Businesses more likely to increase use of debt collections agencies as a result of economic crisis

 

Amsterdam, 18 January 2010 – In its recent “Global Collections Review” of over 3,500 companies across four continents, leading credit management and collections specialist Atradius assessed business requirements for outsourcing business-to-business collections services. The Review examines the impact of the economic crisis on the use of outsourced collections, and gives insight into the criteria businesses are likely to use to select a debt collection partner and factors likely to discourage them from outsourcing their outstanding debts.

 

The Global Collections Review shows that as a result of the economic crisis, businesses are more likely to have increased their use of outsourced collections services in their efforts to improve cash flow and increase liquidity. Of all countries surveyed, Belgium and the Netherlands stand out with the highest percentage of companies increasing their use of outsourced collections services (44% and 43% respectively).

 

Amongst 8 different criteria for selecting a collections agency, businesses across all countries deemed the success rate of collections efforts to be most important, followed by price, global expertise, local knowledge and easy access to up-to-date information.

 

Raymond van der Loos, Managing Director of Atradius Collections commented: “This Review gives an invaluable insight into how businesses approach debt collections. Despite the expected similarities such as how businesses assess success rates or intimate knowledge of in-country and global collections landscapes, the survey also revealed many geographic and cultural variations. It is our understanding and careful assessment of these, as well as intimate knowledge of local legal systems and practices, which enables Atradius Collections to deliver a truly local service in the global trade environment.”

 

One key finding was the difference in opinion when considering the importance of the relationship with the debtor in appointing a collections supplier. 47% of German respondents rated it as ‘not important at all’, while 53% of French companies said it was ‘very important’. Another was the additional services in the collection agency’s portfolio, which proved universally to be the least important factor in the selection of a debt collections service provider.

 

Among the reasons for not outsourcing debt collections, the lowest percentage of respondents selected ‘no trust in the success of the outsourcing party’. This finding was consistent throughout the majority of surveyed countries, and leads to the conclusion that the outsourced debt collections industry in general is perceived positively when it comes to its ability to deliver expected results.

 

 

The “Global Collections Review” survey was conducted among 3,538 businesses across 20 countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Mexico, USA.

 

The full Global Collections Review can be downloaded from www.atradiuscollections.com 

 

About Atradius Collections:

Atradius Collections, a business unit of Atradius Group, provides efficient, quick and flexible solution to recover domestic and international trade debts. With over 400 staff in 18 offices and an extensive network of collections specialists, lawyers and insolvency practitioners worldwide, Atradius Collections serves over 12,000 customers handling on average 100,000 cases a year. Over 80 years of global credit management industry experience uniquely position Atradius Collections as a worldwide leader in business-to-business debt collections.

 

 

For further information:

Natasha Pearson

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+31 20 553 3028

Joanne Aaron

+44 (0)2920 824873

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www.atradiuscollections.com