New perspectives on supply and distribution chain financing: case studies from China and Europe

Globalization no longer means simply finding low-cost countries for sourcing, but has involved to include the opportunity for growth in Asia’s emerging domestic markets, specifically China. This development results in extended, truly global supply chains and thus places a higher pressure on working capital. Therefore, several definitions of Supply Chain Management already encompass financial aspects and demand a more integrated consideration of material, information, and financial flows within supply chains. However, more precise theory on “Supply Chain Financing” is understudied and initial implementation of related solutions in industry has only gained momentum during and after the economic and financial crises of 2008 and 2009. In contrast to traditional financial instruments for supply chains – for instance trade finance products which have been around for more than a century – Supply Chain Financing leverages larger and influential members of supply chains. These firms might, for instance, provide easier and cheaper access to financing for smaller supply chain members supporting their profitability through renegotiated and reduced purchasing prices. Echoing recent research results on supply chain risk management, other firms may prefer to take on a supply chain perspective and work on creating agile and resilient supply chains. In this context, Supply Chain Financing can be employed to ensure liquidity for crucial upstream and downstream supply chain partners thereby allowing a firm to effectively control risk while making the most of remaining growth opportunities in emerging markets like China!