Your Payment Will Let you Know Where Your Shipment Is
Written by Enrico CamerinelliSupply Chain & Finance- Strategic Advisor Helping European Fintech Vendors Break Into Commercial Banking Banks face a fundamental disconnect: their payment systems operate separately from the supply chains that trigger those payments. Tokenized currency assets (e.g., stablecoins and deposit tokens) solve this problem by bringing money directly onto the blockchain. These digital currencies use smart contracts to automatically release payments when real-world conditions are met, such as a shipment arriving, passing quality inspection, or clearing customs. The Disconnect Between Physical and Financial Supply Chains Treasury departments operate in isolation from the supply chain activities that generate their cash needs. Manufacturers ship products, logistics providers move goods, warehouse systems update inventory. But banks only receive payment instructions after manual processes bridge these physical events with financial transactions. The result? Trapped working capital and systems that can’t respond in real time. The “snake” model illustrates supply chain flows from sourcing through fulfillment to payment collection. Each segment represents stages where financial services could integrate seamlessly. The “Snake” Traditional banking forces corporations to track purchase orders in ERP systems, while instructing banks to execute payments using separate systems. Introducing SC&F Agents: Intelligence in Motion Since smart contracts embed payment logic directly into supply chain systems, I anticipate that platforms for tokenized currency assets will embed smart APIs connecting to supply chain systems, watching for events and triggering payments when conditions are met. Newly introduced Supply Chain and Finance (SC&F) agents will act as messenger “avatars” between supply chain systems and financial platforms, linking logistics, warehouses, payment rails, lending services, FX markets, and compliance tools. Instead of waiting for manual payment initiation, SC&F agents see events in real time and execute the right action. When a manufacturer’s ERP generates a purchase order, the platform reserves digital currency and forecasts cash flow. When warehouses confirm receipt, it checks quality and delivery terms. Conditions match? Payment executes. Something off? The system flags it while keeping both sides visible. SC&F agents are essentially digital tokens powered by smart contracts. Digital twins for physical goods carrying product specs, routing, invoices, payment instructions, and insurance in one programmable unit. An automotive parts supplier ships components. The physical parts are assigned their “digital twin” in the bill of materials that will carry information and data for production operations, quality inspection certificates, delivery schedule, invoice, and payment terms. As the shipment moves through logistics networks, the agent travels alongside. Everything checks out, delivery’s on time, quantities match, customs cleared, and payment triggers automatically. No manual work, no delays. Traditional invoices just sit there. Tokenized invoices watch supply chain conditions and trigger the execution of payments when criteria hit. Smart contracts ensure both sides get what they need before money moves. Conditional Activation Throughout the Chain SC&F agents adapt as conditions shift. Need liquidity? The agent routes the invoice to a discount provider automatically. Shipment delayed? Payment timing adjusts. Have risk factors changed (e.g., the ship has passed through a critical area or the truck has crossed into a different jurisdiction)? Insurance premiums adjust accordingly. This logic runs through the entire chain: credit checks in sourcing, trade finance activation in negotiation, inventory financing during fulfillment, automated reconciliation at collection. Enterprise Integration Without Disruption SC&F agent platforms plug into enterprise systems through standard APIs, no infrastructure replacement needed. The ERP or the treasury management system talks directly to tokenized currency networks. Treasury gets real-time visibility without workflow changes. The technology handles multiple currencies essential for global chains. A European manufacturer buying from Asia and selling to North America manages exposures in one framework with automatic conversions. Banks using SC&F agent technology will give clients unprecedented transparency. Instead of black-box accounts, platforms track each activity separately on distributed ledgers. Companies see project costs, subsidiary performance, profits. All with full payment visibility. The Technical Foundation Tokenized currency assets pegged to fiat are digital versions of regular money. Organizations get blockchain benefits without crypto volatility. Corporate users don’t touch tokens. SC&F agents on smart contracts handle everything behind the scenes. Traditional payment systems can’t run conditional logic autonomously. Stablecoins (or deposit tokens) in smart contracts check supply chain data, verify conditions, and move money without middlemen. This is critical for apps needing automated responses to physical events. Competitive Advantage Banks with infrastructure for tokenized currency compete by offering more than payment processing. SC&F agent technology enables sophisticated cash management, automated reconciliation, and embedded financing integrated into supply chain operations. Tokenized currencies open revenue streams beyond transaction fees: supply chain finance; dynamic discounting; working capital optimization. This shifts banks from commodity processors to strategic partners. SC&F agents fits Banking-as-a-Service perfectly for rideshare platforms, retailers, and neobanks. The Path Forward Supply chains are becoming every day more and more digital. Banks need to embed into these ecosystems through SC&F agent infrastructure, or tech providers with embedded finance capabilities will cut them out. When supply chains and financial services converge through SC&F agent platforms, banks deepen relationships, create revenue, and differentiate. Banks deploying SC&F agent technology position for the shift to intelligent, automated services. The question every bank must answer: will we lead this transformation, or become irrelevant as clients move to providers offering these capabilities? SC&F agents connect physical operations to programmable financial services. Banks deploying this infrastructure made of intelligent agents, tokenized invoices, and event-driven automation will take market share from competitors stuck on manual processes ignoring supply chain realities. Conclusion I anticipate we are experiencing a fundamental transformation in banking: when tokenized currency assets operate through smart contracts embedded in supply chains, payments become living indicators of physical reality. SC&F agents create bidirectional transparency: payments execute only when shipments confirm delivery, quality, and compliance, while simultaneously revealing supply chain status through payment activity. This inversion of traditional banking logic where payments follow manual instructions divorced from physical events, proves that financial flows can mirror operational reality in real time. Banks deploying this infrastructure transform from passive payment processors into active supply chain intelligence platforms, where every transaction carries verifiable proof of physical…
Franklin
How to turn your controlling plan into a reliable cash flow forecast
This article is written by Nomentia Treasury departments often lack structured cash flow data for rolling and monthly planning. However, an adjacent department often has exactly what treasurers need. In this article, Alexander Fleischmann explains how existing controlling plans can be efficiently converted into cash flows to derive accurate, rolling liquidity forecasts – with less manual effort, higher quality and improved transparency throughout the entire planning process. About the author As Market Development Executive at Nomentia, Alexander Fleischmann is part of the sales team and looks after customers within and outside the DACH region. Alex began his career in treasury consulting before moving to the provider side, initially as a project manager for TMS implementations. In times of economic uncertainty, the importance of sound cash flow forecasting for maintaining a company’s financial health can hardly be overstated. The real question is no longer why it’s important, but how best to approach it. Once the goal moves beyond short-term visibility of current receivables and payables, many companies find they lack the structured cash flow data needed to support monthly or rolling forecasts. Gathering this information from various departments and entities—typically using Excel spreadsheets—is not only time-consuming, but also prone to error. So why not use a data source that already exists in every company? Controlling plans serve as the foundation for many internal decisions. While they may not include exact payment dates and are usually limited to a single currency, they do contain all the expenses and revenues that are relevant for cash flow forecasting too. This creates a valuable opportunity for treasurers: by converting controlling data into cash flows, they can establish a solid basis for reliable forecasts. To transform a controlling plan into a cash flow forecast, the data first needs to be broken down and categorized by type and expected payment date. Take Company X as an example: 80% of its monthly planned revenue comes from external sources and 20% from intercompany transactions. Of the external revenue, 30% is domestic and 70% comes from exports—which can then be further segmented by country and currency. The same level of detail applies to material costs, personnel expenses, and other operating costs. Equally crucial is determining when the actual cash flows will occur. Budget forecasts don’t typically account for the timing of when planned revenues actually turn into cash. Treasurers therefore, need to work closely with financial managers across business units to determine how long after the budgeted date cash flows are expected to occur. These so-called monetization factors convert budgeted figures into actual expected cash movements and must be defined in close cooperation with all relevant stakeholders. However, once these rules are in place, the forecasting process becomes significantly more streamlined. Nomentia successfully implemented this approach with one of our clients: together, we defined the monetization factors and imported them into the Nomentia cash flow forecasting module. The system now automatically translates incoming controlling data into forecasted cash flows. The result? More time to validate forecasts, improved forecast accuracy, and—last but not least—a noticeable increase in cash awareness across local entities thanks to the collaborative development process. Whether you’re relying on complex Excel models, using AI, or transforming existing revenue plans, there are many paths to building a reliable cash flow forecast. But one thing is clear: to achieve greater efficiency, transparency, and accuracy in forecasting, a unified, integrated platform is essential—one that makes forecasts visible across the organization and offers deep insights through meaningful reporting. More Posts from Nomentia Join our Treasury Community Treasury Mastermind is a community of professionals working in treasury management or those interested in learning more about various topics related to treasury management, including cash management, foreign exchange management, and payments. To register and connect with Treasury professionals, click [HERE] or fill out the form below to get more information. Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.