When the director of treasury solutions at a multinational corporate was tasked with leading a migration to a cloud-based ERP, he seized the opportunity to also implement TIS, which acts as a hub that  centralizes bank connectivity and payment file generation. Previously, the company relied on a tangled web of bank accounts and users connecting to them mostly through bank portals and a few host-to-host connections, with treasury team members spending dozens of hours formatting payment files. âIt was just a mess,â he said. - âBank connectivity is the engine that fuels all, and if you donât have a fully comprehensive connectivity strategy, you fall into ruts, with a lack of standardization and siloed processes,â Mr. Paquette said.
Problems with portals and payments. Prior to the TIS implementation, the company grappled with the complexities of managing bank connectivity across more than 200 banks and 1,300 login IDs to access portals, with some individuals using multiple logins. âAnd on top of that, you have payments into the ERP, which has a connection to three or four big banks,â the presenter said.
- The lack of standardization, siloed processes, and evolving bank relationships posed significant challenges, hindering visibility and increasing risks to financial operations, the presenter said.
- With operations across the globe and different payment requirements for many regional banks, existing systems often had to be independently configured and maintained to produce unique payment file formats for each banking partner and payment method.
- âWhat TIS is helping us solve is not just a treasury problem, itâs the companyâs problem,â he said.
Getting off the ground. The presenter said he was initially wary of trying to make a case for TIS implementation, not due to budgetary constraints but because it would require a significant amount of effort to coordinate with the banks. However, he saw an opportunity when the company began a transition to a cloud-based ERP. Since treasury would already be talking to banks, the CFO gave the team the green light for TIS.
- The presenter said the yearlong implementation process required âabout 1.5 FTEs.â One member said she could certainly see this being worth the head count.
- Her team relies on an internal tool built and maintained by the companyâs IT team for a similar purpose, meaning âif we need to track down a payment, even that is left to the IT team. Something like this would shift that to our team; Iâd like the control.â
One portal, many benefits. âThe strategy was letâs centralize it all,â the presenter said. âThatâs where TIS comes into play, sitting in the middle between all systems, all functions that need connectivity and all bank partners.â
- TIS now receives bank statements and other files from banks through SWIFT and has direct connections to the companyâs key banking partners. The tool also receives formatted payment files from the companyâs TMS.
- In addition to better visibility into the companyâs cash, he said TISâ key function comes through streamlining payment file formatting. âCash visibility is critical, but when you work with banks itâs not that hard,â he said. âBut when youâre dealing with specific local payments to and from small banks, in other geographies, itâs hard. We donât want to do that, so we asked Jon to do it for us.â
- By working with TIS, the company was able to automate the creation of payment files that suit all banks, countries and payment methods. Then, users can initiate those payments within TIS.
- The member said he ultimately expects to cut down the number of login IDs and users on TIS to under 200âa fraction of the original 1,300 login IDs for banksâ individual portals.
- Following the session, one member added that her companyâs adoption of TIS has been a major success. âWeâre in the tail end of TIS implementation, and itâs been huge,â she said. âSince implementing, weâve been working with local-level banks we never wouldâve been able to work with.â
