On Monday, the government announced it was strengthening the Prompt Payment Code (PPC), mandating that its signatories must pay suppliers within 30 days, rather than the previous 60.
While this is a welcome step in the right direction, there is still a long way to go in addressing the chronic issue of slow payments. A 30-day payment period is still 30 days too long for many small businesses struggling to stay afloat.
Paul Christensen, CEO of Previse reflects on a tough 2020 and looks ahead to 2021.
2020 has been a hard year for British businesses, from the UK’s smallest suppliers to its most powerful retailers, none have been infallible to the impact of Coronavirus.
Arcadia’s collapse into administration highlights just how precarious the UK’s market is. The demise of Philip Green’s retail empire, and the fire sale of Debenhams, demonstrates that now is not the time to carry on business as usual – it is the time for renewal.
Previse has been awarded a £2.5m grant by the Banking Competition Remedies’ Capability and Innovation Fund.
The money, which will be used to fund further development of Previse’s industry leading instant payments solution, was won after a competitive application process that saw £20m dispersed to 6 companies, as part of the BCR’s mission to facilitate the commercialisation of financial technology relevant to SMEs.
The economic fallout from coronavirus is intensifying the ongoing problem of late payments. Previse is proud to be approved for accreditation by the British Business Bank under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). CBILS loans will be available through our InstantFlow Cash Account solution, enabling SMEs instant access to the money they’re owed by their customers.
Supply chains are at the heart of the Covid-19 economic crisis. Disruptions and shutdowns propagate up the supply chains, and massive but blunt interventions are struggling to reach the recipients most in need of support.
For more than a decade large firms have been able to support their suppliers with a range of supply chain finance (SCF) options. Yet, uptake of these programmes by SME suppliers has remained limited
For more than a decade large firms have been able to support their suppliers with a range of supply chain finance (SCF) options. Yet, uptake of these programmes by SME suppliers has remained limited
For more than a decade large firms have been able to support their suppliers with a range of supply chain finance (SCF) options. Yet, uptake of these programmes by SME suppliers has remained limited
As the Government announces new enhanced powers for the Small Business Commissioner to tackle late payments, Paul Christensen, CEO and co-founder of Previse, points out that, unless these are coupled with reform to Prompt Payment reporting, they are unlikely to lead to practical changes for SME suppliers.
Following the announcement last week that company boards would be held directly responsible for payment practices, David Tyler, former Chairman of Sainsbury’s, and a member of Previse’s AdvisoryBoard, argues that if retailers do not make significant progress on improving supplier payments, they risk a harsher regulatory environment.
Many of the most progressive businesses are enthusiastic about putting an end to slow supplier payments. However, says Paul Christensen, CEO and co-founder of Previse, the archaic nature of current payment practices mean speeding up existing processes is a futile task. Firms need to completely rethink how their suppliers get paid to meet their ethical obligations.
As everyone arrives at NBC Congrescentrum near Utrecht for the Oracle CloudDay NL event, Previse is excited to be attending the exhibition as well as participating on a panel. As partnership manager at Previse, I’m really looking forward to connecting with other thought leaders at the event.
Since the Carillon disaster last year, political pressure has been mounting on the payment practices of large corporates and, in particular, the length of payment terms offered to suppliers. We welcome this focus. Slow payments can destroy small suppliers and are inefficient for buyers.
Supply chain management is undergoing rapid digital transformation. The old, manual processes which hold companies back are making way for technologies like cloud computing and advanced analytics. With so much opportunity, however, it can be difficult to prioritise.
Supply chain finance (SCF) is useful in many ways. One thing it is not, however, argues Paul Christensen, CEO and co-founder of Previse, is a solution to slow payment terms for smaller suppliers. Until we recognise this, suppliers and buyers alike will continue to pay the costs.
A few weeks ago, Sears, once America’s most iconic retailer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company, which survived two world wars and the Great Depression, suffered a 50% drop in sales since 2014.
The tools and technology now exist to solve the late payments problem. It’s time the public and private sectors collaborate to get suppliers paid instantly, setting a new standard for businesses all over the globe, argues Paul Christensen, co-founder and CEO of Previse.
Previse co-founder and CEO, Paul Christensen, and Business Analyst, Shyamli Badgaiyan, explain why B2B commerce needs its ‘credit card moment’.
Small and medium-sized businesses have been forced to take out £31.5 billion in funding to maintain their cash flow due to slow payments – equivalent to the cost of hiring 640,000 new employees for a year2 – according to new research from Previse3, which creates value from invoice data using machine learning.
For supply chain finance (SCF) to progress and reach the next set of struggling suppliers, the model needs a rethink. We need SCF 2.0.
What can the payments industry learn from Google’s revolutionary search engine algorithm? Laurence Holmes and Joseph Heenan show how the artificial intelligence (AI) technology which powers Google’s PageRank could solve some of B2B payments’ knottiest problems.
Late payments from large corporates to their suppliers are on the rise, driven at least in part by the view from some treasuries that these late payments act as an interest free loan for the buyer. But, as we all know, there is no such thing as ‘free’ money.
The UK’s Prompt Payment Code will have a significant impact on the relationship between large businesses and their suppliers. What does the Code mean for your business? And how can you navigate this change effectively?