One Platform, Many Dynamic Solutions

Financial tools through C2FO provide many dynamic ways to manage working capital for your company, your suppliers and your customers — all on a single platform.

Like sands on a desert plain, the working capital needs for businesses can swirl and shift. In times of economic uncertainty, those changes can occur on an almost daily basis.

If your company works with many suppliers and customers, managing and monitoring those shifts in accessible capital can be overwhelming. You may even suffer from “portal fatigue” — a condition caused by working in too many financial technology portals on your web browser at once.

Wouldn’t it be ideal if there was one place where you could address the working capital needs for your company, your suppliers and your customers? 

C2FO, a leading global provider of working capital solutions, can be that single hub where you manage the flow of all your accounts payable and accounts receivable. Formed with the mission of giving all companies worldwide access to the capital needed to grow, C2FO today matches more than $1.2 trillion in AR and AP, and serves more than one million customers representing $10.5 trillion in annual sales. The dynamic solutions on C2FO’s secure online platform, along with our worldwide funding network, enable you to do the following: 

• Pay your suppliers early, in exchange for a dynamic or fixed rate discount on the invoices.
• Pay your suppliers later, while agreeing to pay a premium for that extension.
• Accelerate payment from your customers in exchange for a discount that you determine.
• Agree to later payment from your customers in exchange for a premium.
• Have the option of using your balance sheet or funders in C2FO’s network to provide early payment to your suppliers.
• Gain full visibility to your AR and AP on the C2FO platform, giving you one place to review outstanding invoices and take action if and when needed.
• Reduce risk and assume greater control over your cash flow, as well as key metrics like days sales outstanding (DSO), days payable outstanding (DPO), EBITDA and quarterly financial goals. 

A wide range of dynamic funding solutions 

As you know, the flow of business runs exponentially smoother when everyone in your company’s ecosystem — your suppliers and your customers — have the capital they need to operate and grow. The C2FO platform is a central location where many of those needs can be quickly met and where dynamic solutions can help you manage capital in a way that strengthens relationships and also improves your own cash position. 

The value C2FO brings can be broken down into these three key areas:   

Dynamic Supplier Finance

C2FO’s platform enables your suppliers to accelerate invoices in real-time at their choosing, in exchange for dynamic or fixed-rate discounts. Early payment is available at any point throughout the entire payment term with a supplier — on-demand when they need it. 

Unlike supply chain finance solutions, C2FO’s comprehensive funding network enables all of your suppliers to access accelerated cash flow. With C2FO’s platform, supplier segmentation is automated, allowing you the flexibility to provide preferred access and incentives to minority-, women- and veteran-owned suppliers, as well as suppliers that are small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs). 

Whether you are using your own balance sheet or a partner in C2FO’s funding network, your suppliers have the capital they need to grow, whether they are SMBs or large corporations. 

Dynamic Customer Finance

With C2FO, your company can dynamically adjust the timeline of outstanding receivables, on-demand. You decide when to offer which solution — and at what price. 

Whether your company is focused on improving cash flow, mitigating customer risk or managing key metrics, C2FO’s platform provides comprehensive receivables acceleration through various funding options, including early payment by your customers.

C2FO also enables you to generate income by allowing your customers to pay you later, in exchange for a premium. 

This dynamic model gives you full control over which invoices are included, their funding methods and at what price. By offering innovative financing solutions, C2FO enables you to achieve your financial targets while strengthening your customer relationships. 

Invoice Central

Invoice Central delivers seamless visibility across all of your accounts payable and accounts receivable, giving your suppliers one place to review outstanding receivables and take action when needed.

Your suppliers will have a clear understanding of where their invoices are in the approval process and you will have a greater ability to analyze and benchmark the data of your AP and AR through the C2FO platform. 

Supplier participation around the globe

The C2FO platform’s flexibility, dynamism and ease-of-use make it an attractive form of funding for suppliers across many industries and geographies. Here’s one example of how C2FO’s solutions can drive greater supplier participation: 

In 2018, a $22 billion technology company based in Europe approached C2FO about launching an innovative finance program to engage its more than 40,000 suppliers worldwide. The company’s existing SCF program had only 400 participants among its thoussands of suppliers. The tech company, which valued its innovative, progressive ethos, wanted a supplier finance program that was similarly forward-thinking.

The tech company and C2FO launched an early payment program that allowed suppliers to accelerate invoices at rates they selected instead of waiting 90 days for payment. Initially created for the European market, the program provided a single Invoice Central platform where suppliers could review and select invoices for early payment.

Within two months of the program’s launch, registered European suppliers had received early payment on receivables by an average of 41 days. The program’s dynamic discounting enabled the tech company to boost its margins and EBITDA. Based on this success, the program soon expanded to suppliers in China and India, helping to free up trapped cash for the tech company. 

The company’s early payment program through C2FO has received awards in the supply chain finance category and today integrates with six ERP systems, serving suppliers in more than 80 countries — all from a single platform.

Mitigating risk and helping customers 

The economic crisis triggered by COVID-19 sent many companies scrambling to hang on to as much cash as possible. This year, you may have seen both suppliers and customers struggle with liquidity issues in the face of the pandemic. 

Because the C2FO platform provides you with a greater set of funding options — if and when you need them — your company will have the flexibility to receive later payment from a customer that is in need of improving its own cash position. 

In 2020, a $22 billion IT and consulting company based in India asked C2FO to eliminate risk on $10 million in receivables. The company already used early payment programs through C2FO with customers representing over $1 billion in annual receivables. However, one customer, a major U.S. retailer, closed its early payment program to shore up its cash position during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Indian IT and consulting company approached C2FO in need of a new way to accelerate receivables.

Dynamic Customer Finance (DCF) through C2FO is an effective way for suppliers to generate liquidity on invoices that are not on the C2FO platform or for early payment programs that have been temporarily closed. Through DCF, C2FO can curate a solution within its network of funders to purchase those receivables, freeing up cash flow and reducing risk.

For the IT and consulting company, financing the $10 million in receivables was about removing risk from its books. Because the company’s need was short-term, banks weren’t interested in a one-time funding of receivables from a high-risk customer. However, C2FO’s network provided a funding partner to purchase the invoices in short order. This financing enabled the IT and consulting company to reduce DSO by as much as 50 days and continue doing business with its U.S. retail customer.  

In conclusion

In times of prosperity or uncertainty, having greater control over the movement of cash is beneficial for your company, as well as your suppliers and customers. The flexibility and ease of the C2FO platform provides more resources for working capital with less risk, greater certainty and fewer complications than traditional forms of funding.  

Learn more about the dynamic options available to your company on the C2FO platform.