In the past two years, with the promotion of the global online process by the epidemic, cross-border e-commerce has ushered in a new pattern,Anker, Shein, Patpat and other overseas companies that follow the path of boutique and branding have become the darling of the capital market.
The entry of capitalization has accelerated industry growth, but at the same time, it also puts higher demands on small and medium-sized startups that are still in the growth stage. When we communicate with many enterprises, we can feel that many enterprise managers still face challenges in implementing practical issues related to enterprise operations:
●How to achieve the integration of industry and finance?
●How to break through the bottleneck of traffic growth?
●How to achieve refined operation of enterprises?
●How to build a high-density talent team?
For this reason,Airwallex has launched a new interview program for overseas companies - Airtalk.
Airtalk will invite frontline managers from the fields of brand going overseas and cross-border e-commerce, who may come from different positions and functions such as brand, product, and finance. However, what remains unchanged is that they are steadfast activists and creators on the way out. Here, you will hear their successful (or unsuccessful) entrepreneurial stories, sharp industry insights, or effective management experience on the way out.
Follow Sky Cloud CollectionAirtalk, Dialogue with the Action Group for Going Abroad EntrepreneurshipyouThe journey to the sea brings different inspirations and sparks.
Airtalk Phase 1: Dialogue with CFO of Wantuo Science and Technology Innovation
Airtalk Phase 1, invitingYesFamous cross-border e-commerce enterprises, andMichelle, the CFO of Wantuo Technology, is a customer of Airwallex who has been cooperating with Yunhui for over 3 years. Michelle has worked in four major accounting firms and Wal Mart China for more than 10 years, and has rich experience in multinational enterprise restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, financial consulting, tax planning, etc.
In 2018, Michelle joined Wantuo Science and Technology Innovation. In 2021, Wantuo has 9 branches worldwide, incubating 11 globally renowned brands, covering more than 100 countries and regions, with a compound growth rate of over 400% for three consecutive years, and has completed a financing round of 300 million yuan for Sequoia Capital.
The battlefield of cross-border e-commerce is overseas, and financial work is even more challenging. Moving from traditional industries to offshore industriesMichelle also feels deeply about these issues. In this issue of Airtalk, Michelle will share with you:
●How to do a good job in financial management for the overseas financial team
●How cross-border enterprises plan for overseas fund collection
●equity financing&Financial Compliance on the Road to IPO
For more exciting guest sharing, please refer to the text interview
Q: How does the cross-border e-commerce finance team divide their functions?
Answer: As the tax systems of major e-commerce platforms around the world become increasingly perfect, the requirements for the professional quality of cross-border e-commerce finance personnel will also become higher. But cross-border e-commerce is an emerging industry, and financial management does not have many references like traditional industries. But overall, the construction of the financial team cannot be separated from these four major financial modules, namely: basic accounting, budget management and financial analysis, fund management, and tax management.
Q: What thorny issues have you encountered in cross-border financial work?
Answer: There are also many ways to improve financial work efficiencyCFO's headache issue. For example, in terms of fund management module work, it involves the entry of overseas funds, from placing orders by consumers to returning payment to China, and then to settlement of foreign exchange. The intermediate links are complex, costly, and the efficiency of fund flow is slow. In 2018, we had a Hong Kong bank account that was frozen due to review, and the accounts could not be withdrawn, seriously affecting the flow of corporate funds.
Later on, we started working withAirwallex cloud collaboration. Air Yunhui provides us with one-stop cross-border payment services such as collection, exchange, and payment. The global account of Air Cloud Exchange is directly connected to the overseas local clearing system, which has reduced our payment rates and greatly improved our efficiency. The Yunhui Visa card we started using this year has also helped us solve some problems with advertising payment.
The integrated service of air cloud remittance collection and payment now makes our cross-border fund module work very simple, efficient, and also saves moneyMore than 20% of cross-border capital transaction costs.
Q: Do you have any suggestions for cross-border fund collection and payment?
Answer: Many small and medium-sized sellers believe that their trading volume is small, and exchange rate fluctuations have little impact on their operations. They often only think about exchanging foreign exchange when they use it. But as the transaction volume of enterprises continues to grow, smaller exchange rate fluctuations may have a significant impact on the company's profits. I suggest that sellers, regardless of their size, should learn more about foreign exchange management tools and related financial derivatives, and establish regular foreign exchange management habits.
Q: What role should CFOs play in the enterprise?
Answer: Firstly, it is financial management and risk control: that is, to ensure that daily operations do not encounter financial risks, such as cash, budgeting, and providing financial support for business, which is the integration of industry and finance.
Next is corporate financing: bank loans, supply chain finance, bond financing, equity financing, etc. For example, WantuoIn round A, I received investment from Sequoia Capital. During this process, the CFO needs to assist the founder in obtaining good equity financing, explain the company's vision, future strategy to investors, and cooperate with investors in collecting financial information and conducting due diligence.
Finally, mergers and acquisitions: The fastest way to expand the local market may be through mergers and acquisitions, which include: merger and acquisition plans, funding sources, post merger strategies, etcThe ability of CFOs is a greater challenge.
Q: How do cross-border enterprises face the uncertainty of the macro environment?
Answer: Firstly, do not make low value-added products again. Under the epidemic, manufacturing industries in various countries have been greatly affected, and China's supply chain advantages are increasingly prominent. How to transform sales thinking into product thinking, improve team research and development capabilities, and establish a moat for cross-border overseas enterprises through products and brands is particularly important.
Secondly, enterprises need to diversify their operations. Diversified layout is required for product categories, sales channels, and sales regions.For example, in the context of the Sino US trade war, is it necessary to layout other countries and markets to reduce geopolitical, economic and trade uncertainties, and reduce business risks.
Current periodAirtalk, we heard about Michelle, CFO of Wantuo Technology InnovationBring her understanding and sharing of cross-border e-commerce finance work to everyone. With the increasing demand for senior financial management talents from overseas enterprises, how to cope with the fiercely competitive market, changing regulatory environment, and constantly internationalized business is a long-term issue that needs to be faced and discussed by financial managers of overseas enterprises.
nextAirwallex will invite more frontline managers from brands, cross-border e-commerce, and other fields, as well as business and finance, to follow Airtalk and engage in conversations with entrepreneurial activists, bringing unique inspiration and sparks to your overseas journey.
