Network advantage: Ariba and The Receivables Exchange to help suppliers battle financing crunch

By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff December 11, 2008

“It’s estimated that more than half of all companies with under $1 billion in revenues depend on secured and unsecured lines of credit to feed their short-term cash needs. Unfortunately, in today’s economy, this is exactly the type of credit that is becoming less and less available,” says Bob Solomon, a senior VP and general manager for Ariba .

By joining forces with The Receivables Exchange , Solomon says Ariba now can provide suppliers with an alternative source of funding that enables them to maintain the strength and competitiveness of their operation in both the short and long term. Under terms of a newly signed agreement, the companies will provide suppliers with access to competitively priced capital through a receivables auctioning solution accessed via the Ariba Supplier Network.

Changing the landscape of business financing, The Receivables Exchange connects suppliers (member sellers) to a global network of accredited investors (receivables buyers) who compete in a real-time auction marketplace to buy their receivables. Ariba will provide access to The Receivables Exchange through its Supplier Network, enabling members to seamlessly transfer their receivables from the network to the Exchange for auction.

Ariba Supplier Network, a business collaboration platform, combines technology and services to better match buyers and suppliers, and automate transactions and optimize payments. Buyers and suppliers in 115 countries leverage the network to engage in transactions worth more than $110 billion a year and process one purchase order every two seconds.

Leveraging the reputation and power of the Ariba Network, suppliers can lower the cost, risk and time associated with accessing capital.

“The Receivables Exchange and Ariba share a common vision: to help companies optimize their working capital management to improve their business and financial performance,” says Justin Brownhill, co-founder and CEO of The Receivables Exchange. “We will be able to help even more businesses maximize the efficiency of their working capital.”