How Visy worked with SAP Taulia to build a supplier-first early payment ecosystem

Businesses continue to be challenged by elevated interest rates, liquidity issues and the risk of supply chain disruptions. And increasingly, suppliers are seeking out early payments from their customers – as reflected in SAP Taulia’s 2024/25 Supplier Survey, in which a record 63% of suppliers expressed an interest in early payments.

In light of this growing trend, Visy needed a scalable strategy to meet the expectations of its network of suppliers. By partnering with SAP Taulia, the company has built a supplier-led early payment ecosystem that has improved cash flow visibility and deepened supplier trust – all without compromising the company’s working capital goals.

The challenge: Growing supplier pressure and manual limitations

Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, Visy is a global leader in sustainable packaging solutions. The company has a network of 8,000 suppliers, and actively uses around 5,000 of these suppliers every month.

Like many companies, Visy found that its vendors were increasingly asking for early payments to meet liquidity gaps. But manual processes and fragmented systems were making it difficult to scale early payments across the company’s network of suppliers.

Initially, the company focused on meeting this need with credit card payments, but this proved to be an administrative burden. As Richard Xuereb, General Manager of Finance (APAR), explains: “We started the credit card journey well before we had a platform, and that was a nightmare. While it worked, keeping track of it administratively was very difficult.”

Partnering with SAP Taulia

It was clear that a more sophisticated solution was needed. So after reviewing the options available, Visy opted to work with SAP Taulia to build a scalable, supplier-first early payment ecosystem.

There were a number of reasons for selecting SAP Taulia. For one thing, Visy needed a solution that would enable it to process supplier invoices as efficiently as possible. As Xuereb explains, “You can have the best early payment program, but if you’re processing invoices 10 days after they were due, it serves no purpose.”

Also compelling was the ability to access multiple early payment methods from a single platform, including virtual cards, dynamic discounting, and supply chain finance. In addition, the company wanted a platform that would give suppliers full visibility over the status of their invoices and when they would be paid.

Other reasons for choosing SAP Taulia was its supplier self-service functionality, which gives suppliers control over the timing of payments and their chosen payment method. And of course, the need for robust security to protect suppliers’ invoice information was paramount.

Implementation and collaboration

The implementation was a significant undertaking, which involved registering over 7,000 suppliers on SAP Taulia.

Today, 1,600 suppliers are using Virtual Cards and more than 70 are accessing Supply Chain Finance. Supplier onboarding has been integrated into procurement workflows. Invoices reach the platform within 3-4 days, enabling suppliers to access true early payments.

“The way we’ve designed our program is that whether you are using supply chain finance, virtual cards, or dynamic discounting programs, there will be a flag on all invoices telling you if they are available for early payment,” explains Xuereb. “If you’re registered, you can just go ahead and draw down on them.”

He adds that cross-functional communication between finance and procurement has proved key to the program’s success. “Just as you are educating your suppliers, you need to educate your procurement teams, as they are the ones who are out there,” he reflects. “They have to be aware of what they are selling.”

Results and strategic takeaways

The program has resulted in multiple benefits for Visy and for its suppliers. The system’s automation means that invoices typically hit the platform within 3-4 days – but as Xuereb explains, “That also depends on how neat the supplier invoices are.” Consequently, suppliers are motivated to improve the quality of their invoices so they can be uploaded onto the system faster, expediting the opportunity for early payment. And the use of a unified platform across all payment types has led to fewer support tickets and invoice disputes.

With SAP Taulia, Visy has been able to provide suppliers with greater transparency – and that, in turn, is helping to build long-term goodwill with suppliers. Likewise, the company’s procurement team is able to use the program to negotiate more effectively with suppliers. As Xuereb notes, “We’re able to offer them shorter terms without actually impacting our own DPO.”

He adds that for a long time, the procurement team has been able to negotiate on the product and the price, but without having the ability to discuss terms. “Now we have something the procurement guys can take back to those suppliers, and really reach the same goal without either one sacrificing.”

Suppliers, meanwhile, have been able to gain more flexibility over their own cash flows. According to Xuereb, “What appealed to us about SAP Taulia was its agnostic approach. We did not want to tie our suppliers down into any specific mode of early payment – nor did we want to limit ourselves to certain banks or card companies.”

Moving forward with early payments

By partnering with SAP Taulia, Visy has built a resilient and scalable program for its network of thousands of suppliers, while aligning the company’s finance and procurement teams more closely.

Visy’s journey illustrates how early payments can provide a win-win for both buyers and suppliers, particularly when flexibility and visibility are prioritised. And as Xuereb observes, “Everyone is wanting faster cash.”

For other companies considering a similar route, he recommends going through the supplier base and looking at the terms suppliers are currently on. “Then have a look at the suppliers you know who’ve been coming to you, and look at how each of the options available can actually solve that problem.”

As Xuereb concludes, “The way to look at this is, ‘My suppliers should be jumping at this. So why shouldn’t I go and offer it to them?’”

To learn more, watch the webinar recording here.