Lipari modernizes processes with FTNI’s ETran platform
Lipari Foods, a regional full-line distributor serving 14 states, recently launched the ETran Integrated Receivables platform provided by Financial Transmission Network (FTNI), which specializes in integrated receivables solutions.
FTNI said its platform delivers consolidated, highly configurable payment processing solutions across multiple payment methods and channels—all on a single, cloud-based platform. Lipari, headquartered in Warren MI, will take the solutions to market as “Lipari Direct Payments.”
Lipari, founded in 1963 by Jim Lipari, has grown into a leading distributor of deli, bakery, packaging, and grocery products and services. The company’s truck fleet delivers to more than 13,000 customer locations six days per week.
“As our business continues to grow, the strategic importance of maximizing technological, as well as operational efficiencies across our company is absolutely imperative,” said Michael C Hegarty, vice president of technology at Lipari.
The adoption of FTNI’s ETran platform within the foodservice and beverage distribution sectors continues to grow, adding an average of more than one new distribution customer per month for the past three years, FTNI said. FTNI’s distribution clients serve customers in every state in the continental United States and a growing number of regions in Canada. Used by leading companies across numerous industries, ETran helps to decrease processing times by as much as 80% and reduce DSO by more than four days.
Lipari’s implementation will include nearly every module of the ETran integrated receivables platform, spanning advanced Remote Deposit Capture (RDC), AutoPay (automatic debit), online and mobile payment solutions. Working closely with FTNI and its existing banking institution and enterprise back-office systems provider, Lipari achieved initial production rollout of the ETran platform in less than 60 days, Lipari maintained.
“FTNI’s ETran platform is helping us to eliminate legacy payment processing silos and systems, open new channels from which we can accept payments from our customers, and ultimately enabling us to get payments deposited and posted in our back-office systems faster than ever before,” Hegarty said. “We were able to achieve initial production rollout in roughly 45 days and look forward to launching additional modules on the platform in the coming weeks.”
Through integrations with Lipari’s invoicing and back-office systems, the distributor is benefitting from ETran’s ability to deliver straight-through processing that drives efficiency improvements and cash flow acceleration. As a result, Lipari will benefit from reduced—and, in some cases, completely eliminated—time-consuming and error-prone posting and cash application efforts associated with its legacy processes and systems, FTNI claimed.
ETran’s cloud-based, configurable design allows enterprises to tailor the platform to their business processes and workflows to consolidate, automate and streamline accounts receivables operations spanning any payment method (check, ACH, credit/debit card, cash), from any payment channel (mailed-in, lockbox, called-in, in-person, online, mobile), all from a single, easy-to-use interface, FTNI said.
ETran’s ‘plug-n-play’ nature works with existing banking and merchant processor relationships and supports integration (batch or real-time) with any back-office system. All payment information is processed and stored on ETran’s fully compliant—PCI, HIPAA, SSAE 16 and more—Software as a Service (SaaS) platform.
“Lipari Foods is a recognized leader within the distribution industry and has a strong commitment to leveraging innovative technologies across their business,” said Zac Robinson, vice president of sales and marketing at FTNI. “Lipari represents yet another leading distributor leveraging numerous modules on the ETran platform to transform A/R operations.
“We look forward to our continued collaboration with Michael and the team at Lipari as they expand their rollout of the ETran platform and help drive several exciting product enhancements in the coming months.”
