For nearly 3 years, F2A has been using the Ellipro credit management platform to assess the financial strength of its French and international business partners, and to define the appropriate credit policy.
But more than that, Willy GONZALEZ, Chief Financial Officer, has been trusting Ellisphere for almost 20 years to support him in this delicate exercise, at the heart of his mission: to secure the company by minimizing the risk of non-payment by partners, without being a "brake" on its development.
Here's a look at the keys to a successful partnership.
Who is F2A?
Founded 30 years ago, F2A is a French SME specializing in the design and manufacture of air handling and acoustic components for HVAC professionals.
With various production sites in France and Tunisia, F2A addresses a wide range of markets: beyond the residential and commercial sectors, their expertise enables them to offer customized solutions adapted to sectors such as nuclear power, road or rail tunnels, or industrial processes.
F2A achieves sales of almost €40 million, of which nearly a quarter is exported.
A lack of financial indicators to accurately assess credit risk
Historically, the issue of customer credit was managed via a long-standing partnership with a credit insurance company: the latter only provided an answer as to the possible coverage of partners and the associated amount, but without any additional information concerning the solvency of these companies.
" This process was highly inadequate for effectively managing customer risk ", explains Willy GONZALEZ, " particularly in the current uncertain economic times ".
Indeed, as CFO, Mr. GONZALEZ needed to have precise financial information on his customers, such as balance sheets, profit and loss accounts, shareholder information and parent company information: data that is now indispensable for accurately assessing customer solvency and defining the most appropriate credit policy.
Data reliability, IS integration and team availability...at the heart of F2A's satisfaction.
On his arrival in 2022, Mr. GONZALEZ decided to implement the Ellipro solution at F2A, backed up by almost 20 years' experience of working with Ellisphere.
Thanks to precise reports and reliable indicators updated in real time, the Ellipro platform provides all the financial information needed to analyze and assess the risk associated with the customer portfolio. " It complements credit insurance, and is essential for effective management of customer credit," says Mr. GONZALEZ.
While F2A insists on the quality of its data on French companies, Mr. GONZALEZ also emphasizes the international service offered by Ellipro: "Ellisphere relies on a vast network of international partners, making it possible to obtain very precise information, for example, on a company based in China". This is a real differentiator for F2A, which generates almost 25% of its sales abroad.
Over and above the quality of the data available, Mr. GONZALEZ and his teams were won over by Ellipro's intuitive interface: easy to use, it can also be customized according to the roles and needs of each individual, whether the CFO or the team in charge of Customer Credit.
Another of Ellisphere's strengths is the ability to integrate Ellipro data into F2A's CRM. " Ellisphere offers partnerships that have enabled us to interface its Ellipro solution with our CRM: our sales staff have been able to view the information associated with their financial health directly on their customer files. A 360° view of their customers, for greater efficiency ".
Ellisphere also knows how to adapt to changes in the market, particularly the upsurge in BtoB fraud: "Through the fraud risk score or Automatic IBAN Verification, for example, we can anticipate the risk of transmitting a fraudulent IBAN and protect ourselves against fraud. Ellisphere has been able to enhance its 'historical' offering and bring even more added value to its customers".
The final point that makes all the difference and explains the relationship of trust that Mr. GONZALEZ has built up with Ellisphere over all these years: quality of service. " I'd like to pay tribute to Ellisphere's highly responsive teams, especially Ludovic CROBON [Distance Selling Sales Manager], who have always been present at every stage of the relationship, and have always been able to find a solution to our problems ".
All in all, a quality partnership based on trust, with no doubt new projects to support F2A in its increasingly effective risk management!
