James Allen Email & Phone Number

Lake Zurich, IL

Lead and direct all customer financial services activities and policymaking responsibilities in credit analysis, collections, accounts receivable, cash application, deduction management, chargeback administration, rebate administration and customer & credit master data administration. Lead, direct and develop 25+ team members and collaborate with various.

Lake Zurich, IL

• Led and directed all aspects of credit, collections, accounts receivable, cash application and deduction management activities for the pharmaceutical and medical device business units. Led, directed and developed a.
• Led a department transformation to maximize talent, improve business process efficiencies and leverage SAP systems to support the pharmaceutical and med device divisions and drive operational results.
• Implemented a collection strategy resulting in a $14 million reduction in past due invoice exposure within the first 90 days of employment, maintained momentum throughout 2018 and achieved record low month-end past due.
• Led SAP Order-to-Cash integration of Fresenius Kabi Compounding business in 2018.
• Re-engineered the new customer account set-up process that resulted in shorter turn-around time and faster order entry processing that led to an overall improvement in the customer service experience.
• Led Customer & Credit Master Data transformation project to leverage SAP functionality and improve reporting.

Mchenry, IL

• Led and directed all aspects of credit, collections and accounts receivable activities for the Follett School Solutions (K-12) business unit. Led, directed and developed a staff of 15 team members based in two separate.
• Led a corporate AR department restructure to position the department for future growth and support an Oracle AR “One View” initiative (while supporting three FSS business segments (textbooks, library books and.
• Implemented an AR collection strategy resulting in a $14 million reduction in past due invoice exposure within the first 90 days of employment as well as achieving a DSO reduction of 7 days versus prior year results.
• Led Oracle iReceivables portal initiative that provided customers with online customer account visibility and offered (self-service) functionality to print invoices, view customer statements and initiate invoice.
• Introduced monthly AR commentary and weekly AR aging scorecard to capture key performance indicators, trend analysis and root causes driving customer late payment behavior.

Lake Forest, IL

• Directed activities of Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable functions including Credit & Collections, Cash Applications, Deductions & Returns Management, Customer Trade Spend Management, Cash Disbursements.
• Exceeded monthly and quarterly working capital targets by changing department culture, implementing continuous process improvement efficiencies and leveraging SAP systems.
• Cultivated relationships with cross-functional business partners to drive DSO and DPO results.
• Implemented eight business acquisition integrations into AR/AP over four years without incremental headcount as well as managing one business divestiture requiring TSA support.
• Drove behavioral change that required executive management sponsorship, cross-functional alignment and customer engagement to resolve upstream invoice pricing errors and billing delays that had been adversely impacting.
• Provided developmental opportunities to team members for professional growth and career advancement.

Lake Forest, IL

• Provided direction to Credit, Collections and Cash Application functions for US/Canada businesses.
• Led change management initiatives to transform culture, behavior and improve results.
• Received Pactiv’s Q4’2013 Customer Advocate Award honoring employee excellence in leadership for achieving $23 million (67%) reduction in past due invoice exposure over two-year period while supporting sales growth.
• Improved cash flow by transitioning $100 million of monthly customer receipts from paper check payment to electronic payment and implementing a Saturday lockbox deposit program with JP Morgan Chase.
• Minimized bad debt exposure to less than 1/100 of 1% of gross sales in 2012 and 2013.
• Designed and implemented SAP credit hold/release functionality to manage credit risk for pending customer orders.

Bannockburn, IL

• Directed staff of Customer Financial Service professionals to support Credit, Collections, Cash Applications and Deduction Management functions. Provided direct support to US and Canada.
• Recovered +$1 million annually in unauthorized deductions from customers, reduced aged deduction exposure and eliminated write-off risk by partnering with VP of Sales and establishing joint month-end deduction targets.
• Leveraged technology improving efficiencies, supporting business growth and delivering exceptional business results over +10 years without incremental headcount.
• Minimized bad debt exposure to less than 1/100 of 1 percent of gross sales while maximizing sales growth opportunities.
• Led successful and seamless SAP systems integration for invoice-to-settlement processes.
• Improved efficiencies for cash application and deduction management processes by designing and implementing new fully-integrated, document imaging system with ERP and Trade Management Systems.

Lisle, IL

Led and directed through a staff of 50+ team members all aspects of Credit, Collections, Cash Applications, Deductions & Returns Management and Reporting for the Magazine Division. Planned and organized the centralization of an Accounts Receivable department within a shared services environment by integrating functions from regional branches, including the.

Northfield, IL

Sales Region Controller: Provided full financial support to the Denver Retail Sales Region including volume planning and analysis, commercial trade deal promotion support, expense budget management, internal controls training, reclamation reporting, deduction management and business building initiatives.Foodservice Credit Manager: Selected as one of six.

Madison, WI

Held various positions due to progressive career advancement opportunities including Division Credit Manager - Foodservice & Channel Sales, Credit Supervisor, Accounting Analyst, Credit Analyst and Credit Representative I & II. Selected as one of four professionals from Oscar Mayer's multiple regional credit offices to design and build a new centralized.

Master Of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Finance

Bachelor’S Degree, Major: Finance | Minor: Economics