The supply chain finance (SCF) market is undergoing a period of transformation, driven by developments in technology, disruption to the global movement of goods and growing pressure over sustainability.
Lendscape CEO, Kevin Day, was invited by Global Trade Review (GTR) to join a panel of five of the industry’s leading figures to discuss the changes shaping the supply chain finance market, and what the future has in store.
Read an excerpt from the Q&A below.
GTR: What changes are you seeing around the use of, and demand for, technology in SCF? What do you think will be the most important technology-related talking points over the next year?
Kevin Day: Cost savings, operational efficiency and customer experience will continue to be the most urgent priorities for the majority of financial institutions, so will be the driving forces behind change over the next 12 months. Digitisation, as a key lever for simplifying access to supply chain finance and introducing economies of scale, will remain at the forefront of discussions. Banks will continue to partner with technology providers and fintech startups in order to expedite their digital transformation plans and benefit from joint innovations. The move towards open data and cloud-based systems will accelerate, as this offers increased flexibility, security and transparency for lenders while further lowering IT costs. A cloud platform approach also improves business resilience, which has never been more critical following the economic shocks of the last two years.
There will be pressure on fledgling technology businesses to raise funds as investors tighten their belts and look for tangible return on investment (ROI). We’ve seen the demise of we.trade as an example of how new initiatives can flounder if they fail to gain a network effect. We will still see activity in the blockchain space, but there will no doubt be greater caution when selecting viable use cases for this technology. AI and its practical application are often misunderstood and misrepresented. However, the growing abundance of data and increased machine power are the ingredients that will enable this technology to become effective in the SCF space.
Want to read more? Read the full Q&A on the GTR website here.
Article by John Basquill
First appeared on: GTR