Banks and suppliers have been talking up end-to-end supply chain finance solutions for a number of years now, but in order to make that happen it was essential to have a strong platform to pull together information from the disparate entities that touch a good as it moves along the chainfrom raw materials to shipping, and from finished product to distribution. The technology platforms and connections between different pieces of the chainso necessary to make this a realityare now possible, according to Sibos speakers and delegates. This could help both buyers and suppliers to better-manage working capital and take some of the risk out of SCF for bankswhich they can then pass on to clients.
A comprehensive solution must connect the documentation trailfrom purchase order to shipping documents to invoicing and paymentto the financing offered at each step. Laurent Tabouelle, managing director of software provider Codix, noted: By offering different elements on a stand-alone basis, they are often in competition, as it is all financing based on the same collateral. If you dont create a link between, for example, PO financing and shipping document financing, you risk financing the same collateral twice.
