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Optimising international cash management
Our client
QIAGEN is one of the world‘s leading biotechnology companies. Operating in over 130 countries, the group provides over 500,000 clients with a broad portfolio of sample and assay technologies for molecular diagnostics, academic and pharmaceutical research, in addition to applied testing, for example, in forensic science. QIAGEN technologies are used in numerous innovative fields such as personalised medicine or gene sequencing. Deutsche Bank supports QIAGEN with complex cash management solutions.
The challenge
QIAGEN has more than 35 subsidiaries in 24 countries, its central treasury team has to manage the complexity of its payment flows and currency portfolio.
In the past, liquidity was managed on a decentralised basis by the respective subsidiaries using local online banking solutions. Establishing overall liquidity in the group therefore demanded that data be consolidated and this process was only partially automated. In order to meet these goals in a timely, flexible and efficient manner, all of which were set by the treasury department, it was necessary to identify the potential for optimisation and to develop individualised solutions for settling payment transactions.
The solution
In the area of cash management, the company works closely with Deutsche Bank. The two partners interconnect their respective software solutions and expertise clusters.
To be in a position to manage liquidity as centrally as possible, a cross-border cash pooling, or zero balancing, system was set up. In this context, e.g. euro and US
dollars are combined in a pre-defined target account and the integrated companies are automatically provided with liquidity. The location of the target account is chosen strategically in this case: therefore, QIAGEN Group‘s US dollar liquidity is concentrated in an account held in the USA. A high level of automation is recommended so optimal use can be made of the treasury’s resources.
To also facilitate the automation and standardisation of payment flows, QIAGEN opted for a host-to-host connection through which the global “ISO 20022 CGI-MP XML” (Common Global Implementation-Market Practice) format is sent.
Benefits for the client
Since the system solutions and standards have been set-up, the company‘s growth strategy in new markets and countries has benefited from an efficient, flexible and high-performance cash management.
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