We are proud technology partners of BCCM.
We see close up the strong advocacy that BCCM promote and the positive change they are building on for cooperatives and mutuals in Australia. As an active peak body they seek to strengthen all aspects of the cooperative’s principles and values, and as such we’ve witnessed campaigns aimed at business operations, governmental advocacy and public relations.
We have partnered since 2021 to bring a new range of co-op-informed digital registry solutions to the Australian co-operative sector. Digital management of registries is an important baseline for co-operatives seeking to maintain strong relations with members and for raising capital from members or non-members by way of shares, debentures or Co-operative Capital Units (hybrid securities).
As part of the Commonwealth Government-funded Co-operative Farming program, the BCCM worked with us in 2021 on a pilot project to tailor registry services for Australian agricultural co-operatives. The pilot was a response to the many queries the BCCM had received from co-operatives about finding appropriate registry services that can handle unique co-operative requirements such as managing active membership rules, paying rebates, raising capital and allocating bonus shares to members. We were able to bring prior experience working with co-operatives and unlisted companies in New Zealand to the fore, demonstrating a clear understanding of the purpose and principles of the co-operative sector and the ability to adapt services to the Australian co-op context.
Since then, Syndex has successfully onboarded two cooperatives, are in the process of onboarding a third and has more success stories in the pipeline. Both Yenda and DFMC, our existing Australian co-operative clients, are in the agricultural sector however their operating models differ in the supplier/producer structure. When Syndex began working with both co-operatives there were several common requirements and problems to solve for. Principally, both were seeking a digitised registry system, but in the past they had struggled to find a system tailored to co-operatives and their years of admin struggles with legacy systems were nearly identical. Together, we’ve been able to revolutionise their back office operations and they can now offer a streamlined, efficient and professional service to their members.
Highlights for these coops are the automated dividends and rebate system Syndex provides, with the ability to calculate, manage, report on and complete rebate payments direct to members’ bank accounts. Another simple concept, but one that has been lacking in many systems used by this sector, is group member communications, including to members’ related parties, such as trustees, accountants and lawyers. This sending and tracking of bulk emails breaks through laborious and manual administration. Importantly, at least one client has said Syndex’s automation functionality in the area of registry, reporting and communications has removed a 4-day-a-week job from their headcount and instead that admin manager has been able to retrain and upskill in other vital areas of the business. Click the link below to access the DFMC and Yenda case studies.
