Strategic sourcing is a boardroom-level priority. Beyond being a procurement function, it is a critical lever in working capital optimisation. Strategies from the old playbook do not work anymore. Geopolitical disruptions, inflation shocks, and the resurgence of trade nationalism have impacted traditional supply chains. Tariffs are volatile. Regulatory regimes are seeing shifts. Currency markets are unpredictable. In this kind of a reality, any supplier relationship can turn fragile overnight.
Working Capital as Strategic Infrastructure
If China becomes a tariff-heavy zone, supply chains reroute through Vietnam, Thailand, or Malaysia. But those pivots cannot be just logistical; they need to be financially viable as well. When you want to expand and scale, you need access to local working capital that is aligned with your sourcing agility. Research shows that optimising cash flow and working capital can release up to 10% of a company’s revenue, making it available for strategic reinvestment.
Think of working capital as the lubricant of global trade. In an ideal world, it flows smoothly. Today, however, it is clogged by fragmented credit markets, unreliable information, and blind spots. Consider a global anchor enterprise that wants to shift their sourcing base from a larger, established market to a smaller one. The new supplier may be credible, cost-effective, and operationally ready. But local banks might not recognise the buyer’s global credit strength. Also, the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) might not have the paper trail to unlock timely financing. The result? Strategic sourcing gets delayed and agility ends up becoming a casualty of disconnected liquidity.
This is where fintech infrastructure becomes critical. Platforms like TASConnect can bridge the silos, giving local lenders visibility into global trade flows. It can help unlock cross-border liquidity and democratise working capital access, while aligning the physical and financial supply chains.
Aligning Procurement and Treasury
Procurement and treasury typically run in parallel lanes. But with changing supply chain and trade dynamics, I believe that they must converge. Procurement’s key performance indicators (KPIs), much like just-in-time inventory or sourcing diversification, can conflict with treasury’s mandate to tighten cash cycles. This misalignment needs fixing. Progressive enterprises are moving toward Integrated Business Planning (IBP), bringing Chief Finance Officers (CFOs), Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs), and Treasurers into a single strategic framework. Such organisations consolidate their purchases to be able to work with 78% fewer suppliers than their less-mature counterparts. They also implement a documented sourcing strategy 56% more frequently than other companies. When physical and financial flows are modelled together, businesses can manage risk and unlock end-to-end efficiency. Artificial intelligence (AI) has a key role here. With intelligent sensing across supplier behaviours and financing trends, we can now predict churn risks, spot red flags in sourcing pipelines, and avert volatility before any of it disrupts the profit and loss (P&L) balance.
Focus for a Steady Future
In times of turbulence, nature offers a lesson: when a river is in spate, the fish seek out areas of deeper pools and calmer currents. Similarly, the smartest businesses double down on their core during times of chaos, deepening their operational focus, digitalising intelligently, and building resilient value chains that thrive even in disorder. Companies that treat sourcing and capital as two sides of the same coin will not only be able to survive uncertainty but lead through it.
Kingshuk Ghoshal (KG), co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at TASConnect, has over 25 years of leadership experience in financial services and technology across Asia, including senior roles at Standard Chartered Bank. He is widely respected for his expertise in trade finance, supply chain management, and digital transformation, besides deep industry experience in treasury, transaction banking, financial markets, and corporate finance.
