Building an outstanding credit function with Darren Howe of Rubix

Darren Howe has been Group Head of Credit Control for Rubix for over 5 years following credit control management roles with GovNet Communications and JLA. Rubix are a significant distributor of maintenance products; when Darren joined the company, it was considering shutting it’s UK arm but over recent years, this has become its most successful business. Backed by private equity investors, the company holds large contracts with several major supermarkets and has acquired numerous subsidiaries to position itself as a one stop shop for maintenance products.

Tell us about your role at Rubix?

I currently have 25 staff including 5 direct reports, this includes cash management and accounts receivable – I joined Rubix as I followed my CFO from my previous company. One day, he came to me and said: ‘I’m leaving and you’re coming with me’. The move was a ‘no brainer’ in that it provided me with greater opportunities for responsibility and progression with a business that was genuinely ambitious. When I joined, the credit function had a £45m ledger with £8.5m of debt that had been outstanding for 90 days or longer, today we have virtually no 90 day+ debt, although that has required a lot of hard work from the whole team to achieve this.

How did you transform the performance of the credit function?

The majority of the team were and continue to be stable, 3 our of 30 staff have left which given the timescales I see as very positive retention. We now have a clear structure to onboard new customers and understand that not all business is necessarily good business. The senior leadership team at Rubix understand the impact of cash and therefore fully appreciate the importance of the credit team’s activities. We now work much more closely with our customers, not simply to collect cash but to ensure they are fully engaged.

What sort of team and ethos have you developed at Rubix?

From the outset, the team and I had a clear appreciation of where we were as a function, and where we wanted to be; a lot of the change has been about becoming more proactive and operating as a ‘front end’ function not just operating at the back end, collecting cash. In credit teams, I believe that having a line manager who is accessible is vital – I have always tried to ensure that I lead by example and am in the detail. It’s important also to look back and recognise progress and reward the hard work of the team; we regularly report improvements in our metrics across the business, this engages staff and the senior leadership of the company.

What advice would you give to aspiring credit professionals?

• Be inquisitive about your business – don’t just focus on your credit responsibilities but understand how they impact on and our affected by the wider organisation.
• Always lead by example, in the credit profession, this will go a long way with your team members.
• Understand your staff, what motivate them? It might be greater rewards, more responsibility or they might have other priorities and ambitions.
• Ask yourself on a daily basis, what more can I be doing? Are you doing the best job you possibly can? If the answer to this question is ‘yes’ then you will find that you’ll make progress in your career and inevitably be given further responsibility.

How do you see the role of technology evolving in credit & AR?

Personally, I welcome innovation through technology with open arms. We already use artificial intelligence for aspects of cash collection and it has worked wonders. It is particularly effective when dealing with large corporate customers and allows a move away from a primarily paper based approach.

Electronic delivery of invoices has made a significant difference to our credit function. It ensures less manual intervention and means that the role of the credit controller is changing – credit professionals now need to have full knowledge of the entire credit process, from start to finish. Technological innovations have also allowed our team to build stronger relationships with our customers, rather than being primarily transactional.

Any final advice you would offer?

Don’t allow yourself to hit a plateau in your career; continually seek opportunities for development. Training and attending specific courses should be an ongoing process, for example understanding more about liquidation and businesses going into administration can be of great value for your career in credit & AR.

SF would like to thank Darren for taking the time to be part of this special feature.