Supply-Chain-Finanzierung: Ein missbrauchtes Werkzeug

After 17 automakers successively promised to shorten the payment cycle for suppliers to 60 days, suppliers have been asking questions about the so - called 60 - day payment cycle. One of the hot topics among many suppliers is whether the redemption cycle of supply chain financial products is included in the payment cycle.

The supply chain financial products commonly used by automakers include bank acceptances, commercial acceptances, and various "chains" of automakers. Among them, suppliers have the highest acceptance of bank acceptances, followed by commercial acceptances.

As for the "chains" of automakers, since they are entirely backed by corporate credit, their liquidity is lower than that of bank acceptances and commercial acceptances, and the early redemption interest is often higher than the previous two. Therefore, suppliers have the lowest acceptance of them. The "chains" of some automakers have even become the target of criticism and are regarded by suppliers as similar to Evergrande's commercial bills.

But in fact, the existence of supply chain finance does not only have a negative meaning. Against the background of extensive competition in the industry, supply chain finance is more like a tool that has been misused.

What are the differences between the "chain", bank acceptances, and commercial acceptances?

The "chain" of an automaker is an electronic voucher of accounts payable issued by the automaker to suppliers through its financial platform. It can also be understood as an "IOU" issued by the automaker to suppliers.

Almost every automaker has its own "chain". For example, BYD has the Di Chain, SAIC has the Anji Chain, Great Wall has the Great Wall Chain, and Chery's "chain" is called Ruijing.

To a certain extent, the "chains" of automakers are similar to commercial acceptances and bank acceptances. They are all supply chain financial products and can only be redeemed after a certain period. As a result, in actual operation, the payment cycle of suppliers will be extended by at least 3 months.

The difference is that bank acceptances are general financial bills. They are post - payment commitments issued by banks on behalf of automakers. Since the issuer is a bank with high creditworthiness, suppliers' acceptance of them is relatively high.

After the bank acceptance matures, suppliers go to the bank for redemption, and then the bank redeems with the commissioned automaker.

Commercial acceptances are also general bills, but they are post - payment commitments issued by automakers. Since the issuer is an enterprise, suppliers' acceptance of them is not as high as that of bank acceptances.

For example, a leading supplier in the camera field once told 36Kr Auto: "We only accept bank acceptances and reject all commercial acceptances." After the commercial acceptance matures, suppliers go to the issuing automaker for redemption.

Like commercial acceptances, the "chains" of major automakers are backed by corporate credit and are redeemed by automakers upon maturity. However, the liquidity of the "chains" is often weaker than that of commercial acceptances. Because the "chain" is a relatively closed financial settlement system built by the automaker based on its own financial platform, theoretically, it can only circulate within the supply chain system of this automaker. This is because the "chain" of an automaker is a financial product created by the automaker based on transactions. Therefore, when it circulates, the authenticity of the transaction, the transaction contract, etc. must be reviewed, and the circulation process is more complicated.

In recent years, against the background of extreme involution in the industry, automakers are increasingly inclined to transfer their cash - flow and financing pressure to suppliers. So in addition to bank acceptances and commercial acceptances, suppliers are receiving more and more "chains".

Suppliers who receive the "chain" but are in urgent need of money often turn to third - party factoring companies or the automaker's financial platform for factoring financing. In this way, they can get the payment in advance, but they need to pay a certain amount of discount interest.

The specific amount of this interest will fluctuate depending on the amount of the redemption funds and the remaining maturity time. According to 36Kr Auto, the discount rate of the "chain" is generally higher than that of bank acceptances and commercial acceptances. The interest rate of the previous two is usually 3 - 5 percentage points of the payment, while the interest rate of the "chain" is generally 5 percentage points, and in some cases, it can reach 10 percentage points.

Banks can also redeem for suppliers in advance. However, since this is not a financial system bill, banks need to take alternative methods, such as using the "chain" as collateral to advance payment to suppliers in the form of a loan.

In addition, suppliers can also transfer the "chain" to upstream suppliers to pass on the financial pressure layer by layer. However, this method may not always work, as there are suppliers who do not accept this settlement method. At this time, this "pass - the - parcel" game will stop.

Why is supply chain finance being condemned?

It is worth mentioning that although many suppliers are condemning supply chain finance, its existence is not completely meaningless or unreasonable.

Some suppliers said: "Accounts payable exist not only in the automotive industry but also in the global manufacturing industry, which is caused by multiple reasons. For example, it may be for the consideration of quality assurance. If the buyer pays all the payment at once, it will be difficult to control quality problems later. The financing pressure of the buyer is also an important reason for the birth of supply chain finance."

Supply chain finance can relieve the cash - flow pressure of automakers to a certain extent and eliminate some suppliers with weaker financial and technological strength. As long as it is used properly, it can bring financial benefits to the industry.

Now, the reasons why some suppliers resist supply chain finance are as follows. On the one hand, the process from when suppliers deliver goods to when automakers settle accounts and issue accounts payable vouchers is sometimes quite long. Coupled with the redemption cycle, the actual payment cycle of suppliers may be extended to one year or even longer.

On the other hand, against the background of price wars, automakers transfer excessive cost pressure to suppliers. As a result, on the premise that suppliers' profits are already meager, they sometimes have to pay excessive interest for early redemption.

A typical case is a large automaker.

Some suppliers told 36Kr Auto: "The payment cycle of this company is already very long. It usually takes 6 months from when suppliers issue invoices to when they settle accounts. After 6 months, they will give a 'chain' or a commercial acceptance, and the payment cycle will be extended by at least 3 months.

If they delay allowing you to issue invoices in the early stage, the actual payment cycle will be even longer. From the time we deliver the goods to the time of maturity redemption, the whole process may take 10 - 12 months.

Moreover, this automaker keeps the bid price very low during the tendering process and holds tenders every year. Every time there is a tender, we need to bid again. After the bidding, we don't make any profit from their projects. But if we want to redeem their 'chain' or commercial acceptance in advance, we still have to pay about 5 percentage points of interest."

On the contrary, if the discount interest rate is reasonable and suppliers can make a certain profit, some suppliers also think: "As long as the project can still make money after deducting the discount interest, these interests can be regarded as the cost of the project."

In the early redemption process, banks, third - party factoring companies, and subsidiaries of automakers may all be the beneficiaries. A person in the industry told 36Kr Auto: "In recent years, banks have fewer business opportunities. Banks' early redemption for suppliers or lending to suppliers using the 'chain' as collateral are all business brought to banks by automakers. There are also factoring companies that specifically redeem for suppliers, and they charge a higher interest rate.

For example, a company under an automaker may have financial consulting or agency services in its business scope. By recommending the redemption business to banks, they can earn a certain amount of intermediary fees."

The lack of constraints and regulations on automakers' use of supply chain finance may be the deeper reason why supply chain finance is now condemned by most suppliers. Some suppliers pointed out: "Automakers in European and American countries also use supply chain finance, but they use it more reasonably and fairly. Suppliers in Europe and America have trade unions, and these unions are very powerful. If many suppliers think that the payment cycle and settlement method of automakers are unreasonable, the union will represent the suppliers to negotiate with the automaker to adjust the payment cycle and settlement method."

The relationship between domestic automakers and suppliers lacks such constraints, so automakers can more wantonly use supply chain finance to occupy suppliers' funds.

Fortunately, relevant departments have clearly noticed the harm caused by excessive squeezing of supply chain profits to the industry ecosystem. Therefore, the State Council has promulgated the "Regulations on Ensuring the Payment of Accounts of Small and Medium - sized Enterprises", and the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers has launched the "Initiative on Maintaining a Fair Competition Order and Promoting the Healthy Development of the Industry". The 60 - day payment cycle commitment of automakers is not the end of the supply chain rectification but the beginning of curbing extensive competition.