DirectPay performs efficient management and collection of receivables from debtors. Often through "buying the receivables," DirectPay is able to get straight to the liquidity needs of its customers.

"The better the relationship with the people with whom we collect the invoices, the better the results," said Colin Nugteren, Operational Manager at DirectPay. "Debtors are more inclined to pay some or all of the receivables earlier if we go about it in a more friendly way. Especially in difficult economic times, payment convenience and schedule agreement, for example, are very important. Knowledge and understanding of the client's situation are essential to better assess risks and to support the collection process."

DirectPay has a lot of data about both its customers and its clients' customers. The firm must process all this information in up-to-date and accurate reports on creditworthiness, risks, payment behavior and developments. The information must be available in the appropriate form, at the right moment, for the right people.

DirectPay leaders also appreciate the ability to view and manipulate real-time data graphically. Nugteren said the visualizations lead to better insights from the data.

"As our figures are based on many debtors and the fact that you can view the data in many ways, it was quite a challenge to be able to visualize this," said Nugteren. "Since not many people can read trends from an Excel sheet, we need software to visualize current information and then offer comprehensive predictions. SAS Visual Analytics provides a practical and clear, up-to-date overall picture managers can work with quickly due to the user-friendly, intuitive design. While most dashboards are static, SAS Visual Analytics is dynamic. I can now share reports on an iPad, so the manager can show and discuss with others in real time while also diving deeper into the data."

For DirectPay, operational risks are often related to individual cases. The organization wanted more action from internal triggers to handle data proactively. SAS Visual Analytics makes this possible.

"Speed is crucial. We can now answer questions that arise during a meeting, which saves time, efficiency and ultimately results in customer satisfaction," said Nugteren. "When it comes to credit risks, you want to see changes in payment behavior of certain debtors. If we are discussing risks and debtors with a client, quite often the conversation turns to individual cases. It is essential to quickly access information and ensure that the underlying data and figures are visible and available for the correct action to be taken immediately."