Trade Finance
Published  17 MIN READ

Supply Chains of the Future: Recovery-Proof Solutions

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the fragility of supply chains across the globe. TMI speaks to five industry experts to understand how treasurers can help shore up supply chains right now – with quick-to-implement solutions, ranging from dynamic discounting to e-invoicing. We also look at the future of supply chains, given a potential resurgence of domestic sourcing and the rise of sustainability, examining how companies can finance their supply chains to prepare for the economic recovery.

More than 200 of the Fortune 500 have some form of operations in Wuhan, China – the so-called epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic[1]. This fact alone highlights how reliant the world has become on international sourcing, and how fragile supply chains can become when faced with disruption from unforeseen events.

Although China is now reopening, productivity levels are nowhere near ‘normal’. And the Western world is, at the time of writing, largely still in lockdown. It is fair to say that the impact of Covid-19 on supply chains – not to mention purchasing habits – has been immense.

Edi Poloniato, Global Head Working Capital Solutions, Kyriba, a leading provider of liquidity and supply chain solutions explains: “We are experiencing an unprecedented event. Even if some vital sectors, for example agriculture, consumer goods, medical supplies, are seeing significant, and rare, demand surges, all economic players are affected. As a result, purchase and demand are impacted at the same time, which blocks financial chains.” Currently, we observe three main demand and supply scenarios: