Insights by Nitor

Everyone likes finding hidden money lying around the house. A $20 bill in last year's coat pocket, a $5 bill in the center console of your car, or even the loose change under your couch cushion is always a nice surprise. And what's the first thing you think of when coming across "found" money like that? If you're anything like me, you think of what you can buy. Because let's be honest, "found" money is "free" money.

Just like people, Procurement organizations are at different points on their continuous improvement journey. People rely on friends, classes, self-help books, mentors, and family to help them identify opportunities for growth and improvement. Where would a Procurement organization go to help them identify opportunities and actions required to continue on their journey? 

Some companies use industry benchmarks and roundtables, or work with peers at other companies to see how they compare. But what does that really provide? A couple of data points that tell them they could be better. That probably isn’t breaking news if the questions are already being asked and it certainly doesn’t provide an actionable roadmap to sustainability.

Pack your bags! We’re traveling abroad! A global change initiative is a monumental and transformative undertaking for organizations with cross border trajectories. There may be layovers, several modes of transportation, or even a change in carrier before we arrive at our final destination. Upon arrival, we need to determine where to spend our time to get the best return on investment, which souvenirs to pick up, and which to leave behind to successfully clear customs.

December is almost here…the critical planning season.  Organizations are budget planning and goal setting for 2019. 

Typically, this is when leadership starts to challenge Procurement for savings targets, value forecasts and projects for inclusion in budget and resource planning.

This is the third in a series of three blogs focused on how to develop and implement an effective working capital optimization initiative. Our last blog concluded with options for achieving internal alignment within procurement, finance, and treasury, with the goal of optimizing working capital. Here, we’ll look at the importance of change management.

This blog is part 2 in a 3-part series focusing on how to develop an effective working capital optimization initiative.  This blog was previously posted by Scott Pezza and James Wilson on Digitalist Magazine.

The first blog in this series, “Working Capital: The Link Between Procurement, Finance, and Treasury,”  concluded with an example of how you can harmonize the goals of these three departments to pay suppliers early with an efficient invoice-approval process and supply chain finance relationship. Even in that simple example, there are multiple types of functionality at play that may exist in several different interconnected systems. In this blog, we’ll look at all the pieces that can be brought together to effectively manage your working capital and achieve your desired goals.

Working Capital Context – Which parts of the Cash Conversion Cycle do Procurement, Finance and Treasury teams care about?

This blog is the first of a 3-part series focusing on how businesses can get started on an effective Working Capital optimization initiative.

There is an old adage that you cannot manage what you do not measure. In response to this conventional wisdom, numerous Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) have been developed in the core Working Capital functional teams of Procurement, Finance, and Treasury. The overarching goal in mind is simple: Strong Supplier Relationships AND Operational Efficiency AND Strategic Value. All three? That’s a challenge as each team has a different set of tactical and, at times, strategic goals, that often compete with each other.

On September 13th, Nitor hosted a 1-hour webinar discussing how to make better, strategically-informed decisions about liquidity, titled: The Power of True Liquidity Positioning and Forecasting with a Treasury Management System.

(If you were unable to attend the live event, don’t worry, you can access the recording with the link below.)

This session, featuring Jeff Scott, Principal at Nitor, highlighted the importance of implementing a Treasury Management System. 

Imagine this common scenario:

The Strategic Sourcing group has spent hundreds of hours creating savings for the organization. All year you have heard about the forecasted savings, but when those negotiated dollars do not reach the P&L, questions arise over why the savings were not realized. What happened? 

Organizations can equip their sourcing professionals with several tools, such as creating standard terms and clauses to expedite the process and establishing an accessible contract repository (see previous blog "Retaining Value Through Contract Management” for more information on these topics). While the team can utilize these tools in the negotiation and drafting of the contract, they are not present in everyday purchasing transactions to enforce the purchasing terms. 

Now, more than ever, organizations depend on Treasurers to be the fiscal watchdog. Most critically, Treasurers are asked to be the steward of the company’s most important asset: Cash. Everyone knows this asset is the life blood of an organization, propelling the generation of goods and services and the rewards that come along with their delivery. Treasurers also keep the organization running smoothly by forecasting what financial flexibility the organization can rely upon through various business cycles. Because when cash runs out, or if there’s even a question about liquidity, production is thrown off, or worse, grinds to a halt.