Integrating Financial Technology with Inventory Management: Enhancing Cash Flow and Supply Chain Efficiency in Indian SMEs

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-772-9_19How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Financial Technology; FinTech Adoption; Inventory Management Efficiency; Cash Flow Optimization; Supply Chain Efficiency; Indian SMEs; Structural Equation Modeling

Abstract

The combined impact of Financial Technology (FinTech) Adoption on Supply Chain Efficiency, Cash Flow Optimisation, and Inventory Management Efficiency among Indian SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) is systematically examined in this paper. Despite the growing relevance of FinTech in developing market, minimal study has measured its cascading effect across operational and supply chain dimensions in the Indian SME context. Employing primary data obtained from 300 SME professionals who work in the manufacturing, retail, and distribution sectors, the study formulates and tests a conceptual framework based on the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) and the Resource-Based View (RBV). Jamovi statistical software was used to do structural equation modelling (SEM). The outcome proved that FinTech penetration significantly enhances Inventory Management Efficiency (β = 0.591, p < .001), which in turn improves Cash Flow Optimization (β = 0.525, p < .001). FinTech adoption also exerts a direct positive effect on Cash Flow Optimization (β = 0.238, p = 0.001), and Cash Flow Optimization significantly drives Supply Chain Efficiency (β = 0.568, p < .001). The mediation analysis confirms that Inventory Management Efficiency partially mediates the relationship between FinTech adoption and cash flow performance. The study contributes to the FinTech and SME literature by empirically validating an integrated chain of effects from digital financial transformation to operational and supply chain outcomes in an emerging market context. The outcomes provide valuable recommendations for financial institutions, governments, and SME practitioners seeking to improve SME resilience and performance through digital innovation.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Kruti Vaibhav Dave
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/07
TI  - Integrating Financial Technology with Inventory Management: Enhancing Cash Flow and Supply Chain Efficiency in Indian SMEs
BT  - Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Innovations and Challenges in Financial Technology (ICICFT 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 231
EP  - 246
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-772-9_19
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-772-9_19
ID  - Dave2026
ER  -