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Our Subscribers Say...
"There are numerous credit periodicals available to the credit professional today. How good is Credit Today? Is it relevant? I always have to read it late, or online because my credit analysts want to read it the minute it comes in. When my staff wants to read a publication before I have a chance to read it then something is working in that publication. We have cancelled our other subscriptions. When you have the best you do not need the rest."
Ron Woods
Corporate Credit Manager-World Wide
Thales Navigation, Inc.
"The newsletter, coupled with the website and the ListServ, are to us, more valuable than any other credit publication, bar none. I try to use at least one article out of each newsletter for departmental training/discussion sessions."
D. Mark Constantine
Corporate Credit Mgr
Fulton Paper Company
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Kimberly-Clark Customer Financial Services
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Paul Brunner
Corporate Credit Manager
Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. |
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Welcome to Credit Today Online
Credit Today is the premier publication for trade credit professionals. This web site and all the resources within are for subscribers to Credit Today. If you are new to our site, please feel free to browse some of our sample articles now! If you are a current subscriber to the print edition of Credit Today, and have your subcriber ID number, visit Activation Page to activate your Free subscription to CreditToday Online.
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Is Your Credit Staff All on the Same Team?
By David Schmidt, Contributing Editor
Teamwork is a powerful asset. Without it, a talented group of individuals can end up losing to a less talented team. By the same token, why is it successful sports teams continue to win even when their star players are felled by injuries? It's because successful teams are much more than the sum of t . . . keep reading
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Co-op Adds Security To the Credit Function
It turns out that credit can run a little more smoothly if your customers are also your owners. Margret Goodson is in a unique position as credit department and A/R manager for Affiliated Foods Inc. of Amarillo, Texas. The company is a wholesale grocery cooperative and distributor that works with about 700 stores and restaurants primarily in the southwestern United States. It also has bakery and dairy operations. The cooperative, however, represents the largest customer group. Goodson's credit staff handles about 2,000 accounts and $1.2 billion in sales. The team is broken up by business line. Four persons are responsible for the food service area, which serves schools, restaurants and independent grocers. They set up new accounts, review credit and collect on those accounts. . . . keep reading
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Statutes of Limitations: Carved in Stone?
By Ann Morales Olazábal, MBA, JD
Credit and the Law: The SituationJK Enterprises, an importer of men's apparel, sold $1.26 million worth of men's suits to Men's Trends, which operates a regional chain of specialty men's clothing stores in the Southeast. But by January 2001, when the suits had been fabricated and shipped, . . . keep reading
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Leadership Profile: Connie Steed, CCE, Corporate Credit Manager, Rasmussen Equipment Company
Credit Philosophy: "At Rasmussen Equipment, we have been very successful in building an outstanding relationship between sales and credit. Keeping the lines of communication open has allowed us to increase sales and margins and keep our DSO and bad debt at manageable numbers. Up-and-down changes in the construction industry requires that we be constantly focused. Our accounts receivable exposure can become very high, very quickly. I believe that the more we know about our customers and the more we help them become better business people, the better chance we have of being paid. We also make great use of NACM Business Credit Services in Salt Lake City. Whether it be collections, credit reports, group meetings, educational seminars or other services, we can always count on the NACM organization to support us professionally, enabling us to be the best credit department we can be." . . . keep reading
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Being Accessible
You're not going to sit at your desk all day and waiting for customer calls, but, according to Controller Donald Ferguson of Indianapolis Fruit Company, Inc., there are worse ideas. Ferguson, who manages the company's credit function, tries to make it as convenient as possible for customers to get i . . . keep reading
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Make Your Case, in Person
The best information in your watch-list file comes mainly from your own records of customers' payments and buying patterns. You should compile this information and study it thoroughly before contacting a seriously delinquent customer. Then, if you're fortunate enough to actually be able to make some . . . keep reading
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Who's Your Credit Reporting Agency?
USAopoly may well be looking at a significant write off in the Linens 'n Things debacle, but Credit and Collections Manager Robert Capra can cite one positive from the whole sorry mess: He's found a credit reporting agency he can have some confidence in. Capra was blindsided by Linens when the ag . . . keep reading
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Who's on Your Watch List?
"If trade creditors cut terms to cash, they'll starve you out, and that foretells bad things," observed one bankruptcy lawyer after 11 major creditors of tottering Linens 'n Things, Inc. formed an ad hoc committee and selected financial advisors and legal counsel to "press concerns and prepare for b . . . keep reading
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Is COD Dying?
Shipping COD can be a messy proposition, and with the availability of viable alternatives such as credit cards and checks by fax, is there any reason to continue using COD services? When a customer isn't worthy of open credit, distributors or manufacturers have traditionally relied on COD shipme . . . keep reading
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Leadership Profile: Deborah J. Martell, CCE,
Corporate Credit Manager, Kenwal Steel Corp.
Credit Philosophy: It is the responsibility of the credit department to establish credit limits and control balances, based on the customer's ability to pay, willingness to pay and overall credit worthiness. Each credit decision requires prompt action by the credit department to properly serve the customer and the sales organization while protecting the company's interests. Approval of credit limits requires scrutiny of the customer's credit application information, credit reference history and credit report information. A "no" decision, without developing the facts, is not the right decision. All credit decisions require that sufficient facts be developed. Close working relationships, along with effective communication and investigation, ensure that we keep our bad-debt losses at a minimum while still offering good customer service. . . . keep reading
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Payment Imaging Pays Off in Deduction-Process Efficiency
The three deduction service representatives (DSRs) who handle an average of 1,800 deductions each month for WD-40 Company (San Diego) will soon have a superb new information tool at their fingertips. It's a digital dashboard that will display of all relevant and up-to-the-minute data about their customers. . . . keep reading
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Book Review: What is Your Credit and Collection Game Plan?
GET P.A.I.D. A GUIDE TO GETTING PAID FASTER (AND WHAT TO DO IF YOU DON'T) By Robert S. Bernstein, Esq. 2007, Business Credit Publications, LLC., Pittsburg, PA 212 pages $34.95 hardback, $19.95 paperback Effective credit and collections requires that you have a well thought o . . . keep reading
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Automatic Lease Extensions Not So Automatic
By Ann Morales Olazábal, MBA, JD
Credit and the Law: The Situation Radiologists Sander Derrickson and Paulina Smith were partners in a medical practice known as Suffolk Open MRI. In February 1996, the practice entered into a 60-month written agreement with Diagnost-Equip, Inc. ("DEI") for the lease of an MRI machine and . . . keep reading
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Where Have You Been?
Credit issues triggering intensive reviews of orders usually involve problems like overdue balances or worrisome agency reports. At Rainbow Seafoods, Inc., it may only mean that the customer hasn't made a purchase in more than 30 days. "One of the biggest problems in a recession is the speed at w . . . keep reading
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