Serena Ng reported in the Wall Street Journal on April 16, 2013 that “In order to improve cash position, P&G, Johnson &

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Serena Ng reported in the Wall Street Journal on April
16, 2013 that “In order to improve cash position, P&G, Johnson
& Johnson, Wal-Mart, and Unilever started to extend the payment
period to suppliers.” In addition, Edgecliffe-Johnson and Munshi
reported in the Financial Times on May 31, 2013 that “Some
of the world’s largest consumer products groups are delaying
payments to advertising agencies and commodity producers for up to
six months, squeezing cash flows and causing alarm at critical
points in their supply chain.”
Required:
According to the above two pieces of news,
a) Discuss what influences the practices of these large
companies may have on themselves, their suppliers and the supply
chain.
b) Discuss how Supply Chain Financing (SCF) instruments can
contribute to alleviate the problems.