As a provider of software, services, and support for PostgreSQL® users around the world, EDB must screen its customers, partners, and employees to comply with international compliance regulations. EDB chose Descartes Visual Compliance™—with direct Salesforce™ integration and dynamic screening—to simplify and expedite its compliance process, mitigate third-party risk, and accelerate the sales cycle.
Challenge: Inefficient Screening Compromising Productivity
With 16 offices around the world, EDB provides its PostgreSQL platform to customers on a global scale and requires a robust denied, restricted and sanctioned party screening solution to meet international export compliance requirements. The company’s existing compliance solution lacked the ability to screen trade partners dynamically, hampering screening efficiency and accuracy and increasing the risk of inadvertently trading with restricted parties. To meet both corporate and human resources compliance needs, EDB required an easy-to-use screening solution that would automatically re-screen records against daily changes made to denied parties lists, while integrating with Salesforce to streamline sales efforts.
“Thanks to the efficiency and robustness of Descartes Visual Compliance, I'd put our compliance program up against literally any company of our size in the world right now. Plus, with Salesforce integration, we can dynamically screen lead lists, web-driven subscribers, and existing customers to streamline the sales response process and accelerate the sales cycle.”
Paul Lucchese, Vice President & General Counsel, EDB
About EDB
EDB’s enterprise-class software extends PostgreSQL, helping organizations get the most out of the database both on premises and in the cloud. With 16 offices worldwide, EDB serves over 5,000 customers, including leading financial services, government, media and communications, and information technology organizations.
Solution: Dynamic Screening Across The Enterprise
EDB replaced its existing compliance solution with Descartes Visual Compliance to help drive efficiencies through its compliance process. With dynamic screening, the Descartes solution proactively reduces EDB’s trade compliance risk, working behind the scenes to continuously screen prospects, customers, business partners, and employees.
“The ability to evaluate each record dynamically was massively influential in our decision to deploy Descartes Visual Compliance,” said Lucchese. “It may be alright to do business with a person or company today but dealing with them tomorrow could constitute a compliance violation—a challenge exemplified by the recent trade sanctions and addition of Russian oligarchs to restricted party lists in response to the war in the Ukraine.”
Descartes Visual Compliance provides EDB with consistent, proactive due diligence—without having to change its compliance workflows—by automatically flagging sanctioned and restricted entities and embargoed countries. “Compliance violations could result in serious penalties, not to mention the damage a violation could do to our reputation,” noted Lucchese.
EDB rolled out Descartes Visual Compliance, integrated seamlessly within Salesforce, across the global enterprise: one module for corporate operations and a second module for human resources to screen candidates and employees. Since the deployment, the solution has been helping EDB to navigate the complex and ever-changing world of foreign trade compliance with greater confidence.
“The onboarding process went very well. The Descartes team is incredible to work with,” said Lucchese. “Plus, the simple GUI interface is easy to use, and we receive highly-detailed, easy-to-interpret background information for each result, organized in a way that is simple to understand and act on.”
The Results
Smooth Deployment
Descartes Visual Compliance integrates easily into Salesforce via Managed Package, helping EDB get up and running quickly and smoothly. With streamlined task workflows, intuitive navigation controls, and built-in notifications, the user-friendly solution requires minimal training.
Increased Efficiency
With automated, dynamic screening, EDB can scan trade partners and employees against hundreds of watch lists at a faster and systematic rate to increase the productivity of its compliance practice. Integration with Salesforce streamlines and accelerates the sales cycle.
Mitigated Risk
Enabling screening at multiple points, multiple departments, and across multiple systems, the Descartes solution automates EDB’s trade compliance, helps demonstrate due diligence, and minimizes the risk of penalties, fines, and reputational damage.
Simplified Compliance
By implementing Descartes Visual Compliance across the enterprise, both corporate and HR users instantaneously receive accurate screening results that are simple to understand—all within a single online interface.