Barclaycard has launched Barclaycard Payment Intelligence (BPI), a new service which uses in-depth data analytics to provide procurement departments with the most comprehensive picture of their supply chain – driving cost efficiencies as result.

The service combines hundreds of accounts payable data points with internal and third-party data. This helps customers develop the right payment solutions for their various suppliers in a fraction of the time it would take to do manually.

The technology helps businesses catalogue their suppliers based on the number and value of transactions as well as their size, location, industry and whether early payment is likely to generate savings, to create a comprehensive overview of the entire supplier framework. For companies with thousands of suppliers – big and small – on their books, the new product can offer a significant time and cost saving for key decision makers.

Specifically, Barclaycard Payment Intelligence allows business buyers to understand:

• Their current supplier payments profile, analysed and presented in different formats
• Their suppliers’ payments preferences and capabilities – such as being able, and willing, to accept card payments
• How critical, as a buyer, their business is to each supplier in their chain
• The best timeframe for paying a supplier to ensure early payment discounts are taken advantage of, and to protect the supplier’s cashflow

A set of algorithms created by Barclaycard Payments then translates these insights into a bespoke payments strategy, which allows customers to:

• Combat late payments: The Federation of Small Businesses estimates that 50,000* small and medium sized businesses close each year due to late payments. Combatting this builds stronger relationships with critical suppliers and often results in better deals for the customer.
• Save time and resource: Initial findings from Barclaycard Payment Intelligence research testing show that, on average, 20 per cent of supplier costs are made up of low-value, one-off transactions too often settled inefficiently via invoice. Automating these payments through a card solution can save an organisation valuable time and resource.
• Generate savings: Barclaycard research** shows that UK CFOs are missing out on £6.7 billion in savings by not taking advantage of early payment discounts. Barclaycard Payments Intelligence enables businesses to fully capitalise on early payment discounts and generate a better return on capital employed. 

Anna Porra, Commercial Strategy Director for Barclaycard, said: “Clunky and complex supplier payments processes mean that businesses of all sizes are losing out on time and money.

“Barclaycard has looked to make use payments data to identify opportunities for improvements across the procure to pay process and drive actionable insights for both buyers and suppliers. Barclaycard Payment Intelligence is a new suite of tools that harness state-of-the-art data analytics and financial modelling to devise tailored, actionable solutions for our customers. 

“This approach not only brings tangible benefits to the bottom line, but it also helps to strengthen relationships between buyers and suppliers. As we navigate our way through this difficult period, safeguarding supply chains is a key way of future-proofing operations, and it’s part of Barclaycard’s mission to help businesses realise these benefits.”