The importance of transparency in business and your financial supply chain

ERP systems bringing transparency to the forefront of business

We are living in a world where the choices that companies make both internally and externally are visible to their consumer. If those choice as not ethical or successful, the world will hear about it through multiple channels, most of which is social media. Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch was viewed in real time to by millions of people around the world. Thousands of the SpaceX employees cheered as they watched this massive effort exceed expectations. Even if you had not watched the launch in real-time, chances are you heard about it within minutes. Good or bad, word spreads quickly. Some might say that news spreads even faster if the word is based on discrepancies, mistakes and cover ups. But the good news is that these instances have pushed industries toward transparency. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems worldwide were developed to encourage visibility through automation and the business world is embracing the potential.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch was viewed in real time to by millions of people around the world.

It has been recently reported that e-commerce giant eBay will replace its current payment processing platform Paypal with the customizable solution in a competitive payment platform called Adyen. The reason for the transition is three-fold, and will compliment an already robust ERP system to better meet the needs of a rapidly evolving global market place by using a single, customizable system that is simple and transparent.

3 reasons for using a customizable payment platform

1. Control: eBay will be able to provide a smooth checkout process customized for the local habits of buyers in every market no matter where they are in the world. Byintegrating the customizable Adyen payment process, eBay will gain the valuable intelligence and control of the buyer’s choices within their own platform. And by integrating it into their own ERP system, eBay will have broader visibility to collect, manage and interpret date through each transaction — something that their partnership with PayPal would not allow. The application will also allow shared data across various departments, facilitating information flow between all business functions, strengthening the financial supply chain and addressing customer needs seamlessly.
2. Insight: By having control of the payment process, eBay will have access to buyers and buyer preferences. Knowledge and data about consumers behavior is critical for the improving service to the eBay buyers as well as sellers. Payment preferences and behavior is also important for the growth of a developing financial supply chain.
3. Cost and User Experience: User experience is a priority for all e-commerce companies. By allowing consumers to use their own local payment methods on a single platform in a seamless transaction, eBay saw the advantage and the huge potential for conversion and business growth. Along with the advantage of an enhanced customer experience, the Adyen system and local payment fees are much lower than that of PayPal which means lower prices for customers as well as a higher margin of profit for themselves, again adding to the strength of the financial supply chain.

Along with the building transparency into their product, Adyen follows suit when it comes to culture. They are a small but growing company with an honest approach involving everyone who can improve the process. Transparency in culture and communications is crucial for building the trusting relationships necessary for the greatest success of the company.

We believe that people reach the utmost if we give them freedom, opportunities and responsibility to build. . .Our culture is very informal and direct. We talk straight without being rude. We provide each other regular informal feedback and let everyone design their own growth path.

— Adyen

Today the word “transparency” is more than a buzz word. Companies are being held accountable to it more than ever. The business Dictionary defines transparency as a lack of hidden agendas and conditions, accompanied by the availability of full information required for collaboration, cooperation, and collective decision making. A few recent examples in the failure to be transparent has lifted the concept to level of importance that business leaders are paying attention to. It has become more than simple rhetoric. Transparency is built into business strategies as well as ERP software. Corporations around the globe are partnering with companies like WEX to deliver the data, technology and transparency in a payment process that not only strengthens the financial supply chain but brings considerably more value to the customers and the industries they serve. Every product that WEX offers can be seamlessly integrated into existing ERP systems while offering transparency with both internal and external applications. As an example, their AP solutions provide flexibility in payment issuing options, easy payment and purchase reconciliation, seamless integration, and transparent, real-time access to transaction information. WEX card solutions are equally as effective with ERP system requirements while providing even more control and visibility.

Transparency is built into business strategies as well as ERP software.

Through transparency, business is becoming more in tuned with not only what their customers want, but also what their employees need. They are implementing processes and open systems that provide communications that is clear and honest to all participants, and it is paying off. With transparency in culture and open systems integrated in all facets of business and business software, the advantages are rich and the result is success.

Resources:

ERP systems, financial supply chain, payment optimization, payment technology