Modern credit management at Aurubis: standardised with individual flexibility

Aurubis is active along a metal value-creation chain with the three main areas of concentrates, recycling and product business. The different cycles of these markets and their diverse customers demand credit management that is central but at the same time works flexibly for the subsidiaries in different countries. Aurubis found this solution in the credit management software ETCM - Ecclesia Trade Credit Manager based on the CAM Industry & Trade software from SCHUMANN.

"Our previous system lacked the possibility of individualization for our different locations", explained Senior Credit Manager Kamran Mehdiyev and added: "The configuration of the new solution meets our requirements exactly." 

The aim was to unify different ERP systems with diverse data structures and content so that they could flow into the credit management system as if they were from the same source. Given the country-typical credit risks in many locations, the introduction of ETCM is a process that was started with four companies and is progressing successively. 

"In comparison to the previous situation we now have a clear overview and a better perspective for further developing our credit management", said Mehdiyev, summarizing the advantages.

Through centralization of the credit insurance applications and the standardization of country-specific processes in one system, a clear overview can be achieved with significantly less effort. The greatest obstacles for a more stringent credit management were the variation in the data structures and the ERP systems, and the differences in content.

Aurubis AG decided in favour of introducing the ETCM product variant, a standard product in cooperation between Ecclesia Credit, the Aurubis Group's specialist broker for credit insurance and receivables financing, and SCHUMANN. This product variant is based on the standard product CAM Industry & Trade from SCHUMANN, but is preconfigured even further - particularly with regard to credit insurance management. A lean basic system was preconfigured on the basis of the minimum requirements developed by Ecclesia Credit for the administration of credit insurance contracts - with a particular focus on the connection of service providers via interfaces, limit management and the monitoring of obligations. This system can be individually and flexibly expanded as part of a modular system. The components of this modular system consist of a selection of functions available in CAM Industry & Trade. For example, it is also possible to connect several information providers (credit insurance/credit agencies/etc.) via an interface and to map processes such as balance sheet analyses or the allocation of internal credit limits. The specific configurations and extensions for Aurubis went quickly thanks to the standard settings made as part of the ETCM. The prototype was introduced after just three months. The ETCM product was then further developed to meet the needs of Aurubis. As a result, the product offers an SAP interface and differentiated credit insurance management, particularly with an integrated top-up limit that is clearly documented and visible.

The group decides together with the local experts in which company ETCM will be implemented and which local circumstances need to be taken into account. Data is then analysed and consideration is given to how the accounting peculiarities can be converted into a standardized form. "Sometimes we need to make compromises, but in discussions with SCHUMANN creative and flexible solutions are always found which enable a fast implementation of the ETCM", said the Credit Manager and emphasized: "Our standard rules form the basis for every implementation." 

The foundation for this is the aggregation model with which the credit management policy of all locations is taken over by the group function. The software offers the necessary interfaces, among others for SAP, in order to provide detailed, automated limit allocation. The customer and invoice data for all subsidiaries is standardized in the system, with the advantage that the complex credit insurance structures are now unified and comprehensible despite their diversity. 

The simple limit requests and the better overview of the customer portfolio enable the Credit Managers at Aurubis to focus more strongly on the needs of the various customer groups that are looked after by the multi-metal supplier and which are active in the three different markets: processing of metal concentrates, metal-containing recycling material and production of copper cathodes and other diverse copper products. 

Manual activities in credit management have been significantly reduced. For example, standardized customer and invoice data now flows into a rules system for evaluations. The view of the current data that this enables, together with the individually designed tasks, simplifies the credit risk management. 

"We are progressing well with the implementation", Mehdiyev is pleased to say, and summarizes: "With the help of ETCM we can now develop our dynamism even better."

Find out more about our credit management software solutions for companies in the industrial and trade sectors.