Walmart creates working capital program to support small suppliers

Walmart , the world's largest retailer , has partnered with many smaller companies to establish working capital programs to support small suppliers . In fact, more than two-thirds of Walmart's 18,000 suppliers are small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

“We see tremendous value in our relationships with small and mid-sized suppliers, and we’re always looking to strengthen that channel,” said Brandy Newhof, senior director of global finance at Walmart .

The need to support small and mid-sized suppliers became particularly important when the global pandemic began last year. “Covid-19 is impacting many of our suppliers,” Newhof said.

“Some are facing restrictions on working conditions from local governments. We determined that smaller suppliers were most at risk in this environment. On top of that, access to capital is almost nonexistent for many of these companies. We are starting to receive some requests to change payment terms from suppliers who need it.”

Walmart’s leadership wants to maintain the health of the company’s supply chain, and they recognize that they are in a unique position because of their size and access to capital. “Our executive team understands what is happening with our suppliers , communities, and customers, and they are actively considering a range of initiatives to help, ” Newhof said.

The company has implemented health-related measures to help keep customers and employees safe. Walmart is waiving rent for some merchants that rent space in its stores.

“The management team asked the Treasury to be part of this effort,” Newhof said. “Our executive team explicitly asked us to provide support programs that would provide very competitive financing to small and medium-sized companies to help them through this difficult time.”

Walmart has long offered supply chain financing options to its suppliers , with some programs offering traditional invoice financing through outside banks.

Others are more streamlined and automated, powered by Web- based technologies. For example, suppliers in Mexico and Central America use an internally developed solution to discount invoice prices paid to Walmart earlier than specified in the contract terms. In the United States and Canada, Walmart uses an online C2FO platform.

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