Streamline the order to cash cycle with AR automation

The modern shopping experience is defined by digitally powered conveniences that customers take for granted, like quick and easy payments, online purchase history and near-instant credit decisioning. When these elements are missing—such as in more traditional B2B interactions—the difference is noticeable and can damage customer loyalty and sales.

“The rise in B2B eCommerce, along with the accelerated digital transformation that occurred during the pandemic, has really raised the stakes,” says Kelley Marko, Vice President of Marketing at Capital One Trade Credit. “Put simply, the old order to cash experience, which was conducted primarily offline and relied on manual processes, can’t keep pace with customer expectations anymore.”

A recent survey shows that 73% of B2B buyers want to buy online, but 85% experience online ordering frustrations. Unsurprisingly, 75% of those surveyed would switch to companies that offer a better buying experience.

B2B organizations that want to stand the test of time and retain a competitive advantage must master the customer experience (CX) with seamless, “always-on” digital order to cash (O2C) purchasing experiences. 

“As consumers, so much has changed around the purchase experience,” says Scott Simpson, Senior Vice President at Capital One Trade Credit, in a recent PYMNTS interview. “Technology enables firms across the industry to better innovate and provide more digital and automated solutions.”

While B2B customers increasingly expect more B2C-like procurement, it can be difficult to meet those expectations, especially for organizations with entrenched invoice to cash processes.

After all, B2B customer journeys can be lengthy, complex and sometimes disjointed as compared to more straightforward B2C purchases. Credit lines may run in the six figures, an account may have dozens of approved buyers and nurturing long-term business relationships are pivotal for sustained sales. Even when buying online, it’s important that customers can talk to someone when necessary.

Creating a seamless order to cash experience for B2B buyers requires AR automation with a single digital ecosystem that encompasses credit decisioning, billing, payments and customer support. With a comprehensive customer portal, automation not only streamlines these processes, but empowers buyers as well. A customer portal is like the digital front door to your business, a centralized platform that serves as the starting point for a frictionless buying experience, including flexible payment options and rapid credit decisioning.

A particular point of friction in the order to cash cycle is manual credit decisioning. Customers are asked to wait hours—if not days—to access the credit they need for purchases that are critical to their operations. Yet many suppliers maintain their time-consuming manual decisioning processes to request, review and verify credit data. 

“Every minute a prospect has to wait to be approved for credit is a minute of purchasing time you’ve lost,” says Mona Kishore, Head of B2B Payment Partnerships at Capital One Trade Credit. “Once a client drops off, it’s exceedingly difficult to get them back—if you can get them back at all.”

To tighten this process and minimize drop-off during this precarious moment in the purchasing journey, it’s essential to transition to an automated credit decisioning process. By adopting the right AR digital toolset, organizations can streamline credit decisioning with online applications and automated technology for identity verification and credit assessment. This way, suppliers can offer new buyers credit decisioning with flexible credit terms in minutes, not days.

Automating this process can also help B2B suppliers improve relationships with current buyers. By streamlining credit monitoring and periodic assessments, businesses can offer the best terms possible to valued customers. “When customers are loyal to a particular supplier, they want to see that loyalty rewarded with better credit terms, but a lot of organizations are not solving for that pain point today,” Kishore explains.

Near-instant access to credit is just the first step in meeting the expectations of today’s B2B customers. They’re also seeking flexible digital payment methods for quick anytime, anywhere procurement that doesn’t require a company credit card (which they may not have), a personal card that must be reimbursed or even writing a check. 

“Relying solely on legacy payment solutions, like checks and credit cards, makes it more difficult for customers to manage their purchases,” explains Marko. “If they send in a check, it can take time to apply or could be applied to the wrong PO. And if they need to pay with a card, they may opt to use personal credit.” 

A more streamlined option is to pay as a business entity, apply it to the appropriate PO and have all purchases rolled up into a bill that can be paid by ACH or another preferred method.

Automating the order to cash process with a trusted AR partner allows enterprises to deliver payment flexibility at scale while driving operational efficiency and financial stability. Offering a variety of digital B2B payment options reduces payment friction and improves the customer experience. This also benefits suppliers; when buyers can choose the method that works best for them, they’re more likely to pay on time, which can help suppliers accelerate cash flow, reduce days sales outstanding (DSO), and improve working capital.

Finally, a modern order to cash cycle must consider customer service—whether that’s a seamless self-service experience for simple queries or instant access to live support for elevated issues. Often, order to cash processes span multiple departments, resulting in a disjointed customer experience where it’s difficult to find the right person to talk to or to access the basic information they need.

An end-to-end AR automation solution should include an intuitive portal that lets customers keep their accounts current, check their balance, access purchase history and monitor any issues. “After customers receive their digital bill, they want to go in and see how it matches up with their delivery,” Marko says. “And they need to be able to make full or partial payments, as well as open disputes for inaccurate deliveries.”

Importantly, busy customers don’t want to have to call customer service for every issue, especially those that they know could be self-serviced, like viewing a billing due date, accessing invoices or making a payment. If they do experience a more complicated issue, they should be able to quickly find customer support options and access to live agents with the expertise to help them.

“Having that flexibility to move between fully automated self-service and into that live channel environment is a really important part of the back end of the order to cash experience,” says Marko. “By doing this well, you’re able to improve your CX and service customers holistically.”

As the B2B world continues its shift to a more consumer-like model, it’s critical for B2B sellers to deliver stellar customer experiences, from credit decisioning and ordering to payments and account management. Those who leverage automation to ease these processes—and their customers’ workdays—will benefit from a more satisfied and loyal customer base and the growth that loyalty fuels. 

“There’s going to be a tipping point where either you have a progressive modern customer experience, or you don’t,” Simpson says. “And I think those that choose to act sooner are going to be the ones that tend to win customers, delight customers and keep them. Those that don’t will steadily watch their businesses erode.”

A modern order to cash cycle that meets and even exceeds B2B buyer expectations can help today’s suppliers gain and retain customers. 

Financial and AR leaders agree: In a recent Forrester study commissioned by Capital One Trade Credit, more than 90% agreed that improving the B2B digital buying experience is important to achieving organizational goals like revenue growth. The back-end benefits are nothing to scoff at, either: More than 80% agree that leveraging AI, automating credit and streamlining payment processes are important to improving organizational efficiency.

To learn more about the benefits of eliminating credit and payment friction by transforming AR and the order to cash cycle, download the full Forrester study here.