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How SAP S/4HANA Helped a Manufacturer Regain Cash Flow Control in 60 Days
In manufacturing, cash flow can make or break you—even if your revenue looks healthy on paper.
We recently worked with a client whose situation will sound familiar to many CFOs: vendors frustrated over late payments, a maxed-out credit line, and internal teams constantly scrambling to cover shortfalls.
They weren’t short on orders. They weren’t unprofitable. But their cash flow was chaotic.
At Lumbini Elite, an authorised SAP Partner, we help companies in India and the Middle East get real business value out of SAP. This client’s turnaround didn’t come from expensive new software or complex custom code.
It came from unlocking one simple configuration in SAP S/4HANA that most companies overlook.
The Problem: Revenue-Rich but Cash-Poor
Our client is a large manufacturing company with strong order books. Revenue wasn’t the problem. But their collections were delayed. Vendor payments were deprioritised. Outflows consistently outpaced inflows.
Here’s how it looked inside:
- Finance was manually chasing receivables, with limited forecasting capability.
- Procurement was issuing POs with no awareness of payables status.
- Treasury had no real-time visibility, relying on stale spreadsheet data.
The result? Chronic cash crunch, missed payment discounts, unhappy suppliers, and a reactive finance team constantly fighting fires.
Our Approach: Using What SAP S/4HANA Already Offers
Most people assume fixing cash flow requires new tools or big investments. But SAP S/4HANA is already designed to handle this—if you configure it strategically. We implemented Dynamic Discounting with Payment Prioritisation using standard SAP S/4HANA functionalities.
How Dynamic Discounting Works in SAP
Instead of paying every vendor on a fixed 30-day schedule, Dynamic Discounting and Payment Prioritisation aligns payment timing with cash availability and strategic value.
SAP S/4HANA ranks vendors in real time based on:
Available early-payment discounts.
※ Strategic importance.
※ Impact on working capital.
It ties your live cash position to your payment strategy, letting you optimise cash outflows without harming supplier relationships.
More Than Just Payment Prioritisation
We didn’t stop at payment ranking.
We also activated SAP Cash Management and Bank Communication Management. These modules let the client:
※ Pull real-time bank balances and open items.
※ Simulate cash flow forecasts automatically.
※ Consolidate treasury, finance, and procurement views into one source of truth.
The Impact in 60 Days
Within two months, here’s what changed:
※ Vendor relationships improved with clearer payment commitments.
※ Finance moved from chasing payments manually to managing by exception.
※ Treasury could run daily cash positions without waiting on Excel.
※ Procurement had real-time visibility into payables when approving POs.
※ Blocked working capital was freed up, reducing borrowing reliance.
And importantly: this was all with native SAP features they already owned. No custom code. No third-party tools.
Why Many Companies Miss This
We see this everywhere: companies invest heavily in SAP S/4HANA but treat it like a ledger instead of a strategic control system.
They have the levers but never pull them.Dynamic Discounting, Payment Prioritisation, Cash Management—these aren’t exotic add-ons. They’re standard features waiting to be configured.
Most companies don’t switch them on because:
- They’re focused on transaction processing, not optimisation.
- Their implementation partner didn’t prioritise finance strategy.
- Teams don’t know what’s already possible in SAP.
The Real Lesson: Visibility and Coordination
In our experience at Lumbini Elite, revenue shortfalls rarely cause cash crises in manufacturing.
The real culprits?
※ Poor visibility.
※ Disconnected teams.
※ Manual, reactive processes.
When finance, procurement, and treasury operate in silos, cash management becomes firefighting. SAP S/4HANA is built to eliminate those silos—if you use it strategically.
Ready to Take Control of Your Cash Flow?
If you’re using SAP S/4HANA but your cash flow still feels chaotic, you don’t need a new system.
You need to configure the one you have.
At Lumbini Elite, we help companies unlock SAP’s built-in value to:
※ Prioritise payments strategically.
※ Capture discounts automatically.
※ Improve cash forecasts.
※ Strengthen vendor relationships.
※ Reduce reliance on credit lines.
Let’s Make Your SAP Work Harder
If you’re ready to stop chasing cash and start managing it strategically, let’s talk.
We’ll do a quick system review, show you what’s possible with your existing SAP landscape, and help you implement a proven approach to cash flow optimisation.
You’ll find our contact details in the description. Don’t let cash flow chaos limit your growth. Make SAP your competitive advantage.