The Complete Guide to Managed Services

Corcentric

The traditional business landscape is facing mounting challenges. Recent disruptions in supply chains, surging inflation, economic uncertainties, geopolitical unrest, and evolving consumer behavior are just some factors that severely impact businesses worldwide. However, the reality is that even before these disruptions, many traditional business models were already buckling under the weight of a fast-changing world.

Stakeholder expectations have reached new heights, with a more rigorous scrutiny of return on investment (ROI) and performance benchmarks. Prioritizing cost reduction has become a strategic imperative as management teams strive to harness the power of innovative technologies to enhance efficiency. Crucial functions, even those not at the core yet vital to board-level decision-making, such as procurement and finance, are expected to amplify their productivity without the infusion of extra resources.

And outpacing competitors has become a Herculean task, necessitating a deeper understanding of industry trends, the deployment of sophisticated digital tools and data analytic capabilities, and the recruitment of specialized talent to manage these resources.

Tackling all these challenges in-house requires significant investments in time and resources. Fortunately, managed services providers offer a proven solution that helps businesses reduce costs and channel their valuable resources toward more strategic endeavors.

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The business case for Managed Services

Managed services providers specialize in delivering secure and reliable solutions at scale, enabling businesses to offload mundane but critical tasks. This allows businesses to focus on more strategic areas, such as driving innovation, strengthening customer relationships, and exploring new growth channels. With the help of experienced managed services providers, companies can stay ahead of their competitors in a rapidly changing business landscape.

Having worked so well for IT services, managed services today is increasingly popular among CFOs, particularly in accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP). Businesses can benefit from a range of services offered by managed financial services providers, such as invoice processing, payment processing, and cash applications. These services are designed to enhance cash flow, minimize errors, and optimize financial operations.

7 benefits of using a Managed Services provider

Managed services providers offer a variety of benefits to businesses. By leveraging the expertise of these professionals, businesses can reduce costs, improve operational efficiency, and gain access to the latest technologies. Managed services also help maintain compliance with applicable regulations while ensuring data security and reliability. Thanks to these advantages, managed services is becoming an increasingly popular option for businesses looking to remain competitive and successful in a rapidly changing environment.

Here are seven benefits of using a managed services provider:

1. Unlocks working capital

Managed services providers combine people, processes, and technology to shorten the cash conversion cycle, enhance liquidity, and liberate working capital. These are done by improving the effectiveness of the credit management process, digitizing invoice preparation and payments, optimizing inventory levels, reducing days sales outstanding (DSO), extending days payable outstanding (DPO), and increasing cash flow visibility.

2. Improves days payable outstanding

The longer a company can hold its outstanding payments, the more cash it will have to fund its day-to-day operations and make short-term investments. However, delayed payments may risk damaging supplier relationships, resulting in longer delivery times, slower responses, and inflexible payment terms. Balancing the trade-off between DPO and supplier relationships is no easy feat — and this is where a managed services provider’s expertise comes to the fore.

3. Reduces days sales outstanding

On the other end of the spectrum, shortening the time taken to bring cash in from sales can improve cash flow and keep business running at an optimum level. But, in this case, customers may want to hold on to their cash as long as they can for their benefit. There are several effective ways to shorten DSO — streamlining and automating your AR process, introducing e-Invoicing, and establishing a more predictable order-to-cash (O2C) process, among others — but the challenge is to do all these without compromising customer satisfaction. Managed services makes achieving guaranteed DSO possible through a combination of subject matter expertise, funding, and modern technology.

4. Removes the burden of talent-sourcing

Managed services provide quick turnaround times and reliable results without companies having to worry about employee onboarding and training costs or turnover. Companies can access highly skilled professionals already experienced in their area rather than hiring from scratch or training existing employees. They can focus their resources and attention on core operations by taking advantage of the specialized services of a managed services provider.

5. Provides greater scalability

As the global business landscape continues to shift and evolve, businesses need to be prepared for the challenges that come with change. Managed services can help make this process easier by providing businesses with a flexible, adaptive approach that allows them to scale up or down as needed. The right managed services provider can customize their services according to the business’s specific needs.

6. Creates strong stakeholder engagement

When embarking on an automation project, partnering with a managed services provider who collaborates and aligns with the stakeholders and ancillary business units promises better business outcomes. Unlike technology-only vendors who offer limited support, managed services providers take a comprehensive approach to evaluating existing business processes and establishing realistic timelines and expected outcomes.

7. Removes the risk of ROI on initiatives

Managed services providers are experts in the area they are hired for. With specialized product and industry knowledge, these providers can hit the ground running, guaranteeing the success and return on investment (ROI) of the new solution.

How Corcentric’s Managed Services works

Introducing new technology to your business can often be daunting and time-consuming, but with Corcentric’s Managed Services, you can achieve results quickly and easily. We provide tailor-made advice and guidance to fit your needs, so you’ll get the most out of our services. Our team is always available to ensure your business goals are met and that you have the necessary support every step of the way. We provide custom solutions to help you stay ahead of competitors in an ever-changing market.

Here’s an overview of what is involved in Corcentric’s Managed Services offering:

Monitor progress through dashboards

Use cases

Corcentric’s Managed Services solutions address finance challenges in O2C, source-to-pay (S2P), and Payments. Our comprehensive management and technology eliminate administrative burdens and risks associated with point solutions, delivering measurable ROI.

No more hassles or complexity in your finance and procurement processes. With our dedicated team of experts, Corcentric Managed Services brings structured simplicity. Our unique blend of managed services, award-winning technology, and trade financing relieves you from day-to-day responsibilities, allowing you to focus on high-value projects.

Managed Accounts Receivable

Managed accounts receivable replaces the burden of bad debt, payment risks, high DSO, and overworked teams. Instead, it offers guaranteed business outcomes, empowering your team with a winning combination of subject matter experts, financial services, and software. This powerful synergy liberates the working capital trapped in your AR ledger, providing the cash and peace of mind you need to fuel business growth.

Key benefits

  • Experience an immediate reduction in DSO. Simply inform us when you desire payment for each invoice, and Corcentric will guarantee full and timely payment.
  • Say goodbye to collections risk. We assure you that all your invoices are paid on time, every time, without any bad debt or credit risk. Moreover, our non-recourse agreement ensures you are never liable for late payments.
  • Unlock your working capital. The previously inaccessible working capital in your AR ledger will be transformed into cash on your balance sheet, ready to enhance liquidity and fuel your business expansion.

Managed Accounts Payable

Achieving desired results while managing multiple suppliers requires organizational focus and coordination. At Corcentric, we simplify this challenge by serving as a comprehensive entity. As a single provider of technology and services, we alleviate the stress of managing your accounts payable, enabling you to achieve long-lasting results.

Our Managed AP offering streamlines and optimizes your payments process, acting as the payment execution arm for your Treasury department. Experience the seamless integration and efficiency of Corcentric, empowering your business for success.

Key benefits

  • No more manual processing. Our touchless e-invoicing solution and automated two- and three-way matching capabilities ensure seamless coding and approvals. And we also handle exceptions.
  • Revolutionize your AP process with automation. From invoice ingestion to “OK to Pay,” our comprehensive solution takes all your back-office functions straight to your ERP.
  • Gain unparalleled business visibility. Corcentric’s technology platform provides real-time insights into your business liabilities, empowering your finance team to make data-driven decisions and achieve your goals.

Managed Sourcing

With over 30 years of experience in strategic sourcing, category expertise, and market intelligence, Corcentric’s Managed Sourcing helps you streamline your sourcing process. We put preferred supplier agreements in place for your top categories, enabling increased spend under management, cost reduction, and faster time to value. Our right-time approach and available pre-negotiated agreements deliver immediate value for your business.

Key benefits

  • Eliminate risks through strategic sourcing. Vetted suppliers deliver on promises, ensuring timely delivery of the goods you need.
  • Align sourcing strategies with business objectives. Category management ensures the right suppliers for your specific business needs.
  • Immediate cost savings. Our Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) programs provide fast and simple large-group purchasing capabilities.

Managed Procurement

Finding the right supplier at the right time and price can be challenging. But with our technology solutions and expert resources, we remove the burden and stress of procurement, allowing you to focus on growing your business. Our optimized procurement process starts by understanding your business processes, whether you’re transitioning from manual to digital, in-house to outsourced, or a combination.

Managed Procurement handles your day-to-day procure-to-pay tasks, from tactical and strategic purchasing to supplier management. By freeing up your team, we enable them to focus on value creation. And that’s not all —we provide analytics to identify cost-saving opportunities and unlock working capital, fueling the growth of your business.

Key benefits

  • Streamline your procurement process. Our experienced team takes care of all aspects of procurement, from administration to managing 3rd-party risk, ensuring a simplified and efficient operation.
  • Save time and costs. Gain access to our GPO for discounted procured goods, while our spend control measures eliminate maverick buying, maximizing savings.
  • Access scalable, tailor-made solutions. Whether you need to find a specific supplier during critical times or require assistance with category management, RFP execution, or finding the best price, our deep procurement expertise ensures customized solutions for your current and future business needs.

Managed Payments

Managed Payments combines a professional team, technology, and financing to optimize your payment capabilities. Our tailored solution focuses on delivering value through payment execution, timing, and cash flow. By accelerating the PO-to-payment cycle, we save you time and effort, build stronger relationships, mitigate fraud, and increase efficiency.

Key benefits

  • Streamlined payment processing. Whether it’s processing single invoices or bulk imports, we handle any payment term, type, or situation, such as ACH, vCard, check, and early payment discounts.
  • Consolidated bill payment. Our consolidated bill payment system makes understanding and processing payments from different suppliers easy.
  • Optimized working capital. Unlock working capital by optimizing your Days Payable Outstanding (DPO) and rebates. Put that money right back into growing your business, ensuring a healthy cash flow.

Case study: How this organization benefited from Corcentric’s Managed Services

1. Daimler Truck

Solutions deployed: Managed AR

Challenges

– Managing an expanding fleet parts business of hundreds of dealer operators that supported more than 15,000 customer locations nationwide

– Lack of higher-level billing and technology expertise

Solution

– Normalized hundreds of types of data formats across the business network and turned that data into a digital format

– Transformed Daimler’s billing processes and customer support network

– Assumed the credit risk of Daimler’s customers by taking on the receivables and accelerated payment to Daimler’s dealers

Results

– Achieved more than 17,000 unique connections between Daimler dealers and buyer ERP and PoS systems

– Decreased DSO from 37 to 15 days

– Decreased disputes by 86%

– Achieved 100% visibility

For more case studies, visit https://www.corcentric.com/case-studies/

Managed Services – A boon for finance departments

Partner with us to eliminate the challenges associated with outdated finance processes. We facilitate greater collaboration across teams and provide instant visibility into key financial metrics with the right resources and technology.

With guaranteed outcomes from day one, flexibility and scalability, and a comprehensive suite of services under one roof, we empower businesses to unlock working capital and drive growth. Finance leaders can realize a return on investment through shorter implementation cycles, increased operational efficiencies, and cost savings.

Talk to our Managed Services experts to strengthen operations and bottom line and digitally transform your business processes.

TALK TO OUR EXPERTS