Zitmaxx offers the most extensive range of affordable quality furniture in the Benelux region. To improve the customer and employee experience and automate processes, Zitmaxx makes use of ABN AMRO’s Business Account Insight API. In this interview, William Vos, Head of Finance and IT at Zitmaxx talks about their experience with the Business Account Insight API, the technical integration, and the benefits it brought them.

Who is Zitmaxx?

“Zitmaxx is a furniture shop that offers a big range of customized furniture. We have our own delivery service, drivers, and offer an omnichannel experience to our customers. Providing a great customer service is very important to us, therefore we focus on improving and automating our services continuously.”

What was the problem?

“When a client buys a piece of furniture in our store or webshop, the payment takes place at a later stage. The amount can be paid in full or in parts, before or at the moment of delivery. Therefore, accurate payment information is very important. An issue we encountered is that upon delivery the driver does not have the latest information on the payment. For instance, a customer claims to have paid the amount an hour before the delivery. As the driver is not able to check the payment at that moment he needs to contact the office to have the payment confirmed. The amounts due can be quite considerable, so it is important for our customers and us to have clarity about the status of the payment. As the physical delivery of the goods is time-critical and a costly process, we aim to have this done as smoothly as possible.”

What was the solution?

“We wanted a solution that gives us insight into the payment status of our clients throughout the purchase process. We came across the documentation of the ABN AMRO Business Account Insight API. After reading it, we were convinced the API would solve our problem: we can have insight into payments in real-time.”

How does it work?

“By using the Business Account Insight API, obtaining the payment information is now automated throughout the entire buying process. During working hours, we fetch the data every twenty minutes via the API. The data is automatically loaded and via an integration gets processed in our accountancy application. Next, the status of the payments gets updated in the logistics system our drivers use. So now, throughout the process, the information is automatically updated. The driver can see if the customer has paid the amount in full or partially. Another part we automated is sending an invoice as soon as the amount due is paid in full. This reassures the customer the payment has been received and reduces support questions.”

How did the integration go?

Note: For the integration with the ABN AMRO Business Account Insight API, Zitmaxx used integrator Orbis Software. They offer a BPA Platform and standard integration tools which includes a.o. the ABN AMRO Business Account Insight API. This way, the API can be integrated quickly into almost any system, without programming.

“The integration went really smooth. We have multiple integrations with Orbis Software and have always had a positive experience with them. For this request, they offer easy integration of the ABN AMRO Business Account Insight API. We only needed a few things to do to integrate the API into our business processes. The integration was done within two days, including testing. We had a really great experience with both Orbis and ABN AMRO.”

What are the benefits?

“We experience various benefits due to the use of the Business Account Insight API. These are:

• Real-time insight into payment details
• Improved customer experience through a clearer and more flexible payment process
• Better employee experience through providing all necessary information to drivers
• More efficient internal process through automation, no more manual steps
• Less risk of fraud

More information?

Check out the Business Account Insight API.