"China Supply Chain Services and Industry-Finance Survey Report 2026" Released: Cash Cycle Shortens, Supply Chain Business Models Embrace "Servitization" Reconstruction

On March 26, the “China Supply Chain Service and Financial Integration Survey Report 2026” (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”), jointly compiled by Wanlian Internet and the Strategic Management Research Center of the China Supply Chain at Renmin University of China, was officially released. This report is based on the annual report data of listed companies and in-depth questionnaire surveys on supply chain services, supply chain finance, and financial technology companies, completed over a period of two months, comprehensively revealing the current state, challenges, and future trends of China’s supply chain ecosystem.

Cash cycle slightly improves, factoring and bill business become growth drivers

The statistical analysis of the financial reports of listed companies for the first three quarters of 2025 shows that the average cash cycle for small and medium-sized enterprises and large enterprises in China is 128.29 days and 91.94 days, respectively, slightly shorter than the same period in 2024, indicating a marginal improvement in the overall cash situation of enterprises.

However, underlying structural pressures are hidden behind the data. The report points out that despite the shortening of the cash cycle, the turnover days of accounts receivable, accounts payable, and inventory have actually extended. This means that although enterprises have optimized cash flow performance in some way, the efficiency of underlying asset turnover has not improved in sync and may even have worsened, with the issue of capital occupation in the upstream and downstream of the supply chain remaining severe.

The report shows that China’s supply chain finance market has entered a new stage of regulation and quality improvement. Data indicates that from 2018 to 2024, the balance of supply chain finance grew from 19.8 trillion yuan to 45.9 trillion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 15%. In 2025, the acceptance amount of commercial bills reached 42.7 trillion yuan, with small and micro enterprises accounting for over 70% of the bill issuance, becoming the main force in the bill market.

On the financing supply side, the report conveys positive signals. 66.67% of non-bank financial institutions and 57.14% of commercial banks expect that financing rates will “likely decrease” in the coming year, with the cost of supply chain finance continuously improving, which is beneficial for alleviating the financing difficulties and high costs faced by small and medium-sized enterprises. At the same time, over 30% of banks and non-bank institutions expect to expand the financing scale for small and medium-sized enterprises.

In terms of business structure, the importance scores of traditional “fixed asset mortgage” and “third-party guarantee” businesses that rely on entity credit have significantly declined, while “factoring” remains the absolute mainstay. It is worth noting that “supply chain bill-related,” “insurance + financing,” and “letter of credit” businesses are regarded as the fastest-growing sectors in the future, indicating that the market’s emphasis on the authenticity of transaction backgrounds and risk diversification mechanisms has significantly increased.

In addition, cross-border supply chain finance is becoming a new blue ocean. Currently, about 30% of enterprises have engaged in cross-border business, with “cross-border factoring and accounts receivable financing” and “international order or invoice financing” being the most widely applied.

Decline of simple trade, “service + finance + platform” becomes mainstream

One of the most striking findings of the report is the structural transformation of business models. Data shows that enterprises are accelerating the transition from “weakening capital-driven, strengthening service/finance/platform-driven.”

It is expected that by 2026, the proportion of low-value “simple trade” models will drop significantly from 41.09% to 31.78%. In contrast, high-value service models are expected to grow rapidly: the adoption rate of supply chain finance services is expected to rise to 70.54%; the adoption rate of supply chain management services is expected to rise to 65.12%; the adoption rate of industrial internet models is expected to rise to 55.81%; traditional models such as centralized procurement and distribution, logistics services, and import and export agency models are also expected to see significant growth.

This trend indicates that the era of trade solely relying on price differences for profit is coming to an end, and integrated service providers that can offer resource integration, process optimization, and financial solutions will become market leaders. For supply chain service and technology companies, “focusing on core responsibilities and deepening innovation upstream and downstream” and “promoting digital and intelligent upgrades” have become the consensus strategic priorities.

As Chinese enterprises accelerate their overseas expansion, the demand for cross-border supply chain finance has significantly increased. Research shows that about 30% of enterprises have engaged in cross-border or international supply chain finance business, with “cross-border factoring and accounts receivable financing, international order or invoice financing” being the most widely applied. However, “legal and policy compliance issues” have become the biggest obstacle enterprises face in globalizing their supply chains, far exceeding factors such as logistics costs and talent shortages.

To address industry pain points, Cai Yujiang, founder of Wanlian Internet, proposed three core recommendations at the release event. First, improve the regulatory and legal framework: revise relevant laws and regulations to clarify responsibilities and boundaries, providing a solid institutional guarantee for supply chain finance. Second, build public data infrastructure: the government should take the lead in connecting data silos in taxation, customs, logistics, etc., breaking through information sharing bottlenecks, and solving the dual dilemma of “difficulty in obtaining public data for real enterprises” and “difficulty in risk control transformation for financial institutions.” Third, promote ecological collaboration in the market: establish a multi-party participation mechanism of “government + platform + finance + industry,” strengthen risk sharing, and address the issues of mismatched costs and benefits and weak awareness of industrial collaboration.