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Resources | Customer Success | September 25, 2024

Beko & C2FO: An Innovative Approach to Supplier Financing and a Global Success Story

Beko, one of the world’s largest home appliance manufacturers, offers innovative solutions to meet the financial needs of its suppliers by using C2FO’s technology and its global service network.


Beko, one of the world’s largest home appliance manufacturers, offers innovative solutions to meet the financial needs of its suppliers by using C2FO’s technology and its global service network.

Beko & C2FO: identifying the problem and finding the solution partner

With its 55,000 employees, 22 brands, and operations spread across 58 countries, Beko is the largest home appliance company in Europe, and the second in the world in its sector. As the flagship of Turkish industry, it leads globally in developing the latest technologies in home appliance manufacturing and adopting the most advanced sustainability practices.

As it has managed its global value chain, Beko has adhered to the approach of growing together with its suppliers. That’s why Beko made a critical decision in 2021, a time when the effects of the pandemic on the supply chain continued and suppliers began to be affected by inflationary pressures and geopolitical risks. Beko decided to establish a completely digital supplier financing infrastructure, easily usable by suppliers of all sizes worldwide and supported by various financial resources. Recognising that the innovative, inclusive and customisable solutions offered by C2FO, the world’s leading working capital and supplier financing solution, were highly suitable for Beko’s needs, the trailblazing company decided to select C2FO as the technology and service provider.

Digital platform setup and customizations

Since its establishment in 2008, C2FO has been running early payment and supplier financing programs for hundreds of companies, many of which are listed in the Fortune Global 500. Handling over $3 trillion worth of invoices annually and providing working capital financing reaching up to $2 billion each week, C2FO initially prepared an invoice portal integrated with Beko’s ERP system, meeting the highest data security standards.

This integration allowed any Beko supplier, whether in Türkiye or anywhere else in the world, to register online within seconds, log into the Beko invoice portal, view all details related to invoices awaiting payment, and request early payment for selected invoices at any time.

Before the launch in March 2022, C2FO enhanced the program by developing solutions tailored to Beko’s needs. C2FO coded the discount invoice generation for early payment requests to be met by Beko’s own resources, and it developed the file infrastructure required by banks for supplier financing transactions directed to them. Along with C2FO’s wide range of application options, a new set of rules specifically developed for Beko was implemented, creating an infrastructure that ensured the most efficient management of liquidity, reaching a wide network of suppliers under Beko’s full control.

Cash flow support with the Early Payment Program

The first solution offered by Beko was the Early Payment Program, which enabled suppliers to meet their cash needs quickly, easily, and online. Through this program, suppliers directly collaborated with their customer, accessing Beko’s financial resources and strengthening their own cash flow.

Supported by C2FO’s patented “market-based dynamic discounting” software, the Early Payment Program allowed suppliers to select as many invoices as they wished and immediately receive payment.

Free from the negative elements encountered in bank loans or factoring transactions – such as collateral, high interest, commission, assignment of receivable, and paperwork – this entirely digital program introduced suppliers to a new financial alternative. Suppliers looking to pay down high-cost loans, get cash discounts in their raw material purchases or strengthen their working capital and balance sheets found a valuable option. Meanwhile, Beko took an active role in supporting cash flow within its commercial value chain by leveraging its available cash.

Working capital optimization with the Supplier Financing Program

The second solution implemented by Beko was to consolidate traditional supplier financing (TFS) transactions, where suppliers transfer their invoiced receivables to banks, under a single management panel thanks to the C2FO platform.

The C2FO Supplier Financing Program, in which any bank wishing to work with Beko can easily participate, became the lowest-cost multi-bank supplier finance program in Türkiye. This was due to its structure, where transactions are conducted with the advantageous TFS rate set by banks for Beko and where no additional costs are incurred by suppliers or banks for using the platform.

In this program, which aims to provide working capital advantages to Beko and liquidity to suppliers, Beko retains full control over which banks are available to participate and how much volume will be processed, while suppliers benefit from the favourable rates and limits set by the banks for Beko. The program offers flexible solutions tailored to the commercial relationship between the buyer and seller, accommodating “buyer- guaranteed” and “seller-guaranteed” transactions.

Green transformation in the supply chain with ESG-linked supplier financing

The third phase of Beko’s collaboration with C2FO involved integrating the Supplier ESG Program, designed to reflect the company’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards into its supply chain with C2FO.

Utilising C2FO’s segmentation and reporting capabilities down to the individual supplier level, Beko linked the Supplier Sustainability Index scores – based on 10 different criteria and evaluating suppliers’ ESG goal- setting and progress – with financial advantages.

The C2FO Sustainability Program was launched in June 2024 with supplier groups from five different countries. Suppliers who met the criteria and achieved scores to reach Standard+, Green, or Green+ levels were granted access to extra discounted rates in the C2FO Early Payment Program. They also had the opportunity to participate in the Sustainable Supplier Finance Program funded by banks, interested in providing green financing.

International achievements, collaborations and growth potential

The Beko C2FO Program immediately began attracting international attention in the field of working capital management. In 2022, the program was awarded first place in the “Best Global Supplier Finance in Manufacturing” category by SCF Community and won four awards from The Working Capital Forum, including “Best Use of Payable Finance” in the EMEA region.

Supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) during its establishment phase, the program served as a model not only for its robust supplier financing infrastructure but also for its mission to provide SME suppliers with low-cost working capital through

a completely digital platform. At the G20/B20 summit in India in 2023, a joint declaration from B20, OECD, and IOE highlighted the multiplier effect of Beko’s early payments on the global value chain and pointed out that the working capital management program offered to SME suppliers by C2FO with EBRD support, exemplified the potential impact of International Development Banks.

Beyond these achievements, made in just two years, significant growth opportunities lie ahead for the Beko C2FO program. Incorporating procurement centres outside of Türkiye, expanding liquidity channels with the participation of new local and global banks and completing the financing of the sustainability program with green funds will position Beko among the global companies leading the establishment of new standards in supply chain financing.

Success Snapshot

Beko

With its 55,000 employees, 22 brands, and operations spread across 58 countries, Beko is the largest home appliance company in Europe, and the second in the world in its sector.

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Why C2FO?

Beko decided to establish a completely digital supplier financing infrastructure, easily usable by suppliers of all sizes worldwide and supported by various financial resources.

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