Past-Due Accounts Decline At BP With Software Help

The rollout of credit and collections software at BP Amoco's Castrol North America Inc. division was well into the planning stage before the economy tanked. But its debut couldn't have come at a more serendipitous time.

For its "mid-six-figures" investment in the eCredit.com Inc. system, Castrol has seen its "days sales outstanding," an accounting term for the average number of days it takes customers to pay their bills after the due date, decrease by several days and its past-due accounts fall by 5%--despite the softness of the retail market, says Ian Feldman, director of financial services. The software links to Castrol's J.D. Edwards & Co. enterprise resource planning system to produce prioritized daily lists of late-paying customers that Feldman's staff must contact.

During the next 18 months, Castrol plans to debut a business-to-business Web site through which it will let its wholesalers and resellers offer credit lines, backed by Castrol, to their customers. That system likely will rely on eCredit software to determine the risk on each account and give credit approvals in real time.