Client stories

How Evos integrated its Treasury operations with Cobase

Evos needed to quickly optimize its cash management and treasury operations to better streamline its processes and consolidate the previously shared services environment from their previous shareholder.

Complexity after acquisitions

Evos had recently acquired terminals in Amsterdam and Hamburg and was preparing to onboard even more across Europe, including in Rotterdam, Algeciras, Ghent, Terneuzen, and Malta. Each new location came with its own set of banks and operational timelines.

A transitional service agreement with their previous shareholder meant the clock was ticking - Evos had only weeks to take ownership of their financial operations before the external support ended.

In October of 2019, Evos reached a significant corporate milestone when they acquired the assets of the Amsterdam and Hamburg terminals. However, this also presented a unique challenge as there was still a transactional service agreement in place with the previous shareholder. This meant that they were handling accounting activities and making payments on behalf of Evos. With the limited time frame for this arrangement, Evos needed to quickly transition to a new system for both reporting and payments. This was a crucial treasury milestone for the company, as effective cash management and treasury operations were essential for ensuring a smooth transition.

When faced with the task of transitioning their financial operations, Evos had only a month to implement the changes. In the words of one of the key team members, “The service agreement with the previous shareholder was for a limited amount of time. So, we had two weeks to do the selection process. We had three options: Stick to the electronic banking platforms (provided by a bank) that we already had up and running. As we already knew that additional acquisitions would be made, this was not an option. We wanted to have a tool that allowed us to further expand, rather than having to bother about onboarding a lot of electronic banking tools and tokens.

Our second option would have involved working with another software company. However, they were not able to commit to our timelines and made it clear from the start they anticipated at least four to five months as project timeline. Evos simply did not have that time available, so the speed of onboarding the banks was crucial.”

Expanding on the third option facing the company, the team member adds: “So I approached Cobase and said that basically we want to be live within a month. Would that be possible? And to my surprise the answer was yes!”

Having an efficient cash management and treasury system was essential for ensuring the success of our company during this transition period, and we could not have done it without Cobase's expertise and support. The team was a pleasure to work with and went above and beyond to ensure that we had everything we needed to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Finance and Treasury

Evos

The successful delivery of Cobase’s promises was confirmed by the client: “We onboarded banks and accounts, and Cobase onboarded those directly to the system and all of this happened within a really short time frame. The team at Cobase was incredibly responsive and worked tirelessly to ensure that we were able to meet our deadlines. We were able to onboard bank accounts and move our financial operations into our own environment within a month, which was a significant accomplishment.”

One of the standout aspects of working with Cobase for Evos was the proactiveness of the team. As the client makes clear, the Cobase implementation manager assigned to their project was on top of things and had quick connections with their banks, which allowed him to act quickly.

The client was impressed with the level of dedication and knowledge that the Cobase team brought to the project, while also recognizing that the bottleneck was, in most cases, the willingness of banks to onboard to Cobase. With some banks, it went seamlessly; others who were not yet onboarded gave some pushback. The proactiveness of the implementation manager eventually resolved these issues.

As expected, the growth of Evos did not stop after they completed the acquisitions. The company also commissioned a new rail loading station and upgraded infrastructure at the Hamburg terminal. Evos's expansion has been accompanied by significant upgrades to their terminals. In 2022, the Rotterdam terminal commissioned four new tanks of 21,000 cbm each, further expanding their capacity. As the company continues to grow, efficient cash management and treasury operations are essential for ensuring their success. With Cobase, Evos has been able to streamline their financial processes and to position themselves for future growth and expansion.

As Evos continues to expand their business and acquire new terminals, they are faced with new challenges in managing their financial operations. However, with the help of Cobase, they can modularly grow their treasury needs. This means that as their business expands and their financial processes become more complex, the Cobase platform is able to adapt and provide the necessary functionality. This level of flexibility and scalability is critical for a growing company like Evos. As the partnership evolved, Cobase rolled out additional functionality, including FX Dealing, Balance Optimisation, and Inhouse Banking modules—helping Evos mature its treasury function even further.

Process improvements and scalability

The system handled not only the initial transition, but also the ongoing onboarding of new terminals. Every new acquisition—including those in Malta and Southern Europe—was up and running within a month of being finalized.

Even banks that weren’t immediately compatible—like Bank of Valletta, due to regulatory constraints—were handled through creative workarounds, ensuring continuity.