Company Overview

Tricon has grown to become an industry leader in the global trade and distribution of chemicals, with a purpose to efficiently and sustainably connect the world with essential goods. Tricon achieves that by providing distribution, logistics, financing, risk management, market intelligence, and technical support to thousands of business partners in over 120 countries. Tricon’s diverse, global workforce is committed to providing clients with streamlined services so they can focus on their core business.

Challenge

Disconnected systems and operational blind spots

As Tricon expanded, managing global payroll and workforce operations grew increasingly complex. Each region had its own provider, timelines, and compliance rules. Approvals were buried in email threads, and data was siloed in spreadsheets.

HR and finance had no clear, centralized view of what was happening on the ground in each country. “Day to day processes were incredibly inefficient for several of our teams”, said Robin Lawton, Chief Human Resources Officer of Tricon.

An earlier rollout with another global provider failed to deliver due to limited local expertise and implementation delays. Tricon needed a solution that could match its scale and simplify it.

Solution

One secure platform for payroll, payments, and contingent workforce

Papaya Global worked with Tricon to bring more visibility and control to its workforce operations using the Contingent OS platform. The solution helped simplify payroll and payments across multiple locations, making it easier for Tricon to manage its growing global team.

Fast, digital onboarding

Papaya’s structured implementation process delivers swift and seamless deployment. The platform went live in days without paperwork or manual data transfers. “Our implementation team at Papaya has been fantastic and reliable from the beginning” said Gabi Mora, HR Manager.

Parallel implementation runs allow Tricon to validate results and correct any discrepancies before fully switching over payroll for a given country.

“We ran a parallel payroll cycle, compared both systems, and ironed out any discrepancies before flipping the switch. It’s simple and it worked well,” explained Mora,

Global support for contingent workers

Papaya enabled Tricon to manage and scale their contingent workforce in countries where it is not yet incorporated. From onboarding and immigration to benefits and payments, all processes were fully supported through the platform, removing compliance and operational friction.

“We’re providing benefit packages to contingent workers from Indonesia to the Ivory Coast. That kind of flexibility is rare,” Lawton shared.

Smarter, faster payments

Previously, Tricon’s payroll team wired money to each country separately. Now, with Papaya Wallets, they fund regionally and pay employees locally, reducing pressure on treasury and accounting. “With Papaya Payments, it’s very reassuring to know our funds are under our control,” said Lawton.

The system also improved visibility of payment status, ensuring all payments arrived on time to employees with complete security. The impact on treasury operations was immediate. “We used to ping treasury constantly for status updates. Now? Fewer requests and happier teams,” said Lawton.

Real-time integration with BambooHR

Papaya’s HCM cloud connector integrates directly with BambooHR, enabling automatic syncing of new hires, promotions, and salary changes without duplication or manual effort. This integration eliminated the bulk of manual data entry, bringing employee data into one place, rather than HR keying data across multiple systems or spreadsheets.

Automation was a crucial transformation for daily operations. “I don’t even have to click a button—it just syncs. That alone saves us countless hours,” said Mora.

Visibility at every level

Papaya’s dashboards give HR and finance teams a global view of payroll data. With Cycle Watch, they can monitor every payroll cycle in real-time from pending approvals to completed runs. The tool uses a color-coded map to flag urgent issues and helps prioritize attention, allowing teams to focus on what needs immediate action.

For Lawton, the visibility was transformative: “It shows me what needs my attention… It’s a time-saver and a huge relief.”

The Payroll Summary provides an additional layer of transparency by highlighting significant employee data changes, including bonuses, terminations, and vacation payouts in a consistent structure for each country.

Tailored financial reporting

Tricon worked closely with Papaya to customize reports that align with their borrowing base model. Each region’s data is structured consistently and includes key factors such as cost centers, providing better control and audit readiness.

“We have a complex financial model, and Papaya built the reporting we needed. Greater visibility, tighter control,” emphasized Lawton.

Self-service for employees

Employees now have secure access to pay stubs, tax forms, and banking details through Papaya Personal. With single sign-on and mobile access, they no longer rely on HR for routine tasks. The platform is integrated with their existing system, eliminating the need for external sources. “Data security is top priority for us. We feel very secure with Papaya and their solutions,” said Lawton.

The shift to self-service eliminated countless daily requests. “In the old days, I was drowning in emails. Now? Employees have the ability to help themselves,” said Mora.

Results

With Papaya Global as a strategic partner across payroll, compliance, and workforce expansion, Tricon was able to scale globally with confidence, without adding complexity or overloading internal teams.

• Consolidated over 20 local vendors into one secure, scalable platform, eliminating complexity and supporting expansion.
• Standardized payroll operations across 29 countries and counting, providing the foundation for fast, sustainable growth.
• Seamless onboarding of contingent workers, no need for legal entities, helped scale teams quickly and compliantly.
• Centralized wallet funding simplified treasury operations and reduced administrative strain and time-consuming requests to Treasury.
• Automated HR workflows, saving hundreds of hours annually and freeing teams to focus on strategic initiatives.
• Real-time reporting gave HR and finance teams the clarity and control needed to support a growing global workforce.
• Papaya Personal gave employees instant access to their payslips, boosting satisfaction while minimizing HR touchpoints.

Papaya Global’s payment services are offered through Azimo, Papaya’s licensed payments arm. Azimo is a payment services provider regulated in five Tier-1 jurisdictions. These licenses allow Papaya, together with its partners, to provide workforce payments worldwide. For further information on Azimo’s licenses worldwide, check our licensing page.