Supplier finance- the only function which is seen available to the largest companies in the supply chain sector and the ones with close contact with banks are providing the services. Fintechs have enabled a variety of companies in the recent years, to have the access for an affordable financing with the help of technology driven payment solutions. It has made the scaling of the supply chain operations easier for the companies by capitalizing on the early payment offers. But what is the need for the supplier finance?
The year 2020 was a disruptive and a very challenging year for all of us, especially for the business sectors and this help shed a light on the strength and the flexibility of the supply chains throughout the world. Many businesses have started reviewing their robust supply chains in the areas like the fall in the demand, liquidity sneezes or weaknesses. There is an ongoing debate about the best business models to enact supplier finance to be shock proof, but in fact it is actually about the ability to give flexible and more control. In the past days, the supply chain management was considered as an operational function for the industries but now it is gaining an increased views as a strategic command. This is made possible because of the recent events which happened last year. Early payments solutions are considered to be a tool for financing or capital management. And the early payment platforms provides mechanism to equip a supply chain for better management of the unpredictable shocks and lapses in the future.
In order to provide the liquidity and to strengthen the supply chain , there is a key framework when implementing and scaling early payments which includes a number of easy steps for CFOs, treasury and procurement teams to follow when looking to measure the early payments. Every project is unique and from the experience there are certain clear underlying themes to opt for when setting objectives. It will be easy to remember with this acronym SMART, that is Specific , Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely to make sure that the objectives of the program are clear and at the end of the processes, the businesses know what to expect. With this clear intentions in place, it is then vital to ensure that modelling is commenced to simulate a real-world decision-making path and finally ensure the desired objectives are ranged towards the successful outcomes. It is essential to find the best tools and resources, both internally and externally, to accomplish these goals in the most operative and efficient way after the end point is fixed. It is very important to manage the supplier finance when building a successful team. This usually means to make sure that the teams unifies the procurement, finance and treasury, accounting and IT departments. As the teams will be responsible for setting and communicating the clear and measurable objectives which will establish time lines, commit to the resources and select the providers, implement the solution and executing the strategy and remaining accountable to the measured success and against the objectives. With these responsibilities, they will also need to manage the external looks, resources and even the service providers. Like any multi-functional strategy initiative, the supplier finance also needs a strong analysis, robust planning and clear objectives with synchronized partnerships to leverage state of the art technology successfully.
