Weekly blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM -'An added perspective'

I wrote in my blog last week about the danger of imposing prescriptive maximum payment terms on UK businesses and mentioned, by way of example, the reported offering by Canon and Nokia of favourable credit terms in their bid to keep Jessops' shops open as a route to market. 

This weekend the press suggested that the music and entertainment industry is falling over itself to keep HMV outlets open with The Sunday Times carrying the headline: "Music giants rush to keep HMV alive". The report ran: "The world's biggest music labels and film studios are assembling a multi-million pound rescue package to prevent HMV from going out of business. Universal Music, Warner Music and Sony are set to cut the price of CDs and DVDs, and give the retailer generous credit terms……."

Thinking on this reminds me of the wider role that credit professionals play in their businesses beyond risk mitigation and cash collection. When I address 'credit' audiences, I frequently remind them of the value they add to their businesses by contributing to, and in many cases even driving, the sales effort and activity. I refer to examples in my own career when I used a variety of tools and tactics (perhaps archaic by today's standards!) available to me at the time ranging from a credit reference agency to identify and pre-approve business customers for a number of mobile phone connections as a way of driving sales, to creative financial packages to allow my employer (a computer manufacturer) to supply product. We had a network of dealers, few of whom were good – on a credit basis – for any supplies on open account terms at all. Escrow accounts, back-to-back deals, end-user guarantees and many more solutions enabled us to ship product that would otherwise have remained unsold in the warehouse.

And this is where credit management comes into its own; where we can demonstrate real value. It is why credit management is such a challenging and rewarding career. In my 34th year as a credit professional I still get a huge kick out of it and even greater pleasure from leading an organisation of which I'm so proud and which remains committed to delivering the vital support our members need to deliver the cash.

Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'Keep calm and carry on'

Not much good news from George Osborne yesterday then: six more years of austerity, even more public sector jobs to go, falling household disposable incomes, earnings growing slower than inflation until 2014, only 0.7 percent growth in the economy for the whole of next year, and potentially even worse if the Eurozone can't sort itself out. And I'm writing this in a London coffee bar with hoards of police outside in anticipation of a planned march and the biggest strike action for years.

Yet despite there being plenty of reasons to be depressed there was a moment that tickled me during the Chancellor's statement in the House yesterday when the Speaker stopped him mid-stream and said: "The House needs to calm down; one Honourable Member has probably already shouted enough for one day"! The antics of our politicians never cease to amaze me with behaviour that you'd see nowhere else, except perhaps a playground!

So what can we do about it and is bemoaning our lot going to improve things? I think not. I was struck by a tweet by Richard Tyler, Enterprise Editor at the Telegraph. Richard and I don't always agree but I couldn't argue with the sentiment he expressed when he suggested - in response to the expected grim statements in the House and the OECD saying Britain may have another recession - that we should all decide 'not to say it and it won't become true'.

We're surrounded by economists forecasting gloom; most of our businesses are probably struggling, and yet if we keep reminding ourselves how bad things are, we're in danger of talking ourselves into a depressing vortex.

As credit professionals we make a valuable contribution to our businesses in maximising cash-flow and mitigating risk. It's time for us to raise our professionalism further by actively looking for opportunities that the sales team can exploit, by finding ways of doing business that we might otherwise have to reject, and by being seen as the bright corner of the organisation where people can think - and act - in a more positive light.

Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'Joined up thinking benefits customer'

I recently experienced, at close hand, the efforts of the police, local authorities, and other agencies attempting to work together to protect a vulnerable child. What it demonstrated to me is that acting independently creates frustration for all those involved or affected, prevents the best outcome being achieved and, indeed, stands in the way of getting the required result.

The same could be said of business. In far too many businesses we hear about the 'them and us' attitude that exists between sales and credit departments and how neither party is at fault when something goes wrong.

Take for example my own experience last week when I checked into a hotel ahead of the ICM Regional Roadshow in Sheffield. It was late and I was tired. I took the lift to the fourth floor only to find that the key card wouldn't open the door to room 411 (a not unusual occurrence in my experience) so I returned to reception and had the key card re-coded. The new key worked perfectly but as I stepped into 'my' room I realised from the bags on the bed and the clothes on the floor that somebody had got there first.

I returned to reception and was moved to a new room that was mercifully vacant. On my third visit to the Reception desk, I asked the very pleasant young lady why she didn't feel the need to apologise for the inconvenience I had been caused. Since the card coding machine malfunction wasn't her fault, and someone else had made the error that resulted in me being booked into an already occupied room, it was clear - in her mind at least - that there was nothing for her to apologise for!

Wherever we sit in an organisation, but especially as credit professionals, when we communicate with customers, suppliers or any other stakeholder, how we respond reflects on our business and how it is viewed. As Glen Bullivant reminded us at the Sheffield Roadshow last week, credit management - whether we like it or not - is customer service because we face the customer, we talk to the customer, and we manage the customer. Doing it well, and working effectively with all other parts of the business, is just one way in which we add real value. I'm reminded that someone once said: 'There's no pleasure in knowing the hole is in the other end of the boat'.

Oh, and if you were in room 411 at the Park Inn, Sheffield last Wednesday, you had a very lucky escape!