Working-capital management

We pull the balances that hold the group's cash onto one page: what is owed to you, what you owe and what you hold on the shelf. We measure how long cash takes to go out and come back for each brand, channel and entity, and show where it waits.

The output is a release plan the board approves, with a cash amount, a date and an owner against each step.

• A working-capital baseline by entity and brand: days of receivables, stock and payables, and the cash they hold.
• A cash conversion bridge showing where cash waited and why.
• A release plan with target days, cash amounts, owners and dates.
• A rolling 13-week cash view that carries the plan into the weeks ahead.
• A policy paper on credit, stock cover and payment terms, ready for board approval.

• The cash conversion cycle is measured in days by entity and brand.
• Cash held in stock, receivables and supplier terms sits on one page.
• Facility use at month end and at the seasonal peak is reported, and each drawing comes with its driver.
• Release-plan steps finish by their dates.

Profit and cash diverge quietly. Sales rise, customers pay later, suppliers want earlier payment and the warehouse fills. Each manager sees one balance and not the others, so each decision is sensible alone. The group then borrows to fund the gap, and pays a bank for cash that sat in its own stockroom and ledgers.

• The facility is drawn at month end and nobody can say what drove the draw.
• Receivables grow faster than sales.
• Stock levels are set by the buying team and measured by nobody who funds it.
• Supplier terms were agreed brand by brand, with no group view.
• A seasonal peak needs cash that the group has to arrange at short notice.

Chairmen and chief executives of trading, retail, distribution and delivery groups where growth is consuming cash, facilities are being drawn faster than planned, or a bank has asked how the group funds its seasonal peaks.

Qasim Abbas has answered for treasury above USD 50M at group level, which is why he treats working capital as cash the group has to fund. We price the cash tied up in your stock and receivables against what it earns.

We build the baseline from your ledger and stock system. The logistics cash cycle tool shows the working capital your cycle ties up, and the Control Diagnostic places the group on the Control Matrix. See how fees work.

How soon does cash appear?

The plan dates internal steps within a month or two and shows a date for every change to terms.

What does the board get from the release plan?

A cash amount, a date and an owner against each step, with the 13-week cash view carrying the plan into the weeks ahead.

Send the latest month-end facility balances. We show what the group's cash cycle looks like on one page and where the first release sits, in a private briefing.