Credit and compliance checks keep Vroon skippers on calm waters
Vroon, a global provider of shipping services, wants to be aware of its customers’ financial health at all times. The company therefore purchases credit checks and compliance insights from Altares Dun & Bradstreet.
Vroon
110
Vessels
2000
Professionals
132
years of experience
We have a broad portfolio of international customers. In order to conclude contracts with them, and to determine the terms of those contracts, we need to be aware of their financial status.”
Monitoring changes
A good assessment of financial health
Eirini Tsoumpou is a legal counsel at Vroon. From the headquarters in Breda (Netherlands), she is responsible, among other things, for making sure that the company mitigates any compliance and non-payment risks in commercial contracts with customers. “We have a broad portfolio of international customers. In order to conclude contracts with them, and to determine the terms of those contracts, we need to be aware of their financial status.”
The D&B Finance Analytics credit check service provides Eirini with a good assessment of the financial health of prospects and existing customers. “We can see when a company is close to bankruptcy, what its liquidity position is, but also how long it usually takes it to pay bills.” Altares has a database that registers all payment transactions to and from companies, which enables them to make those estimates.
Monitoring changes
In the shipping industry, as in any industry, it is conceivable that a customer's financial situation may change quickly. With a recession on the way and war in Europe, the economy is fluctuating considerably. “We have Altares constantly monitoring our current customers,” says Eirini . “If the financial health of any of them changes, we will be notified immediately.”
Altares D&B screens Vroon's customers on a number of points that give a good indication of their financial stability. The system assigns a label to this stability: the 'failure score'. If it changes (for example from 'low' to 'moderate'), Eirini will receive an alarm. “I pass this on to our business units. They can then talk to the customer and take measures, such as advance payments, to mitigate any payment risks.”
1890
Year of establishment
110
Vessels
2000
Professionals
The ultimate beneficial owner
Appraising and monitoring the financial status of customers is not the only or even the most important thing that Altares does for Vroon. “Our aim is to ensure that we're compliant with all applicable rules and regulations, at all times,” adds Eirini. Like any other company, Vroon must comply with applicable laws and regulations. “If there are sanctions against a legal person or entity, we have to be aware of it, since the consequences of non-compliance with sanctions can be significant.”
The war in Ukraine presents Vroon with exactly that challenge. When a customer approaches us, the identity of the UBO – the ultimate beneficial owner, in other words the person who takes the profit – is usually unclear beforehand. “Altares gives us real-time data with their tool indueD, that allows us to form a good opinion much better and faster. We rely on the tools and expertise they can provide, to ensure that we run as little risk as possible and always adhere to the rules.”
What other customers say
"Data is the backbone of our business. In essence, we cannot function without reliable and up-to-date data."
“Before engaging with a company, we always conduct a thorough analysis and request various supporting documents for identification and verification.”
"In particular, we felt the purity of the data was very important; that was the priority."
'As a company with a global scope, it is important for us to have a stable solution available based on global, reliable data'
'Every new customer we want to check. It sleeps much better for everyone if you know that companies you are owed money from can actually pay it.'
"To make sure we are sourcing good, reliable dealers everywhere, we need the expertise of Altares Dun & Bradstreet.
'We can now act proactively when it comes to credit risk.'
"We had another business information provider, but in testing, we found that with their data, we were only covering 45 percent of our customers.
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