Seven lessons from EuroFinance Copenhagen

This year’s EuroFinance International Treasury Management event, held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, attracted over 2,100 attendees from more than 50 countries worldwide. Taulia has been present at the event every year since the company was founded in 2009 – so what did this year’s conference tell us about customers’ evolving needs and the continuing development of working capital solutions? Here are seven takeaways:

5. SCF requires no introduction

   At previous years’ events, discussions about supply chain finance have invariably been prefaced with introductions explaining what the solution is and how it works. This year, for the first time, it seemed that supply chain finance needed no introduction – speakers assumed that attendees already had a good understanding of the product. Likewise, it was clear from many presentations and conversations that the importance of working capital is appreciated more widely than ever before.

6. Rise of fintechs

   This year’s conference also demonstrated the progress fintechs have made in providing value and gaining traction in a space traditionally occupied by banks. As with SCF, we found that Taulia needed no introduction for the treasurers we spoke to. Instead, they were more interested in asking us for hands-on advice about how technology could enable them to deal with specific situations and how our solutions could unearth opportunities to optimize their working capital.

7. Transparency in turbulent times

   With global markets continuing to be characterized by turbulence and uncertainty, speakers at Copenhagen were keen to shed light on the benefits of early payment programs. Speakers went into more detail than in previous years when talking about the challenges their companies have overcome while adopting working capital solutions and the lessons they have learned along the way – providing valuable insights for other companies who might be interested in following suit.

8. Sharing lessons learnt

   One of the sessions featured Teresa Kelleher, Head of Business Services (Interim) at Irish food retail, wholesale and foodservice company Musgrave, speaking about her experience of adopting a dynamic discounting program provided by Taulia. Her presentation gave attendees some valuable insights into what is involved in implementing an early payments program, from weighing up the available options to communicating effectively with suppliers.

   Teresa also explained the benefits of dynamic discounting, including the ability to retain control over discount rates offered suppliers, while achieving a financial return on working capital. This was a powerful story and was well received by delegates, who appreciated the opportunity to hear a detailed account of the benefits of setting up a program.

9. Onboarding suppliers: more is more

   When we spoke to treasurers at Copenhagen about their plans for the coming year, it was clear that the old model of early payments programs, whereby companies onboard a small number of strategic suppliers, is falling out of favor. Increasingly, companies are looking for solutions that will enable them to onboard as many of their suppliers as possible – and this means tapping into technology solutions that can streamline the supplier onboarding process. With Taulia, for example, suppliers can sign up to our network in as little as 90 seconds.

10. The market is moving

    It was apparent from the conference that customers who are seeking working capital solutions have more choices available to them than ever before. At the same time, providers are increasingly combining different disciplines within their working capital management solutions.

11. Embracing innovations – and delivering real benefits

    That said, it’s also clear that some providers are making more progress than others when it comes to developing their solutions, and that providers that embrace innovation and technology will be best positioned to support customers’ evolving needs. This doesn’t simply mean having ‘shiny tools’ – in order to bring real benefit to customers, providers also need to have an established track record, a recipe for action and the ability to solve real problems for their customers.