brings together “buyers” (consumers looking for something) with “sellers” (businesses and people offering something).

It’s everyone’s local notice board – generating more than 250,000 new listings a week, and attracting 13.7 million visitors and 400 million page views a month. As the business grew, Oak Tree found it was spending increasingly
more time chasing overdue payments.

To improve its cash flow, Oak Tree decided to outsource its credit control function to Broker to benefit from Broker’s finance expertise and track record in accounts receivable & debt collection services.

The task was to develop a speedy and efficient process for improving cash flow and collecting outstanding balances.

SOLUTION

Create a dedicated team

To manage the outstanding debts, Broker created a customized collections process and appointed an experienced, highly trained team of credit controllers and collectors to the business.

Individual team members were assigned to particular customers to strengthen the relationship with customers and provide them with a consistent credit control partner, which in turn supported process efficiency and maximised cash collection rates.

RESULTS

Significant debt reduction

  • Collected approximately 70% of outstanding debts owed to the business within a very short timeframe.
  • Major cash flow improvement: increased collection rates by more than 200% (2015 compared to 2014)