Foxconn Goes Big With Supply Chain Finance

B2B suppliers and buyers are going global, and as they do so, sellers need new tools to manage their operations. Among those demands include tools for supply chain financing and real-time insight into how their businesses operate. One company has coupled those two services together and joined it with its B2B eCommerce platform.

Taiwan-based technology firm Foxconn announced plans Thursday (May 28) to launch a new supply chain financing platform for the industrial sector, according to reports. Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou made the announcement, adding that as the company’s annual transaction volume can reach $200 billion every year, the firm has sufficient funds to provide supply chain financing and loans to its business clients.

But the firm’s new financing portal isn’t the only plan to boost its manufacturing and supplier customers. According to reports, Foxconn also revealed a plan to provide its customers with real-time Big Data analytics to manage their operations, predict inventory fluctuations, and prepare for an uptick in sales.

These services will be available through Foxconn’s B2B eCommerce portal, FoxconnMall.com, which recently launched in China. The platform will now offer “an array of financial services, including online financing, online payment, insurance and fixed credit line to qualified clients,” Gou said.

The technology company’s decision to link its supply chain financing service with Big Data tools reveals just how intertwined the two services are. As B2B firms extend their procurement goals globally, they will need solutions to manage their international supply chains – those solutions often include financing and data analytics.

According to analysts, “the financial service system is a necessary part of Foxconn’s trust of branching into business sectors including cloud computing, Internet of Things, Big Data and smart products other than its core manufacturing business.”