Let’s take a look at the future of WCM: what will be the biggest challenges faced by companies over the next few months when it comes to managing their working capital?
At present, many companies are focusing primarily on preparing for the upturn that is hopefully around the corner. For that reason, we are currently observing a marked increase in demand for WCM products. As a result, the importance of WCM will certainly remain high during the upturn phase. Once the crisis has been completely overcome – perhaps in two to three years – the topic is likely to become somewhat less important, but it will still be one of the top ten priorities of CFOs. The main challenge for companies at the moment is that it is significantly harder to plan for the future than is normally the case. Many economic effects of the first COVID-19 wave will probably only become fully apparent in the third and fourth quarters. The risk of a second wave has not yet been averted either. In specific terms, this means that companies must devote considerable attention to the following questions in the coming months:
- Will my receivables be paid by the agreed payment deadline?
- Do my supply chains have a solid base?
- Does my company have sufficient liquidity to pay suppliers’ bills?
And they will need to find answers if there are uncertainties with regard to at least one of the three questions.