The events of last year have highlighted the importance of being agile and innovative to adapt to changing circumstances.
A challenge for many businesses is accessing finance quickly to adapt to fast-changing requirements. Traditional business loans require large amounts of paperwork and can take six to eight weeks to get approved.
More and more retail businesses have discovered the benefits of unsecured business lending (‘unsecured’ meaning not requiring an asset as security) to adapt quickly. Here are a few ways small-to-medium FMCG businesses – including manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, marketers and retailers – can benefit from fast finance.
- FMCG producers wanting to keep up with changing tastes need to update their facilities, processes and machinery to create new products. The time required to access finance can mean lost opportunities in an environment where competitors act quickly. Since unsecured finance doesn’t require collateral, FMCG manufacturers can access funds quickly and respond to changing consumer demands.
- Quick business finance can support all stages of marketing, from market research and branding, to new product launches. When time is of the essence, fast finance makes it possible to ramp up marketing efforts in response to changing conditions or to create new opportunities.
- Being able to access finance quickly can help FMCG businesses meet changing consumer shopping preferences. When the demand for online shopping skyrocketed as a result of Covid-19, retailers needed to introduce or enhance their e-commerce capabilities quickly. Fast access to finance enables businesses to adapt to sudden changes.
- While brick-and-mortar stores will always be around, consumers are demanding more from the in-store experience. Fast unsecured finance can be used to update fit-outs and incorporate digital in-store solutions to keep up with changing preferences.
- Whether you’re a manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer, hiring new employees is often the first step in growing an FMCG business. The challenge is finding the funds to make this happen. If you’re gearing up for the busy season but don’t have the funds on hand, a fast finance solution, such as an unsecured business loan from Moula, can help.
- Managing inventory is always tricky, balancing the time between paying for stock and generating revenue from it. Slow approval times from some business lenders can hold you back from keeping on top of your cash flow. Fast business loans enable you to purchase inventory when time is of the essence.
- Cash flow is one the biggest challenges for all types of FMCG businesses. For wholesalers and distributors, slow paying customers can be the cause of cash flow shortages. For retailers, cash flow problems could be the result of seasonal fluctuations in demand.
Bek McMillan is the owner of Gourmet Living, a premium food store and online shop specialising in high-quality food products and hampers. She understands the impact cash flow can have on a business, balancing getting paid with needing to pay suppliers.
“We have large customers taking huge orders of hampers and taking their time to pay, which is a massive cash outlay for us,” McMillan explains.
She discovered Moula as a solution to get quick access to business funding. “It was a really quick process. I had the funds within 48 hours.”
With Moula, it takes seven minutes to apply for a business loan, and you’ll get an answer within 24 hours. There’s no asset security required, and no penalty for early repayment, meaning you have the flexibility to repay at any time, without paying interest for the full loan term. Find out how a business loan from Moula can help you fund your business.
