Business adaptive strategies in crisis : the use of cash pooling in treasury as a reaction to Covid-19 crisis : case of a luxury jewelry brand

• Autor(a) principal: Zirener, Jan
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/41244
• topic: Cash pooling; Treasury; Cash and liquidity management; Covid-19 crisis; Strategy; Luxury segment; Tesouraria; Dinheiro e gestão de liquidez; Crise Covid-19; Estratégia; Segmento de luxo; Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Economia e Gestão

This master thesis describes the use of cash pooling as a strategic tool in treasury to overcome the Covid-19 crisis. As a case study format, the thesis follows a pedagogical structure, providing students with a real-life scenario of how a luxury jewelry brand applied strategic adjustments as crisis management. At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the company was challenged by dramatic cash and liquidity problems for the first time in its company history. As a reaction to the pandemic challenges, the company decided to launch a global cash pooling program to enhance cash management within the corporation. The purpose of the program was to further concentrate the global cash positions within the headquarter. Incorporating evidence from interviews with industry experts, company sources and online sources, the case study evaluates the strategic suitability of cash pooling. The findings demonstrate three main strengths of cash pooling as a tool to overcome a crisis. Firstly, increased transparency due to centralized structures offered better visibility of available funds. Secondly, higher flexibility ensured that the company had more efficient decision-making processes. Lastly, long-term cost savings due to structural adjustments enhanced the company’s profitability. However, further side projects need to be considered in parallel to exploit the full potential of cash pooling structures.