Through a revolving credit facility, SFS purchases the debt from IndustrialComms and gives the business flexible repayment options with a choice of when to pay, up to 180 days.

The arrangement doesn’t impact on existing credit lines and no additional security is required. As a result, IndustrialComms has been able to share the benefits along the supply chain by providing customers with enhanced credit.

Graham Bull, sales director, IndustrialComms, said: “We were involved in a particular project building a wind farm. Large-scale projects like this often have long lead times which mean we have to make a significant investment before completion and payment. The products required from Siemens were outside of our established credit limit but it was suggested that EPT, provided by SFS, could help. The tool was implemented for that project but we now have the tool available for future use too.”

SFS set up IndustrialComms’ EPT facility within a week and it is integrated into the Siemens ordering system.

Bull said: “EPT means we can smooth the impact of these costs. They say cash flow is king and EPT enables us to manage ours much more effectively.”

Ian Cole (pictured), head of invoice finance for Siemens Financial Services, said: “Our relationship with Siemens puts us in a unique position to be able to provide this cash flow tool to its customers. Businesses often wait a significant period of time before receiving payments from customers and are therefore buying products before invoices are settled. EPT gives businesses more flexibility to manage their credit lines effectively.”