Adopting supply chain financing to strengthen working capital and operational efficiency: a study on Akij Resource

Abstract

This report examines the impact of Supply Chain Finance (SCF) on working capital management and operational efficiency at Akij Resource Limited (ARL). The study evaluates how shifting from traditional Working Capital Finance (WCF) to SCF improves working capital management and operational efficiency. In the first chapter I have outlined my internship experience at ARL. Focussing mostly within the Treasury Department. I highlighted my responsibilities including preparing a fixed deposit register covering 220 FDRs across 16 banks and multiple SBUs along with my exposure to the HR team. At the end I have added the challenges I faced during the internship and recommendations for the future interns as well. The second chapter presents an organizational overview of ARL. Which covers its history, mission, vision and management practices. It analyzes key functional areas such as human resource, compensation structure, organizational hierarchy and marketing practice. To evaluate the financial performance we have evaluated 2023-2024 balance sheet and Cashflow. Including Dupont analysis and accounting practices of ARL. Industry positioning is assessed through SWOT and PESTLE analysis. The final Chapter focuses on Supply Chain Finance from both the financial and supply chain perspective. It reviews the SCF environment in Bangladesh and identifies the challenges faced by ARL. A proposed research framework has been shown based on bargaining power and cumulative Transaction Value (CTV) to recommend suitable SCF tools. The findings show that SCF has improved working capital efficiency by reducing the CCC and operational efficiency while maintaining the clear CIB profile. Overall, this internship gave me the opportunity to apply my academic knowledge in the real world financial environment. Along with it gave me an insight into how a treasury department works in a large group. Page