Portwest: Transforming Cash Application Through Automation

Global Leader in Protective Workwear and PPE

Portwest is an Irish-owned global manufacturer and distributor of protective workwear and safety clothing. Founded in 1904, the company specializes in high-performance PPE used across industries such as construction, healthcare, and manufacturing. Today, Portwest operates internationally, supplying businesses in over 130 countries and maintaining a strong reputation for quality, durability, and innovation in workplace safety.

Challenge

Portwest was struggling with a highly fragmented and manual cash allocation process across 19 bank accounts and 5 divisions, processing around 16,000 payments per month. Bank statements had to be manually downloaded, run through macros to identify payers, and then allocated in the ERP system, with no standardised format across countries or banks. This lack of uniformity led to inconsistent processes, reconciliation issues, over 2,000 unallocated items in Europe and LATAM, and increasing customer disputes. The workload required around 30 hours of manual processing per day, creating significant inefficiencies and a process that was unsustainable as the company continued to grow.

Pooja Pawase, Finian Gardner, Naomi Sheridan, Jana Ahlers-Philinci, Lorenzo Dalla Palma, Lisa Hitchinson, Carrie Coates, Francisco Lamarque, Justyna Wyszomierska

Solution

Portwest implemented Cashbook to automate bank file imports, automatically match open items using bank data, update the ERP system, and standardise processes across all bank accounts.

Results

  • 64% of transactions are fully matched
  • 96% of customers are now automatically identified from daily file uploads
  • Cash Allocation that previously required 30 hours of work are now completed in just hours
  • All Bank Files automatically uploaded
  • Standard process put in place across all Banks
  • Unallocated cash reduced from 2,000 to around 200 unmatched items
  • Covering sick leave has become much easier
  • Automation reduced the processing time for a single remittance from 3 hours to only 20 minutes

It’s been a real game changer for us. Today, the automation is saving us around 20 plus hours of work every single day — and as we grow, that impact only compounds. Without it, we’d probably be looking at 40 or even 50 hours a day of additional manual workload. Now, we simply don’t see that becoming a problem anymore.

Finian Gardner, Accounts Receivable Manager, Portwest
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