Trade Finance
Published  3 MIN READ
Please note: this article is over 9 years old. If you feel this article is inaccurate or contains errors get in touch here . Many thanks, TMI

Case Study: German Automotive

UniCredit Bank AG

One of the top 10 German automotive companies has successfully started a supply chain finance programme with UniCredit. The idea orginated during the 2008 financial crisis, when the company’s supply chain was severely endangered. While the automotive part producer still enjoyed access to vital credit lines, thanks to its size and investment grade rating, many suppliers instead experienced a total collapse of their liquidity sources.

The core of the supplier base comprises very flexible but small manufacturers, whose unrated status is often seen as a problem for bank lending. In order to protect its suppliers from a sudden financial meltdown, the company was obliged to reduce its payment terms to zero. In fact the car part producer became the lender of last resort for some of the least known but strategic producers in the automotive chain.

After having realised the importance of securing liquidity for the end-to-end supply chain, the company started to think about a supply chain finance programme. UniCredit emerged as the best banking partner for the programme, thanks to the Trade Purchase solution. The professional advice, easy contract structure and state-of-the-art technology of the bank made it possible to fulfil all the corporate’s wishes.