WhatsApp
Email
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Suppliers should protect themselves in the long run by conducting basic credit checks, Andrew Rickard, president at the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT), stresses on the latest episode of the Rapaport Diamond Podcast.
Debt disputes are costly and damage vendor-client relationships, said Rickard, who took on the role at the credit and data agency in May after more than 20 years at polished dealer RDI Diamonds. Collection processes on unpaid dues recover just 35% to 40% of the debt on average, he noted.
“Let’s run a $25 credit report to potentially save ourselves the hassle of tens of thousands of dollars in potential losses,” he told Rapaport’s Joshua Freedman on the episode, recorded last week. ($25 is the cost of additional credit reports for standard JBT members, who receive five free reports per year.)
He also called on suppliers to share data with the JBT about deals they had executed, enabling the Warwick, Rhode Island-based organization to carry out its purpose of issuing credit reports and securing the industry’s financial transactions.
Rickard is attempting to make the JBT more relevant to retailers, he explained. For example, it recently launched a “priority retailer” program enabling jewelry buyers to submit information on trades they had carried out and paid for, thereby supporting their own credit scores.
He also spoke about the JBT’s work at trade shows helping members do business and how he viewed the current state of the diamond and jewelry market.
Listen to the podcast here:
This podcast is brought to you by GIA — the Gemological Institute of America — protecting consumers and supporting the global gem and jewelry trade since 1931 through research, education, and laboratory services.
