In this episode of the Credit on the Go podcast, host Bob Schultz sits down with Ryan Ayers, CEO and co-founder of Suppli, to explore the rapidly evolving landscape of accounts receivable (AR) and credit management within the construction industry supply chain. As finance professionals face leaner teams and more complex risk environments, this discussion offers a deep dive into how AI-driven automation and project-specific strategies are redefining the “fair fight” for credit departments.
The conversation highlights why the construction sector requires a specialized approach compared to traditional B2B verticals. Key insights include:
The Project-First Mentality: In construction, customers often don’t care about their total open balance; they need to know what is owed on a specific job because that is how they receive funds from general contractors or homeowners.
Navigating the Payment Waterfall: Ayers explains the “complex payment process” where funds flow from lenders to owners, GCs, and finally subcontractors, often creating a 90-to-120-day gap for materials that carry Net 30 terms.
The “Two Guys in a Truck” Reality: Many end customers are small operators where the owner is also the project manager and bookkeeper. Providing mobile-first, text-based payment options is no longer a luxury but a necessity for these “trunk packers”.
The Role of the “Digital Credit Teammate”
Ayers introduces the concept of a digital credit teammate—software designed to take repetitive AR work off the plate of finance professionals.
Automating Low-Risk Tasks: AI is best utilized for high-volume, low-risk activities like cash application, W9 requests, and invoice copies, allowing human teams to focus on high-value relationship and judgment-based decisions.
The “Junk In, Junk Out” Warning: The podcast emphasizes that automation must be built on pure processes. Implementing software on top of broken workflows will only accelerate poor results.
Mitigating Risk in a Volatile Market
For treasury and credit leaders, the episode provides actionable advice on protecting the bottom line:
Lien Management as a “Doomsday Instrument”: Because mechanics liens are highly nuanced and tedious, the sources stress that teams must collect project data early, before a job goes sideways, to ensure legal protections remain enforceable.
Advanced Concentration Analysis: Beyond simple customer concentration, Ayers discusses the importance of identifying project-based or regional risks, such as when a large portion of a portfolio is tied to a single massive skyscraper or data center project.
The Silver Tsunami and Changing Expectations
The podcast touches on a significant demographic shift: the “Silver Tsunami.” As a younger, tech-savvy generation takes over construction firms, they are demanding consumer-grade, online payment experiences. Finance departments that fail to provide secure, tap-to-pay digital options risk losing ground to more modernized competitors.
Whether you are looking to streamline your dunning and payments or gain better transparency into your AR portfolio, this episode serves as a roadmap for leveraging modern technology to manage the myriad of bonds and liens inherent in construction credit.
About Our Guest:
Ryan Ayers is the Co-Founder of Suppli an end-to-end A/R, collections, and payments platform that powers trade credit for leading B2B distributors and materials suppliers. He can be reached at: rayers@gosuppli.com.
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