How to Streamline A/P and A/R for Manufacturers

Manufacturing is in a tough spot. While revenues are up 4% from 2018, output fell throughout the first and second quarters of 2019. Facing a fair amount of obstacles, some manufacturers are struggling to remain in the black.

Manufacturers face intense pressure to meet evolving customer expectations, most notably, a growing emphasis on convenience, speed and personalization in B2B purchasing. Manufacturers are trying to reduce prices and expedite services amidst rising material costs, volatile international trade flows and an all-time low industry hiring pace. At the same time, the industry is moving toward a direct-to-customer selling model, transforming buyer-seller relationships and accelerating the need to grow and scale efficiently.

That’s a lot to grapple with. Fortunately, manufacturers who embrace technology and innovate their backend processes accordingly will thrive amid these rising pressures and economic changes.

The Future of Manufacturing Depends on Frictionless Backend Processes.

Economic obstacles and the mounting pressure to exceed customer expectations make it more important than ever to rethink investments in manufacturing businesses:

• What processes and technologies help organizations stand out from the crowd and perform at maximum efficiency?
• Which processes are tying up working capital and delaying the sales process?

Addressing outdated and inefficient processes can be overwhelming — but revamping antiquated payment experiences should be a top priority. Legacy payment processes with weak backend support fail to deliver a modern and robust customer experience. And, they deprive businesses of critical customer data.

Without customer data, it’s extremely difficult to predict buyer needs, forecast buying trends for product development and offer purchasing controls for customized pricing. And if these types of capabilities aren’t in place, manufacturers are sure to stunt business growth and prevent future scalability. Perhaps even more detrimental to business growth is the effect inefficient payment processes have on sales and accounts receivable (A/R).

The Pain Points Plaguing A/P and A/R Teams

Inefficient payment processes create an unstable environment for both sellers’ A/R teams and buyers’ AP teams. Without the support of modern purchasing solutions, their daily tasks are unnecessarily complicated — and the stress trickles down to the rest of the business.

A/P Inefficiencies are All Too Common:

• 47% of companies pay one in 10 invoices late
• 16% admit one-fifth of their payments are never the same
• 5% of businesses assert they always pay on time
• One in 12 companies do not monitor payment processes at all

Partner With TreviPay to Modernize Your Manufacturing Payment Experience

Supporting your internal teams while meeting customer purchasing expectations has never been easier. With TreviPay, manufacturers can extend risk-free credit to customers seamlessly. The white-labeled service is easy to use for both buyers and sellers. The technology allows sellers to monitor transactions and view purchasing activity while onboarding and approving buyers in under 30 seconds.