Keeping stock pays dividends
Early career experiences often provide the seedbed of inspiration for future enterprise. In the case of Adrian Walsh, a combination of careers in the information technology and automative industries combined to provide the idea for CheckVentory, a new firm that recently won the 2015 PwC Docklands Innovation Award.
While working as MD for one of Ireland’s largest car marques, Adrian was familiar with the problem of keeping on top of the inventory of automobiles from the network of agents and motor distributors. In common with other distributors of high value capital products, automotive firms have to participate in the partial or full financing of their products. This financing is most at risk during the stock and sales process when the funded inventory is located across a wide dealer network.
Knowing whether a car was sold or remained for sale on the forecourt of a motor dealer is hugely important but up until now, tracking this status has been a tedious and time-consuming process. Described as a ‘field based asset verification platform for funded inventory in the automotive industry’, CheckVentory’s software-based solution enables risk managers and credit controllers to quickly, accurately and cost effectively reconcile their entire stock holding, irrespective of where the vehicles are located.
Described as a ‘field based asset verification platform for funded inventory in the automotive industry’, CheckVentory’s software-based solution enables risk managers and credit controllers to quickly, accurately and cost effectively reconcile their entire stock holding, irrespective of where the vehicles are located.
“Traditionally, teams of auditors needed to undertake regular stock-takes and reconcile all assets back to the balance sheet,” explains Adrian. “Our solution, however, uses highly innovative mobile technology to enable audits to be assigned, managed and reconciled on one simple platform, quickly, easily and accurately. It enables its users to utilise existing resources in each of the locations, vastly reducing the cost and time of conducting audits.”
Adrian happily admits that ‘he couldn’t code for toffee’ but came up with the vision and grasped the key requirements of the CheckVentory solution which he brought to a technical team that he worked with. He is supported in the venture by David Kiely, a Chartered Accountant who has a banking, financial risk management and treasury background.
Currently installed and running with several multinational clients, CheckVentory is being used to manage over €50 million worth of assets. In July 2014 the company won Competitive Start Fund (CSF) funding of €50,000 and in November 2014 it was selected as a finalist in the EIG Silicon Stroll, which identified 50 of Europe’s most investable start-ups.
Adrian is using his contacts in the automobile industry to gain traction for CheckVentory and has advanced plans to enter the UK market. “Ireland is a great place to set up a business because access is so easy. There’s been huge peer support and a lot of doors have been opened for us. It is a small market though and we need to look beyond it to gain scale.”
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Dublin, CheckVentory is a recent graduate of the Dublin Institute of Technology DIT Hothouse New Frontiers Programme.
From PwC Ireland
For more information please call 353 1 5311123 or email adrian@checkventory.com