Eaton: credit management for the energy sector

Aims

As the Credit Leader EMEA for Eaton, James Williams is responsible for managing the credit accounts of all Eaton businesses located across more than 46 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Eaton employs Atradius Credit Insurance on a sizeable proportion of EMEA business to help manage and coordinate this large portfolio.

“I manage the credit insurance for 20 Eaton EMEA region policies. These cover an important range of customers all over EMEA - and many in the rest of the world,” explains James Williams. “The aim with the credit insurance is to protect the balance sheet of our complex and wide-ranging portfolio as much as possible, to minimise risk while remaining competitive and promoting trade – in a very sales-driven environment.”

Our role

“I am happy that our policy and the coverage we get is as good, if not better, than anything else on the market. This is because in order to give us the best possible service, Atradius needs to understand our business and have the flexibility to adapt quickly to our changes, as well as to have the size and global expertise to cope with such large and complex policies. They do that very well,” says James Williams.

“For example, Eaton recently set up a new business unit. We wanted to make sure its trade credit transactions were covered and also to bring the policy management into the financial shared service model we operate as a business. Atradius were able to respond to that and added the new business to the policy very quickly.”

Good account management is an important part of the work of Atradius. As James Williams explains: “We have regular calls with our Atradius account manager, and our broker.  An Atradius key underwriter is also often on the calls. This direct access to management, including to underwriters and our broker, is really useful to us. For example, when we need a quick decision or help in solving a query. In everything, whether a query or an issue, communication has to be good and, with Atradius, it is.

“What’s more, Atradius has people on the ground in the countries where our customers are. This is particularly useful in some of the more complex export markets.”

Outcomes

“The primary outcome of our credit management approach with Atradius is that we are much better prepared for individual risks and wider downturns, including recessions.  We are well-prepared from an insurance management and reporting perspective, and are working closely with Atradius – an insurer that knows us well. Eaton has 24 different insurance policies all wrapped up into one package that represents a strong element of our risk management strategy.”

“The proof of the pudding is when you have a claim,” James Williams concludes. “We recently made a claim, which was paid quickly and easily. It is claims such as these that make the cost of credit insurance worth it, especially when viewed across the whole portfolio.”

About Eaton

Eaton is a power management company with 2018 sales of $21.6 billion. It provides energy-efficient solutions that help customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power more efficiently, safely and sustainably. Eaton is dedicated to improving quality of life and the environment through the use of power management technologies and services. Eaton has approximately 100,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 175 countries.