LOG904-194 Supply Chain Finance and Working Capital Management (Autumn 2026)

Traditional supply chain management education has largely emphasized material flows (logistics, production, inventory) and information flows (planning, coordination, digitalization). In contrast, the financial dimension of supply chains—often taken for granted—has received comparatively limited systematic attention. This seminar is motivated by the premise that financial flows are the critical backbone of supply chains. Timely and reliable fund transfers enable the movement of goods and information; disruptions or delays in financial flows can quickly undermine operational reliability, resilience, and long-term sustainability. In extreme cases, financially stressed actors may exit the supply chain altogether, triggering cascading failures. The seminar focuses on supply chain cost structures and supply chain finance mechanisms, emphasizing how working capital management, payment terms, and financial instruments shape performance, risk distribution, and collaboration among supply chain partners. This seminar complements traditional supply chain courses by foregrounding the financial dimension of supply chains, enabling students to develop a more holistic and realistic understanding of how supply chains function and fail in practice.

The course is mostly relevant for students majoring in logistics and supply chain management.

After successfully completing the seminar, students will be able to:

Knowledge:

• Explain key cost concepts relevant to supply chain decision-making.
• Describe the structure and role of financial flows in supply chains.
• Understand supply chain financial performance measures and ratio analysis.
• Understand working capital components, including the cash-to-cash cycle, payables cycle, and receivables cycle.
• Explain the principles and mechanisms of supply chain finance, including reverse factoring.
• Understand key technologies and digital solutions used in supply chain finance and their strategic implications.

Skills:

• Analyze supply chain cost structures and identify cost drivers across multiple actors.
• Use financial statements to assess supply chain financial performance.
• Calculate and interpret liquidity, efficiency, and working capital ratios.
• Calculate and interpret cash-to-cash cycle metrics and working capital indicators.
• Evaluate the financial impact of alternative payment terms and financing arrangements.
• Assess the suitability of supply chain finance solutions for different supply chain contexts.
• Evaluate the financial and power implications of digitized payment systems.

General competence:

• Critically reflect on the interdependence of operational and financial decisions in supply chains.
• Communicate financial analyses and insights clearly to both financial and non-financial stakeholders.
• Demonstrate awareness of how financial practices affect supply chain reliability and sustainability.

Interactive lectures

• Short analytical exercises

• Case studies (individual and group-based)

• Class discussions

Examination:

• Form of assessment: 3 group assignements.
• Proportion: 40 %
• Duration: Group assignments should be handed in at 23:59 on the respective days.
• Grouping: Group
• Grading scale: Letter (A - F)
• Support material: Class material

If you have more than one exam, please fill out information on exam nr two here:

• Form of assessment: Written School Exam
• Proportion: 60%
• Duration: 4 hours
• Grouping: Individual
• Grading scale: Letter (A - F)
• Support material: None

• Cai, G. (2024). Supply Chain Finance: Mechanisms, Risk Analytics, and Technology. Springer Nature.
• Pfohl, H.-C., Gomm, M. (2009). Supply Chain Finance: Optimizing Financial Flows in Supply Chains.
• Rissanen, M., Pirttilä, M., Lind, L., Kärri, T. (2020). Reducing and Reinvesting Working Capital in Business Ecosystems. In: Liyanage J., Amadi-Echendu J., Mathew J. (eds) Engineering Assets and Public Infrastructures in the Age of Digitalization. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Cham. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-48021-9_22
• Seuring, S. & Goldbach, M. (2002), Cost Management in Supply Chains, Lightning Source UK Ltd.
• Xue, Q., He, J., Li, Z., & Jiang, X. (2025). Mechanisms of supply chain finance operation on digital platforms: an economic perspective on information disclosure. International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, 1-20.