Sixty Seconds with the ILG

ILG is a recognized leader in the watchmaking market and an established player in the branded eyewear, jewelry and leather goods markets.

The Swiss-based manufacturer and distributor has been optimizing its cash management and forecasting using Kyriba to achieve a consolidated view of its group-level cash positions. It has also benefited from Kyriba’s core strength in bank connectivity to enhance controls, reduce risk of fraud, and enable more strategic decision-making.

Group Treasurer of ILG, Mr Hozefa Kapasi, talks us through the strategic decision to select Kyriba for use across the entire ILG Group.

What factors initially drove the transformation project at International Luxury Group?

Being a global organization with a distribution network spanning 90 countries, we had multiple channels in multiple geographies that gave rise to the need for operational and cash visibility optimization. As a result of our business model, most of our excess cash was sitting idle in one set of entities, while external cash commitments were placed with another set of entities. We needed a solution to help reconcile our total inflows and outflows, irrespective of its place of occurrence.

Why did you select Kyriba, and when did you start using the platform?

We selected Kyriba’s treasury management solution in July 2015 and went live in less than three months. Not only did it meet our functional and budgetary requirements, but we established a strong working relationship with the team in Dubai. The implementation went smoothly. Kyriba trained us well and we’ve required minimal technical help since going live. When we do require assistance, the client support team promptly addresses any issues. Kyriba has a strong brand reputation compared to its peers and having a local presence with an office in Dubai was a definite advantage.

Why was buying a cloud solution a priority for ILG?

The idea of having access to a mission-critical platform from any location, without any hardware investment and without the headache of upgrades, was key in our decision to choose a cloud-based solution. Unlike on premise deployment, other than the implementation fee, you are not committing to a huge upfront expense without first experiencing the benefits of the application.

What is the geographic scope of the Kyriba deployment?

We have banks in the UAE, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Germany and the UK: some are large multi-nationals and others are local banks. We now have improved communication, with accurate and more relevant reporting for covenant management. Today, we are connected to nine banks through Kyriba and we have five users at ILG creating consolidated cash positions, current and future, from across 16 entities in multiple currencies including AED, USD, GBP, EUR, CHF, SEK, HKD and CNY. Using Kyriba to consolidate our FX exposure and hedge currency risk centrally has a direct and positive impact on our bottom line.

What are the most notable benefits of using a treasury management solution?

We now have a tool to centrally manage inter-dependent companies. We know where we are headed in terms of cash generation and EBITDA, where our working capital cycles need improvement and how much cash is realistically available. The benefit is most notable when we need to reduce our leverage without affecting any subsidiary’s working capital requirement. Overall, Kyriba is adding value through improved operational efficiency and productivity while reducing costs to drive growth.