Beyond Banks: Redefining Flexibility in Global Supply Chain Finance

Orbian is advocating for a bank-agnostic funding model to enhance the flexibility and global scalability of supply chain finance for multinational corporations. By pooling multiple funding partners, this approach allows buyers to manage liquidity sources dynamically without the administrative burden of restructuring programs or opening new bank accounts. This evolution is critical for the sector as it addresses regulatory hurdles and the need for broader supplier inclusion in complex global markets.

Markus Schiffers, managing director and deputy CEO of Orbian, explains that their bank-agnostic model allows multinationals to combine various funding partners into a single pool controlled by the client. This structural flexibility enables buyers to adjust or replace liquidity providers as market conditions or treasury priorities shift, ensuring continuity for suppliers without the constraints of a single bank's balance sheet. Schiffers emphasizes that this independence from traditional bank-led models is increasingly relevant for navigating counterparty risk and shifting global liquidity conditions.

Innovation in the delivery of these programs includes newer structures like maturity payment financing and express supply chain finance. In maturity payment financing, suppliers are paid on their original terms while buyers receive extended payment periods, a method that Schiffers claims is significantly faster to implement in large, complex organizations. The express model further streamlines the process by eliminating the need for suppliers to sign formal agreements or assign receivables, which helps bypass the regulatory fragmentation often associated with traditional reverse factoring in non-standard geographies.

Furthermore, the Orbian model focuses on broader supplier inclusion by offering a more efficient onboarding process than traditional banks, which typically prioritize larger counterparties. By accommodating suppliers of all sizes, the model strengthens supply chain resilience and fosters better alignment between treasury and procurement departments. Schiffers notes that obtaining buy-in from procurement is easier when they have a mandate to onboard all suppliers, rather than only those meeting specific bank-set conditions, ultimately giving multinationals greater control over their liquidity sources.