You can use the arvato infoscore credit rating check at three stages during the customer life cycle - when targeting new customers, when managing existing customer relationships and when issuing reminders.

• You want to be informed without delay about the payment behaviour of your customers and business partners, from the time that their order is processed to the first reminder stage. Feel secure before you enter into a high-risk credit situation.

• The data pool of infoscore Consumer Data GmbH (ICD) offers objective, verifiable information, such as entries in the public Schuldverzeichnisse (debtor registers) published by the district courts as well as (consumer) bankruptcy data. This information is supplemented by exclusive collection data, which performs an effective early warning function. This will allow you to identify at an early stage those customers or prospects who are unable or unwilling to pay, and to minimise bad debts at all stages of a business relationship.

• The informa Consumer Score also gives you a risk assessment for customers who have no negative rating. This enables you to identify previously unnoticed customers fraught with risk and control your decisions.

• If there are changes in the credit rating of your existing customers, you can adjust delivery limits or payment arrangements in both a positive and negative sense. By conducting credit rating checks during the reminder process you can increase your collection rates and reduce your costs by optimising your reminder processes.

Irrespective of the stage at which you use the credit rating check, it is always an effective instrument for steadily minimising your risk.