Turning your working capital management into a success is a challenging task — but the benefits are worth it. While there may not be a magic formula, you can learn a lot from other companies when setting out your own optimisation strategy. But how do you know if you’re on the track? And what are other businesses doing to get it right? Our Working Capital Management study and benchmarking report can help you answer these questions. We analysed the key financial metrics from over 400 Nordic companies from 2008 to 2013, to find out how they were performing and why. Get a snapshot view of the findings of the Working Capital Management report in this slideshare. Watch it now! For more information and download the Nordea Working Capital Management report visit Nordea Insights: insights.nordea.com/go/wcm

1. Working capital management
How are the Nordics performing?

2. Overall, there was an improvement in days
working capital (DWC) of 6.8% or 5 days
from 2008–2013.
We studied the annual reports and other publicly
available information of over 400 organisations
to find out...

3. Performance varied by industry
Transportation
improved by 52%,
from 57 days to
27 days
Process industries
improved by 23%,
from 113 days to
87 days
Consumer services
improved by 28%,
from 48 days to
34 days
Communications
improved by 30%,
from 20 days to
14 days
Best performing industries

4. Energy minerals
worsened by 86%,
from 7 days to
13 days
Utilities
worsened by 35%,
from 31 days to
42 days
Health services
worsened by 38%,
from 37 days to
51 days
Industrial services
worsened by 52%,
from 43 days to
66 days
Worst performing industries
Some sectors fared less well

5. There was a broad spread of DWC starting
figures in 2008, ranging from 100 days to
fewer than 10 days.
Where you start matters

6. So what makes a top performing company?
What do they do differently?

7. By focusing on 15 of the top performing
companies we learned...

8. Make working capital a strategic priority
Optimise inventory management
Streamline supply chain management
Focus on receivables management
Top performing companies focus on
four key strategies...

9. Made working capital management a
long-term strategic plan, supported by:
• Strong leadership
• Clear communication
• Employee engagement
Top performing companies...

10. Amer Sports and Electrolux linked managers’
pay to working capital targets.
26%
For example…
Amer Sports showed an
improvement of 26% in DWC
— from 151 to 112 days —
between 2008 and 2013

11. Optimised inventory management by:
• Centralising warehousing
• Simplifying stock keeping
• Using different production models
Top performing companies...

12. 24%
Clas Ohlson improved inventory turnover
by 7 days.
For example...
Clas Ohlson reduced its
DWC figure by 24% — from
58 to 44 days — between
2008 and 2013

13. Streamlined their supply chain
management by:
• Harmonising payment terms
• Minimising the range of suppliers
• Focusing on in-house manufacturing
Top performing companies...

14. Fiskars made supply chain management a focus
area in 2008 and ultimately made the overall
supply chain demand-driven.
For example...
Fiskars improved DWC by
31% — from 117 to 81 days
— between 2008 and 2013
31%

15. Prioritised receivables management by:
• Optimising payment terms
• Renegotiating supplier contracts
• Improving collections
Top performing companies...

16. Millicom International Cellular reduced
receivables turnover by 6 days.
For example...
28%
Millicom International Cellular
improved DWC by 28% —
from 26 to 16 days —
between 2008 and 2013

17. Regardless of industry, revenue or
DWC starting figure, these companies
show improvement over a five-year
period is possible.

18. To find out more about making
working capital management
more efficient, download the
full report:
insights.nordea.com/go/wcm/