Small prices, big moves: Dollar Tree upscales SCF programme
Published: Sep 2025
Best Supply Chain Solution
Highly Commended Winner
Dollar Tree Inc.
Photo of Katerina Vasilenko, Bank of America collected the award on behalf of Dollar Tree.
Jon Poston
VP Disbursement
Dollar Tree Inc.
USA
Dollar Tree Inc. is an American multi-price-point chain of discount variety stores. Headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, it is a Fortune 500 company and operates 15,115 stores throughout the 48 contiguous US states and Canada.
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The challenge
Widely known for its single price point concept, Dollar Tree announced in 2021 plans to add new price points and broaden its product range to attract more customers. In line with the new strategy, it has been optimising its supply chain operations, expanding its footprint and remodelling its stores. This has increased its working capital requirement and CAPEX, which it intends to partially fund by generating internal cashflow through working capital improvement initiatives and harmonisation of payment terms with industry standards.
The solution
Working with Bank of America, Dollar Tree implemented a global supply chain finance programme to drive working capital optimisation by freeing up cash trapped in the supply chain for the company and its suppliers. The programme – covering 44 buying entities and suppliers across the US and the APAC region – delivers the benefit of early payment financing at a favourable rate – based on Dollar Tree’s credit rating – to its suppliers. It has been made available to all its suppliers, including SMEs as these companies are generally most in need of working capital.
Importantly, the programme is structured to accommodate seasonal spikes and incremental spend through market distribution. According to its internal estimates, Dollar Tree procured over US$8bn worth of supplies from 700+ suppliers across APAC and the US in 2023. Since the programme went live in January 2024, Dollar Tree has generated more than US$375m in working capital benefits based on 20% of its annual spend. This benefit is expected to more than double as the programme ramps up and more suppliers enrol.
The SCF programme was structured and implemented by Bank of America. Since the programme went live, the number of investor banks and threshold have increased: Bank of America (Lead bank), Wells Fargo, HSBC, DBS, Citizens Bank and TD Bank (participating banks).
Best practice and innovation
Dollar Tree’s supply chain is imperative to its capacity to operate seamlessly and, to improve supplier relationships and the health of its supplier base, it decided to implement supply chain finance to provide its suppliers with the option to obtain early payment financing at favourable rates. It has also helped Dollar Tree achieve working capital optimisation, supply chain resiliency and advance other goals, including:
Financial inclusion – made the programme available to all its suppliers, including SMEs as these companies are generally most in need of working capital.
Harmonisation of payment terms – across its supplier base and alignment with industry standards.
Payment automation – migrated manual and paper-based payments to the new process and platform, which enabled Dollar Tree to automate its invoice and payment process while providing suppliers with real-time invoice status and flexibility to discount invoices based on their financial needs. Under the workflow, approved invoice files flow from its ERP system to the bank’s portal, CashPro Trade, via host-to-host connectivity, allowing for seamless transfer of invoice details and timely access to financing for suppliers.
Scalable – structured to accommodate seasonal spikes and incremental volumes via market distribution.
Key benefits
Process efficiencies.
Increased automation.
Risk mitigated.
Improved visibility.
Errors reduced.
Manual intervention reduced.
Increased system connectivity.
Future-proof solution.
Improved key performance indicator (KPI) metrics.
As of November 2024, 46% of its supplier base – comprising of more than 180 on-boarded suppliers from 12 markets and another 130 in the pipeline – has adopted the programme and begun to enjoy the benefit of early payment financing. Dollar Tree is expecting more suppliers to enrol and has embedded market distribution into the programme structure to accommodate seasonal pikes and incremental spend. Through its supply chain finance programme, Dollar Tree has delivered a valuable working capital tool to its suppliers that manages interest rates and lending cost based on their unique financial needs.
Bank of America congratulates Dollar Tree on its well-deserved Best Supply Chain Solution recognition from Treasury Today. In an environment where liquidity and supply chain resilience are increasingly important, Dollar Tree’s ability to strengthen supplier relationships while optimising working capital is truly commendable. Its leadership in implementing an innovative, scalable programme has not only enhanced operational efficiency, but it has also demonstrated a deep commitment to supporting its supplier network. Bank of America is proud to work alongside Dollar Tree and looks forward to being a partner on its growth journey.
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The Adam Smith Awards are the industry benchmark for best practice and innovation in corporate treasury. The 2025 awards attracted 454 nominations. To find out more please visit treasurytoday.com/adam-smith-awards
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