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Something we as the apparel industry don’t talk about openly is delinquent retailers and unpaid accounts or the many stores that just have a history of not paying for merchandise on time or not at all. Many don’t know that their are companies that are out there that make a habit of taking advantage of newbie designers with payment terms that weigh heavily in their favor and most are eager so they take what they can get usually ending up empty handed. (No merchandise, no payment)

I personally have retailers that still owe me funds to this date from Atlanta, Ga all the way out to Texas where Six Figgaz clothing are making major moves as a young entrepreneur.

Many of us don’t focus on is researching the retailers we work with. There are businesses who will do background checks on retailers small and medium to let you know about their payment history and if their are any debts owed to customers so that you can reduce the risk of not being paid, which is critical to a startup business with a small amount of capital or cash flow.

When looking through some of our new members on the Global Fashion Network I ran across Keystone Recovery Service, which is a nationwide, full-service accounts receivable outsource service provider that focuses on resolution, recovery and the management of deductions, accounts receivable disputes, and the invoice collection process.

With that said I contacted Keystone Recovery Service head Kenneth Boland to give us a rundown of how the business works and a real world example of how their services are beneficial to the fashion industry.

Since our founding in 1923, Keystone has enjoyed consistent growth and expansion and is currently positioned as one of the industry’s leading specialists in the field. We have recovered nearly $500,000,000 to date for our clients. And because or rates are low, averaging around 15%, you can be sure that you will be receiving the maximum return on your delinquent accounts once collected.

Our strengths lie in creating long-term, mutually beneficial client partnerships providing excellent customer service, driving more dollars to the bottom line and delivering accurate, actionable information for deduction prevention and process improvement.

With years of experience in the apparel and fashion industries, Keystone can help you isolate the area most deserving of attention and recommend the most efficient, cost-effective ways in which to allocate your resources.

Our Core Strategies

• Be accommodating, flexible and responsive to our clients? needs. Approach each challenge in a positive manner
• Develop professional relationships with our associates and clients, based on trust, honesty and openness
• Achieve the highest standards in quality and financial performance through meticulous planning, ongoing communications, execution and follow-through which includes reassessment
• Encourage change through innovation, understanding and adaptability, to sustain our leadership position in customer financial services and the credit industry
• Be fair, sensitive and responsive to the personal needs of our associates
• Build an organization of dedicated individuals committed to the growth of Keystone through a network of open communication
• Continue to enhance Keystone?s image by exhibiting the expertise, the professionalism, and the network of knowledge available to each Keystone associate

Whether you are a large Fortune 500 company or a small start-up company, Keystone will provide you with the highest quality service and support available.

No longer will you need to secure a factoring agent or seek invoice insurance because Keystone will have you covered. A simple phone call to check our database of more than 25,000 retailers will ensure that you are selling to a qualified, credit worthy business. This is a standard benefit given to all of our clients and will help ease your mind when dealing with new customers.

Real Business Example of How the Process Works From A Customer:

“My name is Sajjad Sher Afghan working as General Manager for Uxxxxxx International Pvt Ltd. We have been forwarded your email from Mr. Irfan merchant introducing your firm - Keystone Recovery Services. The expereince age you mentioned in recovery services is quite notable especially your exposure of complete invoice collection service along with deduction and dispute resolution. We are looking for a firm to discuss the possibility of recovering various disputes for our hard earned money.

May I give you an overview of our case so that you can position to view the matter from an interim angle.

Our case is very simple & it is such that the customer bought the total merchandise worth US$254,540 against LC at sight. However, one of our Invoice Worth US$36,507.06 shipped on May 15, 2007 was never paid. After persual on payment they said that they have found some quality problems in one of our container shipped one week ahead of the above un-paid disputed invoice. Please also note that every shipment that left our factory was inspected / passed it’s quality audit on strict quality standards of AQL2.5 & the same consignment was loaded on container during the supervision of buyer’s own QA representative.

Please advice your findings on the strength of the matter & basing above facts advice your take on this.

Thanks,
Sajjad Sher Afghan”

Shortly after the placement of the account for collection, Keystone Recovery turned over a check in the amount of $31,031.00 to Mr. Sajjad Afghan.

This is typical in more than 65% of our cases, a much higher recovery ratio than any other agency in the country.

If you are interested in finding out more about our company, do not hesitate to contact Kenneth Boland at (877) 416-3700 extension 354 or via email at kboland@savit.com. I look forward to hearing from you all.

Has your company experienced any damage to your bottom line due to a retailer not paying as expected and still haven’t received any inventory or payment? What have you done in similar situations? What actions did you take?

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