Topsoe delivers a strong focus on simplicity and usability for suppliers

Best Supply Chain Solution

Highly Commended Winner

Topsoe A/S

Photo of Tom Knockaert, BNP Paribas and Loke Blohm, Topsoe A/S.

Loke Blohm

Senior Treasury Professional

Denmark

Topsoe offers world‑ leading solutions for transforming renewable resources into fuels and chemicals and provides technologies needed to produce low-carbon and conventional fuels and chemicals as well as ensuring clean air. The Danish-based company was founded in 1940 and specialises in catalysts, proprietary solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) technology and process plants, and is led by CEO Elena Scaltritti.

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The challenge

Topsoe has committed significant capital to expand production capacity and advance key projects across its business. This required large investments.

A comprehensive working capital review identified supplier financing as one of the most effective levers. However, Topsoe operates within a complex global industrial supply chain, and many suppliers had prior experience of supply chain finance (SCF) programmes that were operationally complex or commercially unattractive. Simply extending payment terms was not a viable option.

Treasury needed to improve working capital without weakening supplier relationships or introducing operational friction. The challenge was to design a programme that could extend payment terms while providing suppliers with fast, reliable access to liquidity through a simple, frictionless structure, supported by strong alignment across treasury, procurement and IT.

The solution

Following a competitive RFP, Topsoe selected BNP Paribas to support the implementation of a supplier financing programme, structured as a strategic extension of its working capital framework rather than a standalone financing tool.

Treasury made a deliberate design choice: the programme would only succeed if suppliers chose to use it. This led to a strong focus on simplicity and usability.

Suppliers can receive early payment automatically, without needing to onboard to a platform or change their banking arrangements, while retaining the flexibility to selectively finance invoices where required.

As Loke Blohm, Senior Treasurer at Topsoe, explains: “The whole point was to make it as easy as possible for suppliers to join – ideally to the extent that they don’t even feel like they are part of a financing programme.”

Best practice and innovation

Topsoe’s solution stands out because it tackles the hardest part of SCF – supplier adoption – with a design that reflects how suppliers behave in the real world, rather than on paper.

Key elements of best practice include:

Removing friction at source: suppliers can receive early payment automatically without logging into a platform or changing their banking arrangements.
Treasury-led, cross-functional execution: procurement, IT and banking partners were aligned from the outset, ensuring that supplier engagement, system integration and operational delivery were consistent and credible.
Full operational integration: the programme is embedded within Topsoe’s existing SAP environment, with automated invoice transmission and no manual uploads.
A deliberate onboarding strategy: by focusing first on the largest and most strategic suppliers, Topsoe created early visible success.

Taken together, these elements deliver working capital improvement without compromising supplier relationships.

Key benefits

Cost savings.
Process efficiencies.
Exceptional implementation (budget/time).
Future-proof solution.
Improved key performance indicators (KPIs) or metrics.
Increased automation.
Increased system connectivity.
Manual intervention reduced.

The programme has delivered strongly against its original objectives:

It has released a substantial amount in working capital.
A notable interest cost savings.
The facility increased by almost 70% within 18 months of launch.
Operational performance has improved significantly.
Supplier payments, initially expected within 17 business days, are now processed in approximately seven days, often faster.

Supplier adoption has grown steadily following the onboarding of key strategic suppliers. Once these initial participants joined, the programme gained internal visibility and credibility, creating momentum across procurement teams and encouraging broader supplier participation.

Solving a treasury problem without ignoring how commercial relationships work in practice, this SCF programme has had positive impacts for both Topsoe and its suppliers.

Astrid Perrin-Megret

Head of Trade & Working Capital Solutions – Nordics, BNP Paribas

Topsoe have built a fully integrated programme, capable of supporting their ambition and business strategy, strengthening, rather than testing, their supplier relationships. Their award is richly deserved, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with them.

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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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