Today, Juni, the financial platform built for digital commerce, expands its Capital product offering with Inventory Financing for ecommerce businesses. The new product follows the launch of Juni’s media financing product earlier this year that allows businesses to ‘buy media, pay later’ (BMPL). The latest addition is part of Juni’s efforts to build a Capital product that is tailor-made for the unique financial needs of e-commerce businesses. 

Juni’s research shows that more than 50% of their customers' cost base is attributed to inventory, by far their biggest expense. An ideal e-commerce inventory turnover ratio is 4-6 times per year, however, some businesses may purchase inventory fewer times a year, leading to cash flow challenges with a significant delay in seeing a return on investment, sometimes up to 6 months. 

Juni’s Inventory Financing product aims to solve this by offering customers extended payback terms of up to 120 days with fixed monthly fees as low as 3%, while improving liquidity, cash flow forecasting, and margins on larger inventory orders from EU, China & US suppliers. 

The Inventory Financing product will sit within Juni’s Capital for Invoices offering, alongside Media Financing (BMPL). This means that once an e-commerce business has applied and been approved for Juni Capital, it will have one credit line that it can allocate to either inventory or media invoices as it see fit. 

Juni is also introducing a new feature called split payments. This means that with Juni Capital for Invoices, ecommerce businesses can split supplier payments between debit and capital, gaining financial control and having the option to pay in a way that suits their cash flow needs.

“We’re excited about enabling e-commerce businesses to free up capital so they can invest in further growth. By having less money tied up in large inventory orders, they reduce risks associated with sales seasonality” says Samir El-Sabini, CEO and Co-founder of Juni. “While it is difficult for businesses to influence their logistical lead times for inventory, payment terms are easier to adapt, and using our inventory financing enables them to negotiate more competitive offers from suppliers.”

This launch marks another milestone in Juni’s journey to realize its vision of becoming a banking alternative for digital commerce businesses, strengthening its core banking offering.

“Inventory management plays a critical role in growing a sustainable and profitable e-commerce business,“ says Shelley Havemann, Senior Director of Product at Juni. “We know that our inventory financing product will unlock even more value for our customers, increasing control and visibility over their cash flow. And with our split payments feature launching later this month, we’re giving them even more flexibility to manage their liquidity.”

Juni Capital for invoices is available to e-commerce companies based in Europe, with inventory financing being available upon eligibility. Juni Invoices is expected to launch in the UK next year.