GARDEN GROVE, CA--(Marketwire - October 4, 2007) - Vengroff, Williams & Associates (VWA), a
leading provider of receivables management and business process outsourcing
solutions, today announced significant enhancements to the company's
flagship Deduction Management System (DMS). DMS 2.0 combines existing
operational data elements from disparate systems, customers and vendors in
a centralized uniform platform to reduce costs, improve collections,
achieve faster resolution and achieve incisive analysis of root causes.
Additionally, DMS 2.0 is designed to improve operational excellence,
customer satisfaction and most importantly, to drive toward best practices
and continued process improvements by incorporating technology into what
has been, traditionally, a manual-process oriented series of tasks.
VWA's DMS proprietary technology was developed to complement VWA's
outsource receivables services and is ideal for global organizations that
have large distribution channels or companies that sell directly to large
retailers. VWA's DMS reduces the manual processes associated with
high-volume deduction and the dispute resolution processes by connecting
vendors, distributors and retailers via a Web-based application. Coupled
with VWA's outsource solutions, the benefits of bringing together people,
process, and technology are achieved with a clear ROI delivered to each
client engagement. The new features allow clients to communicate
collaboratively with the overall goal of reducing workload, enforcing
timely follow-up, establishing accountability and facilitating the quick
resolution of disputes.
"Being able to align execution with strategic intent is essential to VWA's
clients and by having real-time visibility into the order, fulfillment,
invoicing and payment process allows VWA to get a comprehensive, consistent
view of our clients' deduction management needs," said Stefan Pofahl,
Senior Director of Operations at VWA. "Helping our clients eliminate
unnecessary deductions results in benefits ranging from lowered operating
costs and increased productivity to a positive impact on their balance
sheet."
"VWA's Deduction Management System has been a vital component in our
ability to track outstanding receivables and bring resolution to a large
volume of transactional issues," said Kim Motika, vice present of worldwide
sales and operations for D3Publisher of America, Inc. "Deduction Management
Component functionality is a part of all A/R processes when working with
the mass market retailing segment. At D3P, the volume of documents and
process controls required to bring accurate tracking and settling of
payments to invoices, specifically when it comes to short or partial
payments requires sophisticated tools. Without the benefits of VWA
technology, the result would be large expenditures for labor, and the
inevitable increase of customer's days to pay. VWA's DMS platform allows us
to accurately track deductions taken for various reasons and provide
improved customer service with a reduced DSO benefit."
Revenue leakage comes to a halt with DMS 2.0
As global organizations conduct direct sales to retailers and the
specialization of the supply chain continues to grow, VWA has seen a
significant increase in transactional volume. Specifically within the
retail industry and as the volumes increase, the chance for error grows.
Previously, these small dollar amounts fell within the tolerance calendar,
yet over time small dollar amounts have brought about sizeable revenue
leakage. Where DMS plays a significant role in solving the business problem
is by using technology to quickly identify deductions and their root
causes, thereby cutting down the need for escalation and additional days
sales outstanding (DSO).
Advanced reporting empowers executive management to quickly identify the
departments that trigger errors and implement process improvement.
Collectively, these tools reduce laborious rework of claims, accelerate
cash flow and decrease revenue leakage.
New features in DMS 2.0 that enable companies to optimize deduction
management on a global level include:
-- Auto Cash Application -- allows customers to deliver remittances
directly to VWA in practically any format then convert the information into
an electronic feed with a standardized layout. Journal entries are created
and transmitted to the client ERP system where financial transactions are
applied automatically. For each remittance, the result is the savings of
thousands of manual entries and increased accuracy.
-- DMS is designed to easily integrate with ERP platforms such as JDE,
SAP, Oracle, Great Plains, etc. that may not offer the ability to manage
mass deductions as efficiently.
-- Auto Credit -- DMS retrieves debit note detail and automatically
creates credit notes for approval by the credit manager. Credit notes and
related deductions are matched and cleared.
-- Document Process -- debit notes. Instead of working on a deduction,
the analytics address root cause (debit note). Early notification of
problems before they affect the customer account results in improved
customer relations. Improves sales forecasting and credit exposure.
-- Reporting Tool: Automated system generates customized reports with
reliable statistics.
-- Web facing executive dashboard allows clients to create visual
presentations based on individual user needs.
"Innovative companies demand innovative ways of running their businesses
all the way down to how they manage their distribution and receivables,"
said Henry Ijams, Managing Director, PayStream Advisors. "To meet the high
standards of today's customers receivables needs, vendors must place a
heavy emphasis on technology. Whether via partnerships, or internal
development, customers depend on advanced receivables management technology
from the industry. VWA certainly has a valuable tool to offer."
About Vengroff, Williams & Associates, Inc.
Founded in 1963, and with $23 billion under its management, Vengroff,
Williams & Associates is a leading provider of receivables management
business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions for Fortune 1000 companies
such as Ford Motor Company, Federal Express, Kodak, Microsoft, Yamaha and
others. Applying state-of-the-art proprietary information systems, best
practice work flow and people to realize cost reductions, operating
efficiencies, and improved process design, VWA's approach enables clients
to easily insource or outsource all or part of the quote-to-cash function.
Solutions are customized to each client's requirements or expanded to
incorporate specialized tools and SAS 70 compliant processes and
procedures. Services include full order to cash processing, third party
collections, EIPP systems, deduction management, dispute management, auto
cash solutions, front-end risk mitigation, and tax resolution. VWA has been
named a Top 21 enterprise-level FAO service provider by FAO Today Magazine.
To learn more about VWA, please visit
www.vwainc.com or telephone (866)
393-4892.
Contact Information: Media Contacts:
Pamela Herman
Trier and Company for VWA
415-422-0024
Email:
Robert Sherman
Vengroff, Williams & Associates, Inc.
714-889-6202
Email: