Hästens

Hästens is made up of multiple entities, which conduct operations around the world. The company does business with hundreds of those bank subsidiaries. Hästens needed a way to automatically aggregate all the information from its various banks to get the cash visibility needed for accurate reporting and cashflow forecasting.

• Fides ONEHub
• Hybrid Service Bureau
• Cash Management
• Compliance & Sanctions

• Cash visibility
• Improved cash management and
  forecasting
• Reduced risk
• Bank connectivity with or without a TMS

Established in 1852, Hästens is a Swedish manufacturer specializing in high-end beds, bed linen, pillows and lifestyle accessories. Hästens manufactures beds by hand using natural and ethically sourced materials such as cotton, horse hair, wool and flax. Today, Hästens is active in 40+ countries. With more than 200 partners in Europe, Asia and the Americas, this family business is now a global manufacturer, retailer and Royal Purveyor of premium beds.

Hästens’ multiple entities conduct operations around the world. The company does business with seven core banks, but a number of these banks comprise multiple relationships with subsidiaries, totaling in the hundreds.

While Hästens had a treasury management system in place, its TMS did not automatically amalgamate all the information. Each bank provided the information the company needed, such as bank statements, through its own bank portal or via email. Hästens staff had to manually download the information needed from each bank and then import it into the TMS, which was time-consuming and opened up greater risk of error.

Group Treasurer and Commercial Finance Manager Christian Azzopardi is a director of Hästens Limited, handling the administration of the Maltese company, and is also responsible for treasury operations across all the Hästens companies, managing everything related to cashflow, banking relationships, foreign exchange, etc. He had implemented Fides at a previous company, and knew that it would be the right fit for Hästens.

Azzopardi brought in Fides to receive bank statements via SWIFT from each of Hästens’ banks, and centralize all the data to streamline reconciliation, reporting, and cash visibility.

“We could receive bank statements by mail, or download them individually through each portal,” said Azzopardi. “But that was a big waste of time. We really needed a solution that could group all that information for us automatically — and I knew that Fides could do that.”

The Fides setup was very quick, thanks in part to Azzopardi’s knowledge of what was needed for implementation. All of Hästens’ banks were onboarded within a mere month.

Azzopardi and his team access statements via Fides ARSweb, part of the web-based Fides ONEHub, which can be securely accessed from any location. Not only does ARSweb readily support decentralized locations, bank statements can be manually downloaded in various formats – something that SWIFT is not able to provide.

Some of the other pros of using Fides include:

• Fides validation services ensure quality and validation and performs any investigation of data to ensure accurate and consistent reporting
• No need to be a SWIFT member or establish an organizational SWIFT BIC – Fides can host a corporate BIC if needed
• No need for a SWIFT SCORE agreement with each bank
• Fides can accept any format of bank statement – not just SWIFT

Now, Hästens treasury staff has access to the information they need on a daily basis, and is able to download the financial or banking transactions from all our bank accounts whenever we need them fulfills our need. Azzopardi can see all bank balances every day, including the day’s opening balance and the prior day’s main movements across all accounts, and know that the information is correct and can be used for accurate cashflow forecasting.

Although the Fides implementation was completed quickly, Azzopardi said that one thing treasurers looking to aggregate bank data should know is that not every bank is fast to respond. While it seems like a simple business proposition to fill out some paperwork, not all bank contacts are familiar with the relevant forms.

“Each bank has its own system, and some banks took  longer than others to get back to us,” he explained. “For some banks, it was as quick as them emailing us a form to complete and sign. For others, it involved a significant chain of communications for them to understand what we required in order to provide us with the relevant form.”

Azzopardi said the process was made easier because one of the large banks Hästens works with also manages the relationship with its hundreds of international subsidiaries. And, the company had good relationships with its other six large banks already in place, making communications easier.

Hästens recently stopped using its TMS, and now relies on Fides for daily cash reporting. In future, Azzopardi says the company plans to implement a new TMS that will connect with Fides, providing the option for straightthrough processing and additional treasury management capabilities. He is looking into adding Fides EFT for bank messaging, which would allow Hästens to move completely away from the individual banking portals.

Fides is the world leader in multibank connectivity, payments and transaction communications. A market leader for more than a century, Fides is committed to making financial operations as efficient, transparent and secure as possible for all organizations. More than 4,000 clients rely on Fides for efficient cash and liquidity management, through connectivity to more than 13,000 banks and comprehensive workflow, reporting, conversion, validation and security services. Whether you access via the secure Fides ONEHub or leverage our seamless integration with third-party ERP, TMS and other backend systems, Fides is the only platform you need.