CITI TTS Healthcare Consumer & Wellness Client Magazine

10 11 Healthcare, consumer & wellness Full throttle INNOVATION What do we need? Innovative fintech solutions! When do we need them? Now! Today’s hyper-connected, hyper- competitive business environment necessitates lightning-fast responses. Be it reacting to global crises or undertaking fast-paced corporate restructuring, companies need to be nimble and protean, whether they’re pivoting to completely new revenue streams, or overhauling production processes during a time of enormous disruption to supply chains. In all instances, speed is of the essence: new digital strategies must be established at pace, novel finance solutions have to be rapidly created, and instant access to working capital is paramount. In the case of Carlsberg Singapore, severely affected by a national lockdown that shut all bars and restaurants, Citi was on hand to support the company’s rapid development of a digital sales strategy. The Carlsberg team set about creating a new D2C sales portal, including last-mile delivery, aiming to launch two weeks after conception, but issues arose around activating a secure payments collection channel. In partnership with Citi, the team were able, within a four-day window, to launch a secure and effective instant-collection channel with real- time notifications and detailed post- transaction reports for reconciliation. The benefits in the short-term were obvious but, moreover, as Dawn Hoe, Head of Finance & IT at Carlsberg Singapore, explains, these rapid- turnaround innovations have created opportunities that will outlast the pandemic: “[With] the eventual passing of the Covid-19 situation, this QR D2C collections solution will definitely evolve as we further develop our digital sales strategy.” For a company such as Kimberly-Clark, whose hygiene products are essential across many communities, the main challenge posed by the Covid-19 pandemic was ensuring a continuity of supply to clients and distributors in Brazil, despite the incredible strains placed on working capital. Denilson Da Silva, Credits & Collections Manager Brazil, says: “We approached our partner bank to develop a solution to mutually sustain and grow our business during this difficult period.” Conscious of the complex regulatory requirements in Brazil, the Citi team met at 6.30am three times a week in order to rapidly implement an innovative new distribution finance solution that met the needs of the company’s buyers. The project launched in just six weeks – five times faster than would normally be expected – and achieved the stated aim of short-term business sustainability and revenue growth during a time of crisis. As Da Silva notes: “Risks are shared between us and our bank through a first loss tranche, senior and mezzanine tranches. The programme is managed in a highly automated way, avoiding any additional administrative burden, and ensuring the rapid and efficient exchange of funds.” The need for lightning-quick solutions isn’t always a product of major external upheavals. In 2018, Alcon’s then parent company, Novaris, announced the spin-off of its eyecare division into a standalone company that they wanted listed on stock exchanges in Zurich and NYC within nine months. This involved creating a treasury function from scratch to cover operations in 70 countries, and operate an in-house bank for 12 currencies. The solution was to work with global partners on a complex “lift and shift” of Alcon’s existing operational structure, with Citi taking responsibility for almost 400 bank accounts. A steering committee was set up to align activities and ensure that both sides were equally ambitious in their aim to create a brand new capital structure, which they duly did, with all balance sheet exposures hedged and more than $3.2bn central funding secured before spin-off. This sort of achievement demonstrates a can-do attitude writ large – and fast. Denilson Da Silva Credits & Collections Manager Brazil, Kimberly-Clark We approached our partner bank to develop a solution to mutually sustain and grow our business during this difficult period” number of bank accounts Citi took responsibility for in Alcon’s operational restructuring 400 central funding secured before spin-off $3.2bn 6 weeks taken to launch Kimberly- Clark’s distribution finance solution , five times faster than would normally be expected Dawn Hoe Head of Finance & IT at Carlsberg Singapore [With] the eventual passing of the Covid-19 situation, this QR D2C collections solution will definitely evolve as we further develop our digital sales strategy”