Industry experts discuss supply chain shifts, working capital pressures, and the strategic role of non-recourse export factoring
SHANGHAI, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Tradewind Finance, a global trade finance provider, brought together four regional leaders on September 9 for a webinar on how geopolitical shifts, changing sourcing patterns and tighter working capital are redrawing global trade. The session, “Beyond the Horizon: Rethinking Trade Routes from Far East to Americas,” was moderated by Cole Thompson, vice president of sales at Tradewind Finance.
He was joined by Chris Chang, regional commercial director for the Far East; Brian Dowd, senior vice president of sales for the Americas; and Christopher Algarin, international factoring consultant.
Cash is taking longer to come back, and Asia waits longest
Companies worldwide now take 67 days on average to turn a unit of cash spent on operations into cash collected from customers, according to Allianz Trade’s annual DSO and Cash Conversion Cycle report, published in July 2026. The cycle lengthened by half a day in 2025 and now sits three days above its ten-year average. Inventory is what holds the cash. Stock accounts for close to 80% of the cycle as companies move away from just-in-time buying toward keeping more in reserve. Payment terms are not the global pressure point: days sales outstanding stands at 56.5 days and has been broadly flat since 2022.
Asia is the outlier. Its cycle reached 70 days in 2025, the longest of any region and a record five days above the pre-2020 average, with Allianz forecasting 72 days in 2026. The reason is unusual. Asian companies are paying their own suppliers faster, cutting days payable outstanding by 1.4 days to 44, while collecting no sooner from their own customers. Days sales outstanding held at 59 days, the longest customer payment terms in the world. Cash leaves earlier and arrives no faster.
Atradius found the same pressure in receivables. Its 2026 Payment Practices Barometer for Asia, published in July, reports that more than 80% of suppliers are paid late and that overdue invoices tie up close to a third of B2B receivables. In Western Europe, nearly four in five companies say business customers pay late, and roughly a quarter of invoices are settled after the due date.
Atradius also points to a structural shift behind those numbers. As bank finance has tightened, more Western European sales have moved onto credit terms, now around 52% of B2B transactions, which leaves suppliers carrying more of the payment risk. That was the backdrop for the panel’s discussion of non-recourse factoring.
Sources: Allianz Trade, Days Sales Outstanding and Cash Conversion Cycle report, July 2026; Atradius Payment Practices Barometer, Asia (July 2026) and Western Europe (May 2026).
Supply chain diversification is now permanent
Chang said Chinese supply chains have been moving to new manufacturing hubs over the past two years, among them Morocco, Costa Rica and Vietnam. Dowd said the shift has outlasted the event that triggered it. “It seemed like a trend during COVID, but that was just a catalyst. A lot of companies, especially in the West, are rethinking their supply chains and how to diversify where they import from.”
Algarin pointed to Mexico as a clear beneficiary, citing the USMCA trade agreement, competitive labor costs and mature industrial clusters. “Chinese companies are establishing factories in Mexico and partnering with local manufacturers. We are convinced that this phenomenon of relocation to Mexico and Southeast Asia is here to stay.”
Credit risk now drives payment risk
The leading causes of payment disruption have changed, Dowd said. Large fraud cases and logistics delays now do more damage than traditional buyer insolvency. “There have been some large fraud cases that had ripple effects across the entire supply chain, including the financial services industry. Many suppliers lost the financial facilities they had in place.”
Chang described a furniture trade show in Shanghai where a major U.S. buyer’s bankruptcy hit the industry hard. “Credit insurance only protects against insolvency. The trade finance component, along with collections, is something very unique and highly sought after.” Big bankruptcies and fraud events, he added, typically push more SMEs toward non-recourse invoice finance.
Working capital: non-recourse factoring as a strategic tool
With payment terms running from 30 to 90 days and beyond, Algarin said the usual fixes do not hold up over time: larger bank facilities, shareholder contributions, supplier credit. “This is precisely when having a non-recourse factoring facility becomes so important. The more you sell, the greater your access to cash, and best of all, it is achieved without incurring additional debt.”
Dowd said the structure underwrites the buyer’s credit risk rather than the seller’s balance sheet. “You could be a one-year-old company with very low sales, but if you get a $1 million order from Amazon, we are happy to finance that business based on Amazon. It is not a loan, you do not have to pay it back.”
He drew a line between the two models. Recourse factoring works like a loan secured on the seller’s balance sheet. Non-recourse factoring is an outright purchase of the invoice, and once it is sold the credit and collection risk sits with the factor, not the exporter.
Compliance and verification: the value of local presence
Algarin pointed to a common mistake among exporters: extending terms on the strength of an unpolished website or a friend’s recommendation instead of proper diligence. “A third party fully committed to preserving its own capital will diligently verify the buyer’s reputation, payment history, size, and market potential.”
Chang said Tradewind’s 14 offices across 12 countries let the company verify buyers directly. “We have people in the most important markets to explain, work with, and verify buyers. This is a very important value adder that Tradewind offers.”
About Tradewind Finance
Founded in 2000, Tradewind Finance is a global trade finance provider helping importers and exporters improve cash flow, accelerate payments and manage risk. With over 25 years of experience and 14 offices across 12 countries, Tradewind delivers funding solutions to businesses worldwide. The company specializes in non-recourse export factoring, purchasing eligible invoices after goods have shipped and collecting payment directly from customers, thereby assuming the credit and collection risk on those receivables.
SOURCE Tradewind Finance
