A/P Series Part 6: Cultivate Your Garden

For the final part of this series, we will discuss the significance of “cultivating our own garden”. Voltaire’s simple yet prophetic concept extends to all areas of life; however, in the context of Supply Chain Finance, we are referring to the importance of being proactive about growing, nurturing and maintaining your Supply Chain Finance operation. We suggest treating your operation as a garden:

1. Plant the Seeds Early

Buyers (your clients) should introduce the program at the procurement stage. ArtisPay provides procurement personnel a powerful negotiating tool as well as a chance to be a hero by putting their suppliers in control of their cash flow and offering early payment on all of their invoices. The earlier your clients start a conversation with suppliers about Supply Chain Finance and accelerated payment options, the more likely they will be to adopt the program thus saving everyone involved valuable resources – time and money. 

2. Automate

Supplier enrollment is one of the cornerstones of your client Supply Chain Finance program. Accordingly, ArtisPay has an automated email marketing tool to encourage enrollment, participation and to educate suppliers on Supply Chain Finance. The automation of these aspects ensures consistency in communication and involvement, helping maximize the yield of the program (or nourishment for your garden).

3. Disciplined Routine

Create a routine and work that routine. In order for your garden to flourish, you must exercise consistency and contact in care. Make supplier enrollment and communication priorities. Regularly talk to your clients (i.e. quarterly) about their supplier network and associated spend. This will allow you to analyze and identify opportunities to grow your Supply Chain Finance program, increase your fee income, and maximize client and supplier benefits. A disciplined routine of this nature serves to further nurture a flourishing garden.

4. Land and Expand

Once a Supply Chain Finance program is up and running, it is easy with ArtisPay– it runs seamlessly, it runs smoothly. You know what else is easy…forgetting about it.

When we have a flourishing garden, we may forget to water the plants, to till the soil, to prune the leaves, to pick the weeds…you get the point. Similarly, when we have a smooth-running, profitable Supply Chain Finance operation, we may forget to engage the behaviors that optimize the program. In order for the program to meet its full potential, there must be a consistent and persistent focus on development. Perform a market review, are there leads and opportunities in your market that you are missing? How can you use it to speed up payments on 1099’s, enter new industries or to flip a factor?

A lot of “gardening” may sound like common sense but as Voltaire illuminated, “common sense is not so common”. Our goal here at ArtisPay is to make “sense” around Supply Chain Finance “common”, simple, and easy. We are here to help you cultivate that garden.

For more information, contact the Artis Trade team via email at [email protected].