Atradius increased collection of bad debt by 24% using Creditsafe.

Before using Creditsafe, Atradius collections were manually pulling credit reports when looking to recover un-paid debt, having to log into a website on each occasion. Justin Arandjelovic, Atradius Collections, Head of Operations for Western Europe, says “We were not maximising our internal resource as effectively as possible, and losing the opportunity to focus our efforts on the areas where we could achieve the best outcome for our customers.” Atradius collections were limited with the information needed when aiming to recover debts for their customers, using data provided from customers that could be inaccurate or out-of-date.

Atradius’ vetting of debtor information was very manual and time consuming, and with limited information, the collectors were unable to see an overview of the financial health or current trading status of the debtor unless they manually conducted a credit check. 

When looking for a provider of up-to-date and relevant credit information, Atradius Collections turned to Creditsafe. They needed data that could integrate directly into Atradius’ ERP system, and update on a regular basis. “Having used Creditsafe in the past, I knew they could deliver a global solution. Knowing that if we launched successfully in the UK, it would be easy to replicate across other regions due to Creditsafe's global reach,“ explains Justin. 

Initially, Atradius Collections were using Creditsafe’s website platform solely within the UK, before expanding to other countries with the benefit of having access to Creditsafe's global database. That allowed other countries to access the platform containing more than 365 million companies across 160 countries.

The main reason for choosing Creditsafe was the simplicity of integrating Creditsafe data into Atradius' ERP system. The Creditsafe Connect API automatically feeds data into a Credit Reporting tab in Atradius’ internal system. “Every time a debt is placed with us, the Connect API automatically pulls the company’s credit score, and other key company data and enhances the record so that our agents have all the information needed to take quick and decisive action whilst the debtor is on the phone. Having access to such information also supports us with minimising the overall cost to our customers, especially if legal action is required to recover debt."

Creditsafe also provides Atradius Collections with the ability to perform batch updates within their system. This allows Atradius to analyse multiple debts they take on, allowing them to assess incoming debts from new customers, allocate workloads, formulate collection strategies, manage their expectations, and success rates. 

Another reason for choosing Creditsafe was the dedicated support received from their Premier Account Manager. Justin says, “Having a dedicated account manager gives us a single point of contact and means we have someone who truly understands our business needs.”

Future plans see Atradius Collections look to expand the use of Creditsafe throughout their business across numerous regions.