The partnership will enable Link to integrate Esker’s innovative software into its existing services, and to resell the solutions to its broad network in the aviation industry.

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Esker UK

Unlocking Positive-Sum Growth with AI-Driven Business Solutions for P2P & O2C Cycles

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Esker, a global cloud platform and leader in AI-driven process automation solutions for Finance, Procurement and Customer Service functions, today announced it has once again received recognition for its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments. EcoVadis awarded Esker the Platinum Medal and placed it in the top 1% of companies evaluated across all industries. EthiFinance also ranked Esker among the leaders of its ESG Rating. These two accomplishments exhibit Esker’s successful implementation of its ambitious ESG roadmap.

The Platinum Medal is the highest distinction awarded by EcoVadis, the leading provider of business sustainability ratings. Esker received an overall score of 81/100, up 7 points from 2022, and improved its social and ethical conduct score by 10 points. EthiFinance, a European rating, research and advisory group serving sustainable finance and development, evaluates companies according to a framework containing 140 criteria which are divided into four tiers. Esker achieved an overall score of 75/100, an increase of 8 points over 2022. Notably, this included a 30-point improvement in environmental performance and a 9-point improvement in the social performance category.

“The EcoVadis and EthiFinance awards crown two decades of continuous efforts to establish a more sustainable and resilient business model,” said Jean-Michel Bérard, CEO at Esker. “We have put a roadmap in place in which we pledge to increase our efforts to achieve four key objectives: acting ethically and responsibly, continuing to grow customer trust, fostering a content and skilled workforce, and doing our part in protecting the planet. The involvement of all teams and stakeholders is essential to successfully reduce Esker’s environmental footprint, which also is a prerequisite for long-term growth.”

This year, Esker has been able to distinguish itself in the social sphere, thanks to long-standing commitments to employee well-being as well as externally through community engagement and educational initiatives. Esker understands the importance of a positive work environment and promotes a culture of diversity and inclusion and held several company-wide awareness-raising initiatives such as trainings, events and workshops on these subjects. And successfully so, as the question “I feel accepted as I am at Esker” received the highest score in the 2023 HR employee survey. Over 91% of employees recommend Esker as great company to work for.  

“The EcoVadis Platinum Medal and the significant progress on social and ethical conduct aspects acknowledge the long-term work performed not only by Esker Management and HR teams, but above all by Esker employees, who are very involved in proposing ideas and seeing them through,” said Aurélie Guimera, Worldwide Director of Human Resources at Esker. “This is an impressive team achievement which aligns superbly with our company values.”

Being a technology company, Esker is committed to the inclusion and promotion of women in IT positions. With 32% of management positions held by women (compared with 31% of women in the total workforce), the company’s goal is to achieve an overall rate of 34% women in the workforce by 2027.

Esker’s commitment to innovation is also reflected in its education sponsorship programme, which includes being a founding partner of the coding school Ecole 42 Lyon, and a cocreator of an AI research chair at INSEEC. By supporting a variety of schools and organisations in the region that promote gender equality in the IT sector and encouraging exchanges between students and employees, Esker is working to contribute to the development and integration of future graduates. An additional pillar of this work revolves around the recruitment of interns and work-study programme participants, whose number has more than doubled in France between 2020 and 2022.

On the environmental front, Esker is strongly committed to reducing the environmental footprint of its business activities. Esker has proactively measured its carbon emissions across all locations worldwide, including all direct and indirect emissions (scopes 1, 2 and 3).

Esker recently renewed its ISO 14001 environmental management certification for both locations in France (Villeurbanne and Décines). Esker strives to extend the lifecycle of company-owned IT equipment and electronic devices as much as possible by performing in-house maintenance, vendor support and employee buyback programmes. These buybacks are made in exchange for donations to charities of the employee’s choosing. As part of its ESG roadmap, Esker is also committed to extending the lifespan of its IT equipment for all subsidiaries by six months by 2027.

Esker considers ethical business conduct to be the foundation of its operations. To that end, the company has implemented anti-corruption policies and training as well as a Code of Conduct for all employees.

Learn more about Esker’s ESG strategy https://www.esker.co.uk/company/environmental-social-governance/

Read full press release here.

Esker UK

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Allegro-Pro specialises in a wide range of SAP financial modules and has hands-on experience in implementing SAP S/4 HANA and On-Premise solutions. Its dedicated consultants will refer Esker solutions alongside SAP modules to ensure the most comprehensive solution package for their clients.

Read the full press release here.

Esker UK

Unlocking Positive-Sum Growth with AI-Driven Business Solutions for P2P & O2C Cycles

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Esker, a global cloud platform and leader in AI-driven process automation solutions for Finance, Procurement and Customer Service functions, today announced the appointment of Catherine Plasse as Esker’s new Chief Financial Officer.

Reporting to Emmanuel Olivier, Esker COO on the Board of Directors, Plasse will manage and coordinate Esker’s Finance teams worldwide and join Esker’s Associate Board of Directors. She will lead the creation of information for the public and financial communities and ensure the maintenance of a high-level internal control environment and compliance with regulatory obligations. Plasse will also play a crucial role in steering the operational performance of Esker by managing budgetary and control aspects. In collaboration with the Board of Directors, she will also be actively involved in the development of Esker’s environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) policies.

Plasse brings to Esker more than 15 years of experience in strategic financial management and providing key input to executive levels at a variety of international companies. Plasse held various Financial Analyst and Controller positions at Suez Group, most notably as CFO in the U.S. for three years. She holds three degrees in International Business Administration, from Northumbria University (BA), IAE France (master’s degree) and EDHEC Business School (BA). She also holds a certification in Sustainable Transition Management from HEC Paris and in Principles of Sustainable Finance from Erasmus University of Rotterdam.

“I’m delighted to be joining Esker, an innovative company that plays a key role in the digital transformation of businesses worldwide,” said Plasse. “I look forward to contributing to Esker’s continued success and collaborating with such a dynamic and talented team.”

“Catherine brings to Esker a wealth of international experience, strong technical and managerial skills, as well as deeply held beliefs in ESG responsibility. We look forward to working with her and continuing Esker’s success story,” said Jean-Michel Bérard, CEO at Esker.

Read full press release here.

Esker UK

Unlocking Positive-Sum Growth with AI-Driven Business Solutions for P2P & O2C Cycles

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Continued growth in cloud activities

Esker Q3 2023 sales revenue amounted to 43.8 million euros, a 13% increase over Q3 2022 based on constant exchange rates (+8% based on current exchange rates). For the first nine months of 2023, Esker sales were 131.6 million euros, up 15% based on constant exchange rates (+13% based on current rates).

Over Q3, Esker’s cloud activities continued to drive growth (+15% based on constant rates and +11% based on current rates) to represent 82% of the company’s overall revenue. This excellent performance, resulting from the many customer contracts signed in previous quarters, slightly decelerated on account of lower volumes processed during the summer. 

Implementation services grew by 10% based on constant rates and 6% based on current rates, representing 15% of the company’s total revenue. The performance of legacy products continued its downward trend, equating to 2% of sales, as is typical in extended periods of market uncertainty.

A record quarter for new bookings

Esker recorded the best quarter in its history in terms of bookings. The annual recurring value (ARR) of new contracts signed during Q3 2023 increased by 11% (based on constant rates) compared to Q3 2022, to reach 5.3 million euros. This performance is all the more remarkable, as the previous record was held by Q3 2022. The ARR of new contracts signed in the first nine months of the year reached 14.3 million euros, an increase of 14%.

The pace of signed contracts was extremely dynamic in France (+508% over Q3, +46% over nine months), due to a favourable base effect as well as a clarification of the national e-invoicing regulations in the first half of the year. As a result of these clarifications, several major customers signed contracts with Esker to overhaul their invoicing processes. This trend is set to continue until at least mid-2024.

Performance in Europe (excluding France) improved sharply (+23%) with large contracts won in Italy, Spain and the U.K, bringing the overall growth in bookings to over 105% for the first nine months of the year for the region. The Americas achieved their best quarter of the year, with 2.4 million euros in bookings (ARR), representing 45% of the company’s bookings for the quarter. This performance was down 30% from the same quarter last year, due to an extremely unfavourable base effect. This same region had set a record in Q3 2022, with more than 3.4 million euros in ARR of new contracts. Signings in the Americas are expected to increase in Q4.

A solid financial position

As of September 30, 2023, company cash rests at 45.8 million euros (including 4.8 million euros classified as financial fixed assets) versus 47.1 million euros on September 30, 2022. Net cash amounts to 34.1 million euros as of September 30, 2023, compared with 31.5 million euros the previous year. Given the low financial debt (11.7 million euros as of September 30, 2023) and 134,373 in treasury shares (representing 15.9 million euros based on the closing share price on October 16, 2023), Esker has the financial autonomy to pursue its strategy based on accelerating organic growth.

Outlook for the end of 2023

Given the very good performance of the first nine months of 2023, Esker continues to forecast organic sales growth of between 14-15% (excluding currency variations). The accelerated pace of signed contracts linked to the e-invoicing mandate in France could, if maintained between now and the end of the year, result in higher-than-expected acquisition costs (essentially commissions on sales accrued at contract signature), without contributing to revenue in 2023 (revenue spread out in SaaS mode). Consequently, a rapid acceleration in bookings could impact the expected operating margin of 11.5-12.5% for 2023 by 1 or 2 points.

An English webcast with Esker’s Jean-Michel Bérard (CEO) and Emmanuel Olivier (COO) will take place October 17, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. Central European Time. To participate, please join call here.

Read full press release here.

Esker UK

Unlocking Positive-Sum Growth with AI-Driven Business Solutions for P2P & O2C Cycles

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Baker Ing, renowned for its expertise in receivables management for high-value and sensitive accounts, provides bespoke international debt collection, from ad hoc support to acting as an integrated service partner. Credit managers run searches on debtors and create a log of any possible reluctance for timely payment. Esker AI-driven Collections Management fits in perfectly with systems Baker Ing already have in place to enhance the offering to its customers.

The team will be referring Esker’s suite of Order-to-Cash solutions to include Collections Management, Cash Application, Credit Management, Invoice Delivery, Claims and Deductions, and E-payment solutions.   

To help businesses adapt swiftly, Baker Ing and Esker are launching a package designed to offer immediate countermeasures to inflationary pressures. This is the opportunity for companies to fortify their financial operations, ensuring they stay competitive in an inflation-ridden market.

Read full press release here.

Esker UK

Unlocking Positive-Sum Growth with AI-Driven Business Solutions for P2P & O2C Cycles

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Proservartner creates cost efficiencies, standardises and optimises processes and enables agile back-office functions to give clients the competitive advantage they need. The company has a long heritage in setting up shared service centres, and its experienced team will take companies through every step of its automation journey. Proservartner will be both a reseller and implement Esker Accounts Payable and Order-to-Cash solutions.

The team is receiving training on Esker’s solutions and will be fully up to speed to execute the automation journey of its customers soon.

Read full press release here.

Esker UK

Unlocking Positive-Sum Growth with AI-Driven Business Solutions for P2P & O2C Cycles

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Following the success of our first Esker charity hiking challenge last year, we decided it only right to put ourselves through our paces once again, and of course we had to go bigger and better than before! (i.e. tougher and even more challenging!)

We all felt that this year we had to go that extra mile (or three!) to push ourselves even further and to really encourage everyone to dig deep for our chosen charity Bridge the Gap.

Bridge the Gap, is an Emotional Literacy based service, helping children to explore and understand their emotions, and to learn different ways of responding to these emotions. They are a non-clinical service, working to build safe relationships with children and young people, as well as those important to them; working longer-term with a child or young person for the best long-term outcomes.

Bridge The Gap kindly visited us at our office in Derby earlier this year to tell us about the work they do. This really resonated with some members of our team; either as parents of children who had faced similar challenges or recalling struggles they had as a child themselves. We were all in agreement that this was a truly worthy cause for our support, and with them being based right on our doorstep in Derby, any money we raised would make a difference in our local area.

With that in mind our challenge was set as a 30km, 3 Peak Hike, in the beautiful Peak District National Park! And the preparations began……

You can’t just walk into a challenge like this (pardon the pun!) without some preparation, and once again, the dedication and commitment of our Esker Team contributed to the success of the challenge. After numerous practice walks (including some very tough hills!), kit preparation and a large quantity of walking poles purchased, we were ready for the big day!

Saturday the 16^th of September was a moody and overcast day in the Peak District, cool and dry, with mist, fog and strong winds up on the hills! It was an early start in the pretty village of Edale, Derbyshire. We had entrusted ourselves into the capable hands of local expert and qualified guide Adrian Close who had carefully planned this challenging circular route and was to accompany us on our hike. (Thank you for keeping us safe in the hills Adrian!) We initially met Adrian when he visited our office to provide some external training to the Esker Team earlier in the year.

There were eight members of the Esker Team participating in this year’s hike, and like last year, this group was made up from practically all departments of the business. Teamwork is key for something like this, and that understanding of how we all rely on each other in order to be successful is crucial, not just in a hiking challenge but in the workplace as well. The words of encouragement and support from the other members of the Esker Team who weren’t taking part in the hike really motivated us too!

So how did it go? Well, we all completed the 30km distance and 981m of ascent together as a team, in eight and half grueling hours! This included three challenging hill tops; Win Hill, Lose Hill (of which the climb never seemed to end!) and Mam Tor.
It was tough, but so very rewarding and such a great achievement. Despite the blisters and aching legs and feet, we all thoroughly enjoyed it and toasted our success with a well-earned drink back in the village of Edale!

The Peak District National Park is a beautiful place, and even with the zero views at the top of the hills due to cloud cover, there was still some amazing scenery to take in and I have no doubt this too helped us along!

As a regular hiker and lover of the great outdoors I am grateful to be able to share my hobby and its benefits. Walking, especially in such green and beautiful places is a real tonic for me and can play such a big part in our general wellbeing, both physically and mentally. There’s nothing quite like looking back and seeing how far you’ve come!

Most importantly, from the hike and other activities, we have raised £1500 for Bridge The Gap, of which they are very appreciative. I must say a huge thankyou to everyone that has donated.

As for next year, watch this space!

You can read more about Esker’s ESG initiatives here.

Laura Cook

Laura is an Administration Assistant at Esker UK. She has been part of the Esker family since 2019.

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Esker, a global cloud platform and leader in AI-driven process automation solutions for Finance, Procurement and Customer Service functions, today announced that Lactalis Iberia Group, the Spanish subsidiary of the world’s leading dairy foods company, is automating and optimising its Customer Service processes with Esker. Thanks to AI-powered automation, Lactalis Iberia Group has significantly reduced the time it takes to manage customer orders and, as a result, has achieved greater organisational flexibility and improved supply chain efficiency. 

In 2017, the company began its digital transformation of key business areas, including Customer Service, with the goal of moving from a purely administrative management structure to delivering value to customers and employees alike. In 2021, Lactalis Iberia Group partnered with Esker to automate customer orders for three of its companies: Lactalis Forlasa (cheese), Lactalis Puleva (milk) and Lactalis Nestlé (yoghurts and desserts). And this year, a fourth company was added, Lactalis Food Service Iberia, serving the hotel, restaurant and café (HoReCa) channel.

The objective of the project was two-fold: increase efficiency and unify the processes of the four companies while maintaining the specificities of each one.

“Esker’s solution provides us with visibility and analysis capabilities via customised dashboards, where we can easily monitor results and progress for each manager,” said Ángel Ventoso, Head of IT Applications at Lactalis Iberia Group. “Each company has its own dashboard and the security and confidentiality of the information is 100 per cent guaranteed.”

Esker Order Management, part of Esker’s Customer Service solution suite, has made it possible to digitally process and integrate all orders regardless of format (spreadsheets by email, orders in the body of the message, PDF, HTML, etc.).

Lactalis Iberia Group is already reaping the benefits of automation. Today, over 85 per cent of orders are automatically integrated into its SAP® system. As a result, it takes the Customer Service team only one minute to process an order, down from eight minutes previously, totaling 1,300 hours saved per month. Additionally, the elimination of manual order entry errors coupled with faster order handling time, has led to greater productivity in the supply chain — reducing stressors in each of its elements (stock, transport, warehouses, etc.).

Lactalis Iberia Group also benefits from greater organisational flexibility. The centralisation of processes and procedures means that any user trained in the solution can take over at any time.

Thanks to automation and the elimination of paper, Lactalis Iberia Group saves approximately 54,000 sheets per year, 14,300 litres of water and 1,300 kg of CO2 that will no longer be emitted into the atmosphere. Additionally, the company has freed up the need for physical archiving space.

“Automating our order process has generated significant time savings and, consequently, important cost savings for our order department,” said Patricio Corrales, Head of Customer Service at Lactalis Nestlé. “Esker has helped us improve processes and generate value, not only for us and our customers, but also throughout our supply chain, an area where we continue to invest through various partnerships.”

Read full press release here.

Esker UK

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This new partnership will provide industry-leading software and implementation expertise while driving efficiency within finance teams.

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Esker UK

Unlocking Positive-Sum Growth with AI-Driven Business Solutions for P2P & O2C Cycles

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