Majority of finance leaders struggling to keep pace with the speed of e-commerce, investigation reveals
17 Septiembre 2024 - 3:00AM
Business Wire
Two thirds (66%) of finance leaders say their team is unable to
keep pace with the speed of e-commerce. That’s according to an
investigative report by Hokodo in partnership with the B2B
Ecommerce Association.
B2B e-commerce is going through a fast-paced evolution – with
the market set to total $2.641 trillion in 2024 – but Hokodo’s
report has revealed that many finance functions aren’t
future-proofed. Its pan-industry survey of finance leaders found
that 17% of finance leaders feel that their finance team isn’t
prepared for the future.
The barriers to finance functions being future-proofed come down
to a lack of balance between growth versus control. Almost half
(46%) are struggling to strike a balance between financial controls
and strategic growth initiatives. When asked whether e-commerce has
made managing financial controls more difficult, the majority (39%)
agreed. Only 5% strongly disagreed.
Louis Carbonnier, Co-founder of Hokodo, commented: “Despite the
fact that the B2B commerce industry is digitising at a high speed,
our investigation has found that finance teams simply can’t keep up
with e-commerce. Future-proofing starts with tech enablement of the
finance team. Whether it’s through reports like this or our digital
trade credit offering, our mission is to ensure all Finance Leaders
are ready to face the future of B2B commerce.”
Finance leaders are also facing obstacles around cash flow and
payment terms. The survey revealed that the top three challenges
are working capital management and cash flow unpredictability
(66%), cutting costs (49%), and managing payments and payment terms
(44%).
These challenges are stopping finance leaders from being able to
innovate and ensure that their finance function is future-proofed.
Other key barriers to innovation are budget constraints (66%),
resistance to change (54%), and lack of capacity (37%).
Christopher Gee, UK Lead at B2B Ecommerce Association, added:
“It’s reassuring to see this report offer a pragmatic approach to
automating finance processes. This report provides timely insights
and valuable strategies for anyone navigating the complex world of
B2B finance, balancing efficiency with growth.”
Download Hokodo’s report here.
Hokodo is a provider of flexible payment terms for European
merchants and marketplaces. Hokodo enables business buyers to
access payment terms even on their first purchase, while merchants
get paid upfront and in full, and remain 100% protected from
risk.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240917086497/en/
Leah Jones ljones@thecommsco.com