News release
Contact:
Stephanie Watson
Press Relations Manager, Information Solutions
+44 (0)115 992 2515 Tel
stephanie.watson@uk.experian.com Email
Experian welcomes Guest Supply Europe
Nottingham, UK, 4 February 2008 - One of the largest suppliers to the hotel and leisure industries, Guest Supply Europe, has signed up Experian, the global information services company, to provide it with international credit reports. The deal will allow Guest Supply Europe to fully exploit the opportunities in the franchised international hotel business, while managing its credit risk.
Part of the US-based Sysco Corporation, Guest Supply Europe is a specialist designer, manufacturer and provider of hotel room toiletries, accessories and electrical goods to more than 25,000 hotels worldwide.
A key issue for the organisation is the fragmented and franchised nature of the hotel industry. In addition to numerous smaller hotel groups, many of the larger international hotel groups, including Holiday Inn, Marriott and Hilton operate on a franchise basis, which means that the financial strength and integrity of each individually-owned business has to be assessed and a separate credit limit assigned with every contract win as well as for ongoing business. A further challenge for the organisation is the fact that without the benefit of a credit rating on a particular business, it is difficult for Guest Supply Europe to insure its trade credit.
Accessing Experian’s international reports not only provides the organisation with a view into the robustness and pedigree of an overseas company, but also, with the benefit of a credit rating and limit assigned for that business, allows it to obtain insurance for its debts. The result is that Guest Supply Europe can take advantage of overseas opportunities and still trade securely.
Michael Day, Guest Supply Europe’s Financial Director, commented: “Our customers can be highly fragmented. For instance, we recently won a contract with Hilton worldwide, where we had to deal with 240 separate businesses and invoice points, each requiring a separate credit limit assessment as the hotels were all individually owned.
“Experian’s international credit reports gave us detailed insight into these companies and provided a depth of information, from credit scores, legal notices and judgements to history of ownership, that far outweighed that provided by our previous supplier. Going forward this level of risk assessment will enable us to grow our international business further.”
In the UK, Guest Supply Europe is also using Ledger360 to highlight and calculate the risk exposure in its customer base and determine the stability of its customers.
Ledger360 combines Guest Supply’s own ledger information and data from thousands of other businesses’ ledgers with Experian’s business information and current and historical payment behaviour data. This enables its credit department to review current or historical ledger information and see their financial position against current industry and market trend. In addition, Ledger360 allows Guest Supply Europe to identify where high credit exposure is at high risk and so take action to undertake specific collections strategies and so reduce its overall Day Sales Outstanding.
ENDS
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