In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.
That quote, from Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War,” dates to the fifth century B.C.
But it is just as relevant today, as businesses around the globe strive to find and capture opportunities against a backdrop defined by shifting macro and geopolitical uncertainties.
Amid these marketplace fluctuations, businesses are turning to payment companies for solutions that enhance efficiency and digitization.
That’s what Dean M. Leavitt, founder and CEO at Boost Payment Solutions, told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster for the series “What’s Next in Payments: Quarterly Scorecard.”
“There are two big things businesses want,” Leavitt said. “The first is cross-border payments mechanisms that are cost-effective and efficient in paying their suppliers abroad. That’s a clear desire on the enterprise B2B level. And the other thing is just broadly digitizing the ways in which businesses pay and get paid.”
Prioritizing the digitization of payment workflows can streamline operations and reduce costs — two priority areas for enterprises, no matter the macro backdrop.
“There’s a lot of messiness around payments, particularly very large B2B payments that might house hundreds or thousands of invoices with hundreds of associated line-item details,” Leavitt said. “… Large enterprises on both the AP [accounts payable] and AR [accounts receivable] side are looking for ways to automate those processes, digitize them and reduce their cost as well.”
As the first quarter of the year fades into memory, businesses find themselves reflecting on the events and decisions that shaped their interactions with customers and the broader market.
Leavitt emphasized that the health of the consumer market often serves as a leading indicator for B2B activity. As the consumer market thrives, B2B payments surge, underscoring the importance of staying attuned to consumer trends for businesses operating in the B2B space.
While Q1 showed strength in various sectors, Leavitt noted subtle shifts in spending patterns, such as a slight dip in utilities and telco sectors. However, he emphasized the resilience of B2B spending, which, while less cyclical than consumer spending, still experiences seasonal fluctuations. Industrial manufacturing emerged as a sector witnessing growth, indicative of evolving market dynamics that payment companies need to adapt to.
“It’s becoming more and more apparent to CFOs and other finance professionals, and again, to both buyers and suppliers, that they need to digitize payments,” Leavitt said. “They know if they could reduce, or redeploy, the cost of HR, if they can more generally automate payment processes, then they can reduce human error and get paid sooner.”
Efficient payment mechanisms are increasingly contributing to fostering trust and reliability between buyers and suppliers, he said.
“Especially when you have suppliers that have working capital constraints, the time frame in which they get paid is mission critical,” he added. “… There’s more stickiness between them and customers that can pay them sooner and more efficiently.”
As businesses look ahead to the remainder of the year, uncertainties surrounding interest rates loom large. Leavitt pointed out potential impacts on commercial card issuers, who must align their cost of capital with lending practices.
While the direct impact on buyer-supplier relationships remains modest, Leavitt noted that the broader economic uncertainty underscores the importance of monitoring market dynamics for payment companies.
Key to monitoring important themes and trends is the use of insights derived from transaction data, which can enable businesses to make informed decisions, identify emerging trends, and anticipate market shifts.
“Data is a super important thing to our partners, our distribution channels and customers,” Leavitt said. “Buyers and suppliers look to us because we see the transactional flow, and we slice and dice the data in ways and formats that enables our partners and clients to easily ingest it into their world to make use of it.”
Looking ahead, Leavitt said that as businesses navigate the evolving landscape, the watchword for enterprise businesses remains “steady Eddie.”
“Our business is not fits and starts because most of our buyers are very large enterprises,” he said. “Much of the spend that we facilitate throughout any given year is based on existing contracts, so it’s not last-minute purchases. We love the boringness of that growth. … Keep it going, keep it flowing, keep it growing.”
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