Good morning g Welcome And Thank You
It was the best of times, times it was the worst of times times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness Charles Dickens – A Tale of Two Cities
Undoubtedly tough times
We cannot afford to ignore
Smart businesses use recession
Refurbish
Refocus
Get ‘fitter’ as a business
“For For many sectors recessions provide the ideal opportunity to make a shift from incremental change to breakthrough ... Emerging trends and opportunities can be accelerated” accelerated Tim Jones - Innovaro
Don’t miss a trick Use every opportunity to reduce cost Move M ffastt ... time ti is i nott on your side id
Benefits and cost savings don’t don t just happen
Take action
Payment cards and ePayments are proven Infrastructure exists and is now very competitively priced Systems and tools are well developed and accessible Economies of scale have been leveraged and optimised Case studies and experience are readily available
More and more organisations of all kinds are adopting these solutions both Public and Private Sector
Reducing cost and increasing competitiveness
Data and information are at the heart of releasing value There
is a wealth of information here today
Today its all about choices From well established systems to the latest innovation Desirable but confusing
Today is about providing you with information on how you can benefit and what is available Leading edge presentations, product demonstrations case studies,, breakout sessions,, networking g opportunities, pp , workshops and exhibitions
Helping you to chose
Benefits are well documented and unchallenged Financial e.g. Process efficiency Compliance Spend consolidation Other e.g. Increased automation of the purchase to pay cycle Better management information Enhanced regulatory and tax compliance Better leveraged supplier relationships Spend management better integrated with business systems
Its not just buyers that benefit Suppliers gain advantages ... ...not least prompt payment
Late payment is a major issue f the for h whole h l off the h UK economy
Total borrowing by UK SMEs £55bn
Total OVERDUE payments pa ments to UK SMEs £26bn (up 40% in the last year)
31% of SME’s would cease to trade if faced with overdue invoices of more than £20,000
This is ‘business as usual’
Well understood and well developed
Fully integrated with most ERP and other systems
Proliferation of systems and vendors
“Reach down” to allow for even the smallest and ad hoc suppliers
Make the most of the potential for your business
M k the Make th mostt off the th day d today t d