C2FO Working Capital Outlook Survey Finds 56% of U.S. Business Owners Prefer to Partner With Customers Who Help Them Improve Cash Flow

Survey highlights working capital and supplier empowerment trends

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May 20, 2015, 11:00 ET

KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- C2FO, the world's market for working capital®, today announced the results of its national Working Capital Outlook Survey which found that 56 percent of U.S. business owners say having early payment options from their customers is a critically important business partnership consideration.

The C2FO Working Capital Outlook Survey examined more than 1,000 U.S. business owners' preferences for improving working capital efficiency, including trends associated with financing, working capital deployment and late payments.

Sandy Kemper, Chairman and CEO of C2FO said, "Over the past three years, we've witnessed increased interest from businesses seeking to optimize working capital outside the traditional financing system. Results from this survey underscore the reasons for this trend."

Financing Business Growth
According to those surveyed, more than half (54 percent) are increasingly concerned with their ability to finance long-term growth over short-term growth (46 percent).

In order to access the working capital needed to fund that business growth, many businesses have moved away from traditional forms of financing and are leveraging the cash flow from operations to fund their growth (57 percent).

For those businesses focused on borrowing short-term working capital, 57 percent noted that their estimated cost of borrowing short-term working capital is currently less than 8 percent.

Deploying Working Capital
With the appropriate access to working capital, most respondents say they would invest in purchasing equipment and/or inventory (25 percent); advertising or marketing (24 percent); investing in employees such as hiring, wages, benefits, etc. (21 percent); expanding operations (13 percent); investing in new technologies (12 percent); and contingency planning (5 percent).

Doing Business with Supplier-Friendly Buyers
In line with industry trends that indicate an ongoing concern over large corporates delaying supplier payments, nearly 20 percent of businesses claim their customers regularly pay invoices later than expected. Despite these findings, 45 percent of business owners indicated they would not feel comfortable directly asking their buyers for early payment.

When asked which type of payment options they might consider, 65 percent of businesses would prefer to have the ability to name their own rate for early payment depending on their company's needs.

"Companies use C2FO to improve cash flow at a cost-effective rate that they determine," added Kevin Daniels, Chief Product Officer at C2FO. "Our Name your own rate™ model has not only removed the trepidation typically associated with requesting early payment from a customer, but also has empowered suppliers to take more control of their cash flow."

For more information about C2FO visit: www.c2fo.com

About C2FO®:
C2FO is the world's market for working capital® and risk-free profit. C2FO is the largest working capital exchange in the world and enables companies to Name your own rate™ for working capital in a live, bid/ask environment. Companies across the globe use C2FO to increase their operating income while simultaneously producing vital working capital flows to their supply chains. C2FO is Collaborative Cash Flow Optimization.

SOURCE C2FO