Thermo Fisher Scientific Builds a Stronger Supply Chain With C2FO

Here’s how C2FO helped Thermo Fisher provide a more direct source of working capital for its thousands of suppliers.

With a mission to make the world a healthier and safer place, Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Pharmaceutical Services group is a contract development manufacturing organization that helps customers take their concepts all the way from a molecule to a commercial product.

That work includes managing the development of a new treatment — a pill, tablet, prefilled syringe, injectable and other medications — through clinical trials all the way to manufacturing. Thermo Fisher’s Pharmaceutical Services works with thousands of suppliers on everything from gloves and gowns to active pharmaceutical ingredients.

“It’s a pretty complex supply chain with a lot of relationships that we manage as part of the procurement organization,” said John Upperman, Thermo Fisher’s vice president of procurement.

No third-party interference 

While researching ways to help strengthen his supply chain with working capital solutions, Upperman discovered C2FO, which he described as a unique model that creates a more direct relationship between Thermo Fisher and its suppliers. Unlike many forms of supply chain financing, C2FO’s program allows suppliers to receive early payment on invoices directly from Thermo Fisher, on-demand and at discounts that they determine.

“And that’s what really interested me. I didn’t want to have my destiny controlled by a middleman,” Upperman said. “I wanted a much more direct relationship with my suppliers and to deliver a solution for them that was not only beneficial for them, but beneficial for us with a level of flexibility that is different than you would get in a typical supply chain finance program.”

A flexible tool for suppliers

Thermo Fisher launched its early payment program through C2FO in 2019. It’s a resource that suppliers for the Pharmaceutical Services group can use when and if they need it. Upperman said the flexibility, collaboration and ease of use of the C2FO platform provides suppliers with more control over how early they want to get paid, at rates that work for them.

“Like a lot of technology solutions that we see today, it’s completely cloud-based,” Upperman said. “You log into a web portal and you sign up for the service once you’re on the platform. It’s pretty simple to see what invoices you have available within the platform that give you the ability to get your cash sooner, if you so choose.”