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Insuring the Scalability of Faster Cash Application
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
- Analytics & Modeling - Machine Learning
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
Applicable Industries
- Finance & Insurance
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Quality Assurance
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
Over the years, Zurich struggled with its Cash Application process due to two core challenges - a 100% manual end-to-end process and a decentralized processing system. Zurich took several initiatives to maintain control and improve the efficiency of the existing cash application process in the past, but continued to face multiple roadblocks. The Credit and A/R team struggled to manually process the bulk of electronic payments and receipts. They wanted to further reduce the time and resources spent on posting payments, minimize errors made during the cash application, match the payments faster and accurately while minimizing manual intervention. The delayed cash application process led to erroneous status reports for accounts/invoices. Even if the customer had paid for an invoice, they might wrongfully receive DNOC or dunning letters, resulting in a disparate status of accounts and dissatisfied customers. In order to resolve the errors in the system, the Credit and A/R team was frequently compelled to have multiple internal calls or meetings with brokers, underwriters, account executives, and Finance Operations managers. This led to further delay and dispute in the process.
About The Customer
Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. is a Swiss insurance company, commonly known as Zurich, headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company is Switzerland’s largest insurer. Zurich as a company shares risk expertise and insights with customers, communities, and stakeholders. The company has a significant presence in the global insurance market, providing a wide range of insurance products and services to individuals, small businesses, and large corporations. Zurich's operations span across various regions, and it is known for its strong financial stability and customer-centric approach. The company has been in operation for over a century and has built a reputation for reliability and innovation in the insurance industry.
The Solution
Zurich implemented a Cash Application Cloud solution provided by HighRadius, which leverages Artificial Intelligence and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to automate the cash application process. The solution includes AI-enabled data capture for remittances and auto-linking of payments with open invoices, eliminating errors due to manual entry. The data aggregation engine aggregates remittance and payment information from various sources, such as EDI, customer portals, bank websites, Secure FTP, and emails, ensuring accurate data capture across all remittance file formats and languages. The AI-enabled OCR captures check remittance data automatically, removing any dependency on bank lockbox services or in-house resources for key-in, thereby reducing costs. This template-free technology captures all remittance details even when the check stub comes in a non-standardized or unfamiliar format. Additionally, the solution includes an intelligent pattern-matching and transformation rules engine that applies customer-specific rules for invoice matching, deduction identification and coding, and cash discount analysis. This automation frees up time for the Credit and A/R team, allowing them to focus on higher-value tasks and improving overall cash flows.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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