EDInomics with Steve Keifer

The New Supply Chain Finance Vendors

Yesterday, Visa and US Bancorp announced a joint venture to build a new Financial Supply Chain Network.  The new company which will be called Syncada offers invoice processing, electronic payments and integrated trade finance.  The joint venture is a good example of the types of actionsI expected from a post-IPO Visa, which is transforming itself from a member-owned association into a more independent and innovative public company.  Syncada is one of a few new supply chain finance vendors I have encountered in recent months.  Two other noteworthy additions to the vendor landscape include The Receivables Exchange and Aanukaa.  With the supply chain finance market already crowded with numerous banks and technology vendors one might what additional value-add these new players bring to the market.  In this post I will offer my perspective on the unique business models that each of these three vendors are offering.

Back to School Season and B2B – Part 2

This is part 2 of my earlier post about the critical role that B2B e-Commerce technologies play in the supply chain for back to school season.  If you are planning to purchase supplies for back-to-school season then chances are high that you will be fewer than six degrees of separation from B2B e-Commerce technologies.   Read my post below to learn about the various different steps that are involved with getting products to retail locations in your neighborhood. 

Lowes Supply Chain Finance Program

I had the opportunity to attend the NACHA Payments 2009 conference in Orlando, Florida today.  One of the better sessions that I attended was presented by Lowes and Wachovia/Wells Fargo on the topic of Supply Chain Finance (SCF).  I found this session particularly interesting, because there has been a significant amount of hype about SCF in recent years, but very few public case studies of how companies are leveraging this new technique to their advantage.  The speaker from Lowes did a great job of presenting real world examples of the challenges and best practices the DIY retailer had used with SCF.   The following are some of the notes I recorded in the session along with some of my comments:

B2B E-Commerce can help New President to improve the Competitiveness of the US Economy

President Obama was officially sworn in today at Noon on the steps of the US Capitol.  One of the key themes of his inaugural address was the on-going concern about the rapidly deteriorating US economy.  Fortunately, this is another area that B2B e-commerce can help with.  In the last of my series of posts on how the Obama-Biden administration can leverage e-commerce to further its policy agenda, I will focus on the areas of manufacturing competitiveness and small business.

Pirates and the Supply Chain

On Tuesday, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to authorize land and air attacks on pirate bases on the coast of Somalia.  There have been approximately 100 incidents of pirate attacks off the Somalian coast in 2008.  In fact, just earlier today there was a report that 4 different ships were attacked by pirates including a Turkish container ship.  The Somalian pirates, which have been named the “Oceanic Mafia,” have used both armed assaults and false distress calls to seize cargo and crew of major commercial vessels.  There are over 1,000 pirates, which operate in a highly centralized network.  Armed teams with rocket propelled grenade launchers are dispatched from a mother ship stationed at sea.  The pirates have their own media spokesperson and even more significantly a Wikipedia page.  See MSNBC's map of pirate attacks in 2008 below. 

Most of the news coverage has been focused on the political and military response to the pirate activities.  However, there has been little coverage of the economic and international trade issues.  So I thought I would focus this post on the implications to the supply chain.

Benefits of E-Invoicing in the Age of TARP

Suppliers often complain about having to participate in e-commerce programs encouraged by their large customers.  One of the typical comments that I often hear from suppliers is “What is in it for me?”  One of the benefits of e-commerce I had not considered until recently is the payment visibility advantages to be gained during an economic recession.

Trouble Finding a Seat - Part 2

Yesterday members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers walked off the job at Boeing plants near Seattle due to failures to reach an agreement on their labor contract with the large aerospace OEM.  The labor strike will further delay the 787 Dreamliner which is already two years behind schedule, but it may prove to help aerospace suppliers who have been struggling to keep pace with the demand for aircraft parts.  In my last post, I discussed how the aerospace industry has been suffering a critical shortage of parts such as galleys, seats and toilets.  With production activities temporarily halted, suppliers may be able to clear out the backlog of outstanding orders and build up an excess inventory buffer to prevent future shortages.

Battle of the Supply Chains

One of the industry associations GXS has been working with recently is the Global Supply Chain Forum sponsored by Stanford University.  The forum is comprised of representatives from many of the world’s largest manufacturing companies as well as some of Stanford’s leading faculty such as supply chain thought leader Dr. Hau Lee.  Dr. Lee has introduced a number of revolutionary ideas over the past few years, but there is one particular insight that stands out in my mind:

The Physical and Financial Supply Chain

Last week GXS announced that it was selected by BB&T to power the financial institution’s new “Integrated Supply Chain Finance” solution.  And since then our phone has been ringing off the hook with calls from other banks, analysts and partners interested in learning more about this topic of Supply Chain Finance.  This is a fascinating area and one that I have been studying for about 24 months now, so I thought I would offer my perspective on the topic.