About Us

The Seed

Kimberly Erickson founded Optimize Receivables Accounts Receivable Consulting in 2015. The seed that grew into Optimize Receivables Accounts Receivable Consulting was planted long before that. It started on a farm in Freeborn County, Minnesota where Kim learned what it takes to be responsible for the day-to-day life of dairy cows. The daily routine of feeding, watering, and milking taught Kim to work every day until the job’s done. From an early age, her father instilled in Kim the confidence to tame and control animals that were many times her size and 1,000 pounds heavier so that she could safely work with them. She would go on to exhibit these same cows at the Freeborn County Fair and Minnesota State Fair. 

Kim took that confidence a step further when she ran to become the Dairy Princess for Freeborn County. This type of competition is based on how well you represent the dairy industry in local and state events. It requires you to successfully engage with the public while speaking publicly about industry issues. Well, Kim won and she started to develop her ability to successfully engage with anyone regardless of their position in an organization. She went on to win the Regional Dairy Princess then competed for Princess Kay of the Milky Way at the Minnesota State Fair. While Kim didn’t win that final competition, she had the distinct honor of being carved in 100 lbs of Land O’Lakes butter, doing commercials and engaging with even more people. Kim learned the importance of listening to get your point across. 

The seed for Optimize Receivables Accounts Receivable Consulting continued to grow when Kim began to work at the Hormel Foods Organization in the Treasury area. Kim quickly gravitated towards process improvement. Kim was assigned to a Six Sigma Team to address deduction resolution where she was drawn to “voice of the customer” and “critical to quality.”  This eventually grew into Kim’s ability to successfully understand and prioritize a customer’s needs. 

I first met Kim as the Six Sigma blackbelt on this team.  Kim spent days mapping the deduction resolution processes. She led countless interviews with sales reps who had traditionally done that work.  It was Kim who pointed out that even though each sales rep said their account was special and difficult, the process was identical behind the scenes.  Most important of all, Kim pointed out that it could be standardized.  This was the spark for the team’s ultimate recommendation. The team recommended the creation of a shared service center to perform all deduction resolution activities. 

Kim not only created the spark but also led the implementation of the service center.  I cannot tell you the amount of tenacity this required.  Imagine dealing with numerous sales reps who were reluctant to give up the reins for their “special” customers.   Imagine having the vision to see the plan through until its realization.  Imagine dealing with the usual Monday morning quarterbacks who thought it would never work.