Bayer takes home the Best Use of Supply Chain Finance award for a tightly structured and smoothly executed global programme that has already delivered $150 million of working capital benefits. Stand-outs for judges included an impressively coordinated supplier onboarding process – which can complete in as little as two weeks – and a data-driven approach that allows the German pharmaceutical group to track and optimise working capital metrics in real time.
Tangible benefits
Bayer launched its supply chain finance programme in December 2021 to support a global initiative to standardise its payment terms at 90 days. It wanted to optimise its working capital and improve it cash flow and liquidity.
But it also sought to strengthen its relationships with suppliers by providing them with access to flexible early payment options.
The programme – which was forged out of a strategic partnership with SAP Taulia and JP Morgan – has so far delivered a raft of measurable benefits across multiple Bayer entities and international markets.
As of early October 2025, it had processed $2.47 million of invoices for early payment, over 80% of which were discounted by suppliers, and used more than $250 million of its limit. Bayer has also successfully extended its average payment terms by 15 days and generated around $150 million worth of working capital improvements.
Helped by a phased geographical expansion and significant progress in supplier onboarding – with 371 suppliers now actively enrolled – Bayer has hit its target for the programme to cover 80% of its global spend volumes.
Tight coordination
Judges credited much of the programme’s success to its streamlined, well-structured and tightly coordinated approach to supplier outreach and onboarding.
The journey begins with dedicated Supplier Outreach teams at Bayer, JP Morgan and SAP Taulia working together to develop and hone an outreach strategy for each market. Bayer’s Programme Manager and Procurement team creates a list of pre-suppliers that could be interested in and eligible for flexible payment options, after which the company’s SCF Coordination team gathers information on those suppliers and emails it to JP Morgan and SAP Taulia. A Supplier Outreach team at JP Morgan contacts the suppliers to explain the programme details and invites them to the SAP Taulia portal. If necessary, a corresponding team at SAP Taulia walks suppliers through the portal and explains specific aspects of the programme.
KYC and onboarding processes then commence, with JP Morgan’s Supplier Onboarding team ensuring proper KYC and document handover – a process that can take as little as two weeks. It then finalises supplier set-up on its side and hands over to FinOps at SAP Taulia to ensure suppliers are set up from a technical perspective. SAP Taulia then activates the supplier to begin discounting invoices through the programme and helps ensure any technical or payment issues on either the buyer or supplier side are handled swiftly.
Collaboration continues throughout and beyond this process. For example, the three partners share progress via internal webinars and regular open feedback rounds.
A global strategy with localised solutions
This approach also helped Bayer adapt the programme to satisfy diverse market needs as it rolled out into new countries. By staggering the expansion in three phases, it had time to develop localised solutions and promote the offering to suppliers. The programme is now available to the suppliers of over 15 Bayer entities in Brazil, China, Germany, India, Mexico, North America and Switzerland.
‘SCF Champions’ continue to lead this effort, acting as SCF ambassadors in individual countries and a single point of contact that interfaces with other teams at Bayer, SAP Taulia and JP Morgan.
Real-time tracking
Judges were also impressed by the solution’s technological muscle. Powered by SAP Taulia’s advanced technology, it makes smart use of data to help both Bayer and its suppliers monitor and optimise their own performance.
For example, Bayer is able to track in real time key performance indicators related to early payments, changes in invoice terms, approval times and asset utilisation. Suppliers can also track the status of their invoices within a dedicated supplier portal.
“Bayer has delivered a well-planned, superbly executed and measurably impactful supply chain finance programme that speaks to the power of collaboration,” said Mike Hewitt, CEO of Working Capital Forum. “With its clever use of data, streamlined onboarding processes and enviable geographic reach, it is truly best in class.”