Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North and Turkey) region, has onboarded Middle East grocery retailer and food distributor T. Choithram & Sons to pilot the bank's smartSCF digital Supply Chain Financing platform.

Emirates NBD's state-of-the-art smartSCF platform caters to the growing need for digitisation of supply chain management and financing, which has emerged as one of the key priorities for corporate clients across industries.

Through the smartSCF platform, Choithrams will digitise its payable process across the region, and benefit from improved cash flow and working capital efficiencies. The retailer's extensive supplier base will also benefit from early payment of their invoices without the need for collateral and at competitive rates.

Choithram’s suppliers will be able to self-onboard via the platform's digital supplier on-boarding toolkit, one of the first of its kind in the region, significantly increasing operational efficiencies at both ends of the process.

Additionally, smartSCF’s enhanced data analytics tools such as interactive dashboards and customised reports will help Choithrams gain visibility across the supply chain process, from supplier onboarding to payment and reconciliation as well as cashflows.

“We are delighted to onboard Choithrams to our digital supply chain platform that will help increase operational efficiencies for their retail operations and their suppliers, while optimising their working capital,” said Ahmed Al Qassim, Senior Executive Vice President and Group Head, Corporate and Institutional Banking, Emirates NBD. “smartSCF provides ecosystem financing by infusing liquidity in the physical supply chain of UAE corporates. Developed to meet the growing need for more integrated and automated tools, smartSCF is one of the few Supply Chain platforms that offers simplified digital onboarding making it easier for corporate buyers to extend the facility to a large number of suppliers.  As the country's preferred corporate bank and frontrunner in the region's banking sector, we continue to gain in reputation as trusted providers of smart, innovative solutions that enhance the ease of doing business and support the UAE's drive towards digitisation in all aspects of business.”

Abhishek Mundra, Chief Financial Officer at T. Choithram & Sons, added: “The past year, in particular, has greatly driven us to look at ways to optimise operational and working capital efficiencies, while continuing to scale our business and supplier base. We are excited to make the move to digitise our supply chain finance processes and look forward to reaping the many potential benefits of such enhanced visibility.”