How Asahi navigated a critical inflection point that impacted suppliers

Best Supply Chain Solution

Highly Commended Winner

Asahi Group Holdings

Photo of Nick Zhang and Anthony Buchanan, Asahi Europe & International and Mehwish Jangda, Citi.

Anthony Buchanan

Group Treasurer

United Kingdom

Asahi Group Holdings, headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo, is a leading Japanese beverage and food company known globally for its flagship Asahi Super Dry.

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The challenge

Asahi had an incumbent programme with a fintech provider; however, Asahi was looking for growth in its programme due to continuous focus on working capital as well as operational efficiencies which the incumbent provider could not fully deliver.

Key challenges Asahi was addressing:

Cost inefficiency.
Operational inefficiency.
Working capital inefficiency.

The solution

Citi proposed a comprehensive, integrated supply chain finance solution that replaced the existing fragmented offering with a full-service banking platform.

This solution was chosen over competing options due to distinct competitive advantages:

Eliminated multiple fee layers by integrating cash management capabilities at no additional cost, removing platform fees, exchange costs and duplicate payment processing charges.
Provided seamless execution of both discounted and non-discounted payments through Citi’s global cash management infrastructure.
Citi deployed a roadmap to go-live, detailing action items, stakeholders, clear goal tracking across legal, KYC, supplier onboarding, credit, technical and operational work streams.
Offered comprehensive supplier electronic onboarding capabilities across all entity types – from sole proprietorships to SMEs and large corporates – in all markets including previously excluded regions.
Leveraged Citi’s extensive track record.
Balance sheet resiliency.
Technical implementation.
Scalability.
Investor networks.

Best practice and innovation

The solution demonstrated a fast and seamless integration approach where teams from Citi and Asahi worked to reduce traditional barriers to switching by:

Risk-based transition management.
Accelerated supplier onboarding.
Integrated solution architecture.
Market leadership.

This deal establishes a replicable framework for targeting the hundreds of billions processed through fintech supply chain finance (SCF) platforms, positioning Citi as the institutional alternative in a market increasingly concerned about fintech resilience.

Key benefits

Cost savings.
Process efficiencies.
Risk mitigation.
Number of banking partners/bank accounts reduced.
Exceptional implementation (budget/time).
Future-proof solution.
Improved key performance indicators (KPIs) or metrics.
Improved visibility.
Increased automation.
Increased system connectivity.
Manual intervention reduced.
Reduction in errors.

When Asahi Europe & International approached Citi in 2025, they weren’t just seeking a new financial platform – they were navigating a critical inflection point that affected hundreds of suppliers, multiple stakeholders across their global organisation, and the stability of their entire supply chain finance ecosystem.

Multiple buying entities across numerous jurisdictions, transactions in various currencies, and a diverse supplier base ranging from small sole proprietorships in Poland to major corporate suppliers across Asia and Europe, made the network complex. Each supplier relationship represented real businesses – many of them small and medium-sized enterprises – relying on timely payments to maintain their own operations and employees.

The solution’s true impact emerged in how it addressed this complexity:

For suppliers: the expedited onboarding of 400 suppliers in just three months – with complete KYC across all entities – meant minimal payment disruption.
For stakeholders: each internal team saw tangible benefits. Procurement gained expanded supplier coverage and improved relationships. Shared services experienced streamlined operations with unified payment processing. IT successfully integrated the solution with their S/4HANA migration without additional complexity. Treasury achieved cost savings, operational efficiency and eliminated platform risk concerns.
Broader impact: the solution’s significance extends beyond Asahi. It established a blueprint for addressing a market-wide challenge: hundreds of billions of dollars flow through fintech SCF platforms that lack the resilience, service capabilities and integration that global corporations require.
The human outcome: ultimately, this solution represents financial inclusion and stability – ensuring that suppliers of all sizes, across all jurisdictions, have reliable access to working capital solutions.

Mehwish Jangda

Head of UK Trade Sales, Citi

We are delighted to congratulate Asahi Europe & International on this well-deserved recognition. The programme demonstrates how a thoughtfully structured SCF solution can deliver meaningful working capital improvement while strengthening supplier relationships at scale. As Asahi’s requirements evolved, the transition from its existing platform arrangement to Citi’s integrated banking-led solution provided broader supplier coverage, improved operational resilience and a stronger foundation for future growth. The successful migration of a complex, multi-jurisdictional programme reflects strong collaboration across treasury, procurement, shared services and technology teams, and sets a compelling benchmark for scalable, future-ready working capital transformation.

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The Adam Smith Awards are the industry benchmark for best practice and innovation in corporate treasury. The 2026 awards attracted 635 nominations. To find out more please visit treasurytoday.com/adam-smith-awards

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