Manual processing and lack of visibility are two major drivers to new technology, confirming that process improvement continues to be a priority for most treasury organizations. That was one of the conclusions from a webinar on treasury management systems co-hosted by Treasury Strategies and facilitated by the NeuGroup for its peer group members.
With the help of The NeuGroup director Geri Westphal and member feedback from the fall NeuGroup meeting season, Treasury Strategies Partner Laurie McCulley walked participants through a variety of treasury technology objectives that members should consider when selecting a TMS solution. She pointed out that there is still “no one clear winner in TMS functionality” and encouraged members to carefully prioritize their objectives in order to select the solution that best meets those needs. The webinar also covered industry consolidation, TMS functionality and asking the tough questions when it comes to implementations.
Sector consolidation and trends
There is a clear move toward industry consolidation with Wall Street Systems and SunGard as two primary examples of vendors merging platform solutions under their particular brand umbrellas. This has led to the important question of future support, and members should carefully vet these concerns before locking into what might be deemed a sunset solution from a vendor’s perspective.
Treasury functionality trends include an increased focus on process mapping functionality to allow for unique workflow analysis and approval processes, robust dashboard functionality, comprehensive risk management capabilities and mobile technology. As treasury needs expand, so do the requirements they demand as part of their TMS solution. This should force treasury technology vendors to actively enhance functionality to include these new requirements.
A final bit of advice for those on the road to TMS vendor selection is to get up close and personal with RFP finalists. Ask the hard questions and make sure you are happy with the answers. Get the vendor to provide a real demo, not just a PowerPoint presentation. Budget conservatively and assume the estimate for implementation costs will be 1-2 times the license costs.
The NeuGroup and Treasury Strategies would like to thank all NeuGroup members who joined the webinar. For more information contact Geri Westphal at [email protected]