C2FO

I was taught by my parents to work hard and get a good job. I appreciate that lesson, but I wish I had also picked up their other lesson of having a rich life outside of work. Don’t get me wrong. I love my friends and my family, but I’m trying to cultivate more hobbies. I want to crowd source some ideas from folks my great network. What are your favorite things to do outside of work that feel like play? Here is a picture of my latest endeavor - fostering this beauty. What else have you tried?

As many of you know, I co-chair the KC Greek Food Fest. With the planning and preparation ramp-up, I chose to use AI to audit and streamline our main spreadsheets, asking AI to confirm the integrity of the current data and add formulas and calculations to manually entered data where possible. This sets us up for future sustainability. It reduces the knowledge ramp-up for anyone joining our leadership group. Greek Fest is September 11, 12, and 13.

It’s been a strong start to the year for the Lending Connections team at C2FO . So far, we’ve worked alongside 22 businesses to help them navigate and secure financing solutions ranging from production financing and term loans to factoring and traditional PO financing. A big part of that success comes from our network of lending partners, which allows us to take a thoughtful, tailored approach to each situation. A few recent examples: • $2MM production financing line designed to complement an existing ABL facility. With limited availability due to a lower receivables balance, the goal was to create flexibility so the business could confidently fulfill new orders from a Fortune 500 customer. • $8MM factoring facility for a staffing company looking to unlock cash flow from completed but unbilled work, helping them stay ahead of payroll as they continue to grow. • $3.5MM factoring facility supporting a company expanding order volume with a top 10 retailer, ensuring they had the liquidity to keep pace with demand. • $1MM PO financing facility structured to help a business take on large-scale purchase orders tied to a major U.S. big-box retailer rollout, despite significant upfront inventory requirements. Each of these engagements started with a conversation, understanding the nuances of the business, the constraints they were facing, and where they were trying to go. From there, we work collaboratively to identify the right path forward!

Interesting to see how many payment term initiatives in automotive run into the same issue: execution. Everyone agrees on the objective: → align payment terms with market levels → improve working capital → bring more structure into the supplier base That’s not the issue. The real question is: 👉 “How do we implement this across hundreds or thousands of suppliers — without increasing complexity or creating friction?” In practice, most initiatives break here: – no clear supplier segmentation – no benchmark to justify target terms – misalignment between procurement and finance – no scalable setup to manage supplier communication What actually works looks different: → focus on a clearly addressable supplier base → set targets based on real benchmark data → standardize communication and rollout → execute centrally, not supplier by supplier This isn’t about pushing terms. It’s about bringing structure into the supplier base — while moving payment terms to market-aligned levels. Start where execution is possible (typically indirect spend — a low-risk entry point with limited impact on critical supply chains). Scale from there. 👉 Where does it usually get stuck in your organization — data, alignment, or execution?

Most working capital discussions in automotive — especially around payables — go straight to direct suppliers. Which is exactly why they go nowhere. That’s where things get messy: – supply chain risk – engineering dependencies – internal politics So everyone talks. Nobody moves. What’s usually ignored: 👉 the real, actionable liquidity sits in indirect spend Not because it’s bigger on paper. But because you can actually do something about it. In most cases we look at: → 70–80% of spend is addressable → ~5% liquidity is there …without having to start with critical suppliers. The problem isn’t terms. It’s that the data isn’t structured in a way that allows action. This is not a multi-year transformation. It’s typically a matter of months — if approached the right way. It’s usually the most practical way to get started — before moving into more complex supplier segments.

I’m hiring for my team at C2FO. Looking for a data-driven marketer who can test, learn, and scale what works. https://lnkd.in/eBQxvv3t https://lnkd.in/efaeyJce