They will help Previse as it rolls out its artificial intelligence technology which allows multinational buyers to ensure all their suppliers, including SMEs, can be paid immediately on receipt of invoice and end the scourge of late payments.

David Tyler has served as Chairman of Sainsbury’s since 2009. He brings his broad and extensive experience to Previse, following both executive and non-executive roles across the consumer, retail, business services and financial services sectors. He has significant experience of advising companies with long supply chains having served as a Non-Executive Director on the boards of Burberry, Experian and multinational consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser.

He will be joined on the advisory board by Alexandra Prigent-Labeis, who advises CEOs and politicians, including Emmanuel Macron, on communication and leadership skills, and John Gildersleeve, chairman of leading property company British Land and deputy chairman of internet service provider TalkTalk.

Following the announcement of significant grant funding for Previse from the Scottish Government, the company is also announcing Gillian Docherty, CEO of The Data Lab, is joining the advisory board. Gillian is a leading voice in Scottish data science and will help Previse as it strengthens its connections to the country’s academic and business communities.

David Tyler said: “The length of time it can take for suppliers to be paid hurts not only them, but the large companies buying their products and services as well.

“By using cutting edge technology, the Previse team have found a way to streamline the payments process for multinationals so that suppliers are paid instantly on receipt of invoice. This will bring benefits to the entire supply chain and I am delighted to be an advisor to a company which I believe has a bright future.”

Lengthy payment terms and the prevalence of slow payments by large buyers, which affects three in five SME suppliers, cause 50,000 UK SMEs to close each year1. Previse’s artificial intelligence technology allows even very small suppliers to receive payment the day they issue their invoice by instantly identifying if an invoice is correct and allowing a funder to pay the supplier immediately based on this information.

John Gildersleeve, said: “The enemy here is process. For many businesses, it has simply been too hard to change the processes required to pay fast enough. Previse gives multinationals the tools and real incentives to pay all their suppliers, even the smallest, instantly.”

Alexandra Prigent-Labeis said: ‘For executives who need to increase revenue or reduce costs, Previse is a trade finance platform that maximises your programme revenue and supports your smallest suppliers. Previse creates and shares value from invoice data, using artificial intelligence, so that multinational buyers can benefit from having all their suppliers paid instantly.”

Paul Christensen, CEO of Previse, said: “I am proud to be able to welcome our new board members who represent incredible senior experience across such a wide range of industries with significant supply chains. I think this shows the deep understanding across industry that slow payments are a real problem, and confidence in our approach to tackling the problem.”