In recent times, it is becoming more common to encounter trade finance and trade credit insurance companies which put modern technology at the heart of their businesses. Looking back over the last year or so, companies identified primarily for their ‘Insurtech’ or ‘Fintech’ characteristics have, however, not been immune from difficulties.

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For example, a new trade finance company may have an up-to-date, user-friendly app as the basis of its existence. But if it lacks the accumulated wisdom of the last one hundred years of trade finance, then it may find itself becoming a magnet for fraud once out there in the real world. Similarly, a young credit insurer may believe that its state-of-the-art IT will produce better loss ratios than its competitors, but finds its first contact with the market results in higher loss ratios than planned.

Why is this?
While technology is an essential part of any contemporary business plan, the technology itself is not like a magic wand that can fix all problems. The key is a balanced partnership between experienced human experts and the technology. If a startup’s idea is based on technology alone, but there is not sufficient respect for in depth market knowledge, there can be problems ahead.
While technology is vital in risk management, a surprising amount of vital intelligence still comes from meeting market contacts in the old-fashioned way, over lunch or coffee.

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For any insurer or trade finance company considering a new digital technology, it is important to emphasise that a partnership with the IT provider is required. There is no parallel to our personal lives where we can go to the Apple or Google app store, download an app with the best features and then proceed without a second thought. To ensure the successful use of technology, it needs to be part of and aligned with the organisation's strategy and risk management processes. The insurer (or trade finance provider) must accept that the new technology will only be successful to the extent that they, as a partner to the IT provider, commit adequate resources to the project over an extended period of time. This is the only way to achieve efficient deployment, user satisfaction and strategic advantage. Again, technology will not work like a "magic wand" and deliver the desired results if the customer does not invest adequately and sustainably. Strong partnerships with the IT provider are not only useful, but above all sustainable and offer many future opportunities. When Schumann is considering potential customers as partners, we are looking for companies who have a clear idea of their strategic goals and are willing to partner alongside us, investing the time and
resources for long-term success.

Traditional market knowledge and human contact remain as important as ever in the new digital age. That is one of the reasons why Schumann chooses to be active in ‘Industry and Trade’ (where  we provide IT solutions to the corporates who are customers of credit insurance and trade finance); in Financial Services (where we provide IT solutions to trade financiers); and in Credit and Surety (where we provide IT solutions to trade credit insurers). We believe it is important for us to remain well connected to all three parts of the market, and to help our customers to stay immersed in the human community, even as they digitise their processes. Finding the right balance between human and machine is the key.

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About SCHUMANN

At SCHUMANN we optimise the management of risk for credit, surety, political risk insurers and export credit agencies. Our software solutions and risk models are setting the future technological standards for the industry.

We are an open minded and learning organisation which invests heavily in research and development, often withour partners at the University of Goettingen. We aim to stay ahead of the competition with our cutting edge technology.

We value our independence, and are happy to work with any data provider or partner of your choice. We favour long term partnerships. We invest all of our resources into our customer relationships, and as a result have never lost a customer in our 25 year history.

CAM Credit and Surety enables our customers to automate risk assessment and underwriting processes, while our artificial intelligence handles complex workflows with ease, enabling customers to remain compliant with their regulatory environment.

A SCHUMANN software solution is both future proof and the most robust on the market – it will provide decade of service and will never let you down.