How Online Plastic Group offers buyers across Europe to Pay by Invoice
Online Plastics Group (OPG) is the market leader for tailor made plastic sheets in the Netherlands. Consumers and businesses submit their custom specifications on OPG’s websites (for example Kunststofplatenshop.nl) and get their custom sheets delivered within days. Recently, OPG launched their new production facility where they work side by side with their manufacturing partners to deliver the best quality and service. Custom made orders are automatically produced by their laser cutters, packaged and made ready for shipment.
What started as a small operation in the Netherlands in 2014, is now a team of
60 people operating in 9 countries across Europe. Their innovative offering and approach has made them market leaders in the Netherlands and helped them acquire a strong position in Germany, Austria, Belgium, United Kingdom, France, and Spain. Due to their fast growth with B2B customers, OPG needed a flexible solution that allowed them to offer payment terms to their European customer base.
OPG’s challenge
Approximately half of OPG’s sales comes from business buyers. As an online manufacturer selling to other businesses, OPG often receives requests from buyers to pay by invoice (or pay 15 - 30 days later). Business buyers are used to paying for goods after they’ve arrived instead of before – usually up to 30 days after ordering. The B2B marktmonitor – a survey among 2.000 B2B buyers from Shopping Tomorrow and Ipsos – shows that B2B buyers prefer to pay by invoice when they buy online over any other payment method. This is especially true for B2B buyers from companies with more than 10 employees.
Preferred payment method by company size
There are several reasons why B2B buyers like to pay by invoice, with payment terms when they purchase online
The buyer is not the person who pays
In most companies (especially those with more than 10 employees), purchasing is done by procurement, while payments are made by the financial department.
Accounts payable processes
Finance processes usually require invoices to be uploaded to the ERP or accounting system for payment. This process can take anywhere from 7 - 30 days after purchasing.
Cash flow management
Businesses like to be able to first sell their products, before having to pay their suppliers. Or at least have some flexibility.
A true cross-border online payment terms solution
Payment terms are common in B2B, but especially in construction: A report by our partner Atradius shows that in the construction materials industry 59% of B2B sales are made on credit. The main reasons why sellers provide trade credit (or the ability to pay 15 - 90 days later) to their business buyers are
to encourage sales to existing customers (60%)
to win new customers (24%)
The challenge for OPG was how to offer payment terms to business buyers at scale and across 10 markets. For other businesses with only 1-2 new buyers per day, managing payment terms manually can be manageable. But in OPG’s case, they have hundreds of unique customers per week across markets in Europe. After attempting to manage this process internally – performing manual fraud and credit risk checks, keeping track of credit limits for buyers, chasing late invoice payments – they decided to look for a partner that specializes in B2B payments.
Operating in 7 markets with a single provider
Net payment terms without manual work
Increase in conversions and AOV
Cross-border coverage for international buyers
When reviewing suppliers, it was important for OPG to work with a provider that was able to extend payment terms to their buyers in all the countries they operate in. Max Bisseling, Ecommerce Manager at OPG explains: “We operate cross border and didn’t want to engage with a different supplier in each market we operate in. We chose Sprinque as they are able to support our buyers in all the markets where we are present.”
10-30%
Adoption
Within months, 10-30% of business buyers select Sprinque as their payment method in the checkout.
+5-25%
Conversion
OPG has seen a 5-25% increase in conversion in their B2B segment.
None
Administration
No more manual workload or late payments for OPG.
Our business buyers expect to get payment terms. Sprinque helps us to convert them by offering this in all markets we operate in.
A reason for us to go with Sprinque is they could help us offer payment terms to buyers across Europe. Sprinque helps us to drive conversion of business customers, by offering the option to pay in 15 or 30 days.
Max Bisseling, E-Commerce Manager at Online Plastics Group
