Many businesses choose China to source the supplies they need but distance can mean waiting a long time between paying for goods and recovering the cost through sales. Gary Thomas, founder of Switch Packaging Specialists, has found a solution.
Switch Packaging Specialists creates eco-friendly pulp protective packaging from recycled paper. Gary Thomas formed the company after he realised there must be a greener alternative to the polystyrene he was selling while working for a packaging company.
Gary’s first design was a protective corner for dampening impact. It worked better than the conventional polystyrene alternative so Gary took the plunge and set up Switch Packaging Specialists.
Switch Packaging Specialists hasn’t looked back and is securing some big contracts. However, as Gary explains, there is a snag:
“I can’t source what I need from the UK; I have to get it from China. A big contract might mean ordering 250,000 corners every few weeks but that completely locks up our cash because my supplier wants payment in advance. This means it can take between two and four months from paying my supplier to being paid by my customer. This really hinders my cash flow.”
So Gary set about looking for a solution to his cash flow issue. While searching the Internet he came across URICA https://urica.com/. Gary explains how URICA solved his problem:
“My supplier enters the invoice onto URICA’s platform, I authorise it, and URICA pays the supplier straight away. I then choose the terms I want with URICA, say 60 days, and for a small fee my cash stays in the business until then. URICA is also different to other invoice finance in that I don’t have to use it for everything, I can use it when it suits me.
“Without this flexibility I might have to turn down some large contracts but now I feel confident going after large manufacturing businesses looking for a greener way of protecting their goods in transit. As Switch Packaging Specialists grows I can see me using URICA for everything and just making one monthly payment.”
