Assessing the Efficacy of Genetic Algorithm-Based Heuristics in Optimizing Working Capital Through Flexible Cash Receipt Scheduling

In recent years, scientific research has focused mainly on the management of financial flows. This management is inherently complex, since the delivery or receipt of goods or services does not necessarily lead to immediate payment or receipt. Desynchronization between these flows has a significant impact on working capital. Various supply chain strategies can be deployed to improve working capital. Companies can choose to optimize inventory management, reduce DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) by encouraging customers to make early payments, or increase DSO (Days Payment Outstanding) by extending payment terms to suppliers. In this article, we explore the last two strategies for improving working capital performance. We represent them using a mixed linear program and design a meta-heuristic based on the genetic algorithm to solve them. By implementing this method, we carry out various experiments with the aim of acquiring data on financial performance.