Walmart speeds up payment to diverse suppliers to provide working capital

With diverse and minority-owned businesses reporting that their biggest challenge is gaining working capital Walmart and Sam's Club are rolling out a program to offer early payment to qualifying diverse suppliers, including makers of their private brand products. 

The program is a partnership with technology platform C2FO, which enables store brand and branded suppliers to hand-select the invoices they would like to request early payment on. The move is aimed at helping make access to working capital affordable, transparent and more equitable, according to a blog post by Scott McCall and Megan Crozier, the chief merchandising officers of Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club, respectively. 

Minority-owned or diverse businesses that qualify will be able to gain access to the new program starting May 3. The retailer said the early payment program builds upon existing early payment programs and the new program supplies faster payments from lower rates.

Walmart said it would independently fund this program at the outset, with plans to team up with leading global and minority-owned banks to provide additional funding capabilities.

Walmart and Sam’s Club have been working to foster diversity within its branded and private brand supplier network previously through its Supplier Inclusion Program. 

Last year, Walmart in total sourced more than $13.1 billion in goods and services from diverse suppliers and has committed with the Walmart Foundation $100 million over the next five years to the Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity.