This Week in B2B: Automation, AI, Embedded Finance Reinvent Corporate Backbones

In the not-so-distant past, the B2B world ran on manual processes, spreadsheets and trust built over handshakes. Supply chains were static, finance departments reactive, and technological disruption was mostly a consumer-facing affair. Today, that world is almost unrecognizable.

A convergence of automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and embedded finance is reshaping the very foundation of how businesses interact, trade and grow. Legacy systems are giving way to intelligent, integrated platforms. The rise of real-time data flows, embedded capital solutions, and autonomous decision-making tools has ushered in what could be described as the “smart era” of B2B.

What ties all these developments together is a common thread: reinvention.

Whether it’s a logistics company rebranding itself as a data company, or a finance platform embedding credit directly into supply chains, B2B players are racing toward a more integrated, intelligent and interoperable future.

Logistics Moves From Backroom to Boardroom

Once a background function, logistics has moved into the limelight. And not just as a support function but as a differentiator against today’s uncertain backdrop.

Ryder’s supply chain and logistics division is a striking example. Traditionally known for truck leasing and supply chain support, Ryder has evolved dramatically.

“Our supply chain side of the business is actually more than half of our revenue now,” Stephanie Wicky, VP of marketing at Ryder, told PYMNTS in an interview posted Thursday (May 22).  “We’ve been in business for 90 years … and supply chain has always been sort of the secret sauce of competition for our customers.”

Across the globe, Uber is taking a similar leap with the launch of Courier XL in India — a B2B logistics service focused on large item deliveries. The move signals Uber’s ambitions beyond ride-hailing and food delivery, tapping into the vast and fragmented logistics market in emerging economies. It also reflects a broader industry pivot: logistics companies are no longer competing on miles traveled but on data, automation and customer integration.

Elsewhere, Tradeverifyd secured $4 million in funding to enhance its AI-powered supply chain risk management platform. The platform offers tools like the Tradeverifyd Score to assess supplier reliability, helping businesses navigate disruptions due to tariffs, regulations and environmental events.

At the same time, trade finance automation is slowly but surely working to recode the digital supply chain. Ontik, for example, secured $3.7 million to grow its digital trade credit platform, which facilitates B2B transactions by offering flexible payment terms and improving cash flow management for businesses.

Automation and Embedded Finance Take Over

B2B commerce has long lagged behind B2C in digitization. That gap is now closing, fast.

The push for straight-through processing (STP) — where transactions are completed end-to-end with minimal human intervention — is transforming how businesses move money as companies are recognizing the cost of clunky processes. Suppliers that once relied on manual invoice matching and email-based orders are now adopting cloud-based platforms, API integrations, and automated reconciliation tools.

Visa’s launch of its AR Manager tool is emblematic of this shift. Designed to help suppliers handle virtual card payments, AR Manager offers real-time payment status, integration with ERP systems, and a dashboard to manage receivables efficiently. The goal? Eliminate bottlenecks that stall billions in business payments each year.

Elsewhere, Singapore-based CrediLinq raised $8.5 million to expand its AI-driven embedded finance platform into the U.S. market. The platform allows B2B marketplaces to offer financing solutions to small and medium-sized businesses, leveraging real-time digital footprints to assess creditworthiness.

Playbook for Liquidity

Chief financial officers (CFOs) are no longer bean counters. In this new era, they are risk strategists, technology buyers and liquidity architects.

PYMNTS covered how CFOs are reevaluating fund flow strategies to navigate market volatility. Emphasis is placed on diversifying funding sources and enhancing working capital management to ensure financial resilience.

Meanwhile, mid-sized company treasurers are adopting dynamic forecasting models and real-time data inputs to manage liquidity amidst economic uncertainties. This approach helps in simulating various financial scenarios and preparing contingency plans.

And the shift is being reflected across back-office enterprise infrastructure, as innovations across enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and treasury management systems (TMS) enable organizations to become more agile, efficient and responsive to market demands. Initiatives launched this week by Big Tech, including Microsoft, Dell, Google and SAP, signify a broader trend in enterprise technology beyond migrating to the cloud: the convergence of AI and core infrastructure.

Welcome to the era of smart B2B. The boardroom, the warehouse, and the balance sheet will never look the same.