In the latest issue of World Trade Magazine, Richard Barovick does a great job outlining and describing how companies can benefit from Supply Chain Finance (SCF) in the cover story of their February issue. The article is entitled “Where’s the Goods, Where’s the Money” and it’s a primer into a field of supply chain management that is still being explored by vendors and customers alike but the tools used are becoming more and more streamlined and now offer an almost standard set of functionality.
…four activities and their cluster of advantages have been shaping the field for some time. These include: making automatic payments, supporting supplier discounts and buyer early payments, injecting credit into key points along the chain (pre-shipment, post-shipment, inventories), and a catch-all effort, “integrating” the flows of goods, funds, and information.
For anyone interesed in increasing their risk awareness as well as streamlining the finance aspect of their supply chain, the article provides a great starting point.
