Insights by Nitor

Leveraging purchasing power to capture volume-based pricing within a competitive supply chain builds solid relationships with reputable suppliers, cuts costs, and acts as a hedge against inflation. Your organization’s total spend is a dynamic tool. If we apply the adage of, “Whomsoever holds the gold makes the rules”, we can further leverage this purchasing power to unlock working capital, improve capital efficiency, and deliver savings.

The Treasury and Working Capital Survival Guide

The world has changed rapidly in the last 30 days.  The US economy went from setting a record for the length of the expansion to setting a record for the fastest recession in the history of the United States.  Navigating through this gut-wrenching reversal requires decisive management action, focus, and speed.  A critical component of this process is successfully managing working capital.  Management teams must evaluate working capital needs and utilize working capital as a key resource to sustain ongoing business activities.

Companies striving to maximize cash flows can find themselves in the middle of a constant and difficult balancing act: How to maintain profitability given the downward pressure on costs while being more efficient with working capital. The immediate reaction from buyers is to press for payment terms extensions or negotiate payment discounts while somehow maintaining cordial relationships with their strategic supply base. Suppliers are torn between the need to be paid sooner and reducing trade credit exposure while still providing quality goods and services to their valuable customers. Underlying these dynamics is the need for both the buyer and seller to remain competitive versus peers while maintaining individual profitability.