On, the global sportswear company, has increased its investment portfolio to over USD $600 million after deploying a machine learning forecasting platform, unlocking an additional USD $350 million in previously underutilised cash. The approach was enabled by integrating Palm's AI-powered treasury solution with On's existing systems.
Cash visibility
On operates in more than 80 countries, with hundreds of bank accounts and a high volume of global transactions. This operational complexity made it challenging for the company's treasury team to maintain accurate and timely forecasts. Traditionally, the treasury maintained elevated operating balances to ensure liquidity, which meant large amounts of cash remained unused and did not contribute to strategic investments.
By implementing Palm's platform, On eliminated its reliance on manual processes for transaction categorisation and future cash flow prediction. According to the company, the solution provided a consolidated view of past and expected cash flows and achieved more than 90% categorisation accuracy almost immediately.
Risk reduction
On's treasury team previously managed emergency funding events roughly twice per month, typically due to unpredictable outflows such as tax payments. The new forecasting tools enabled the team to anticipate such requirements more effectively, resulting in nearly zero occurrences of emergency funding. The clearer picture provided by the AI-driven forecasts also enabled On to redeploy capital that was previously held as a liquidity buffer.
Lucía Galán Cáceres, Head of Group Treasury at On, said the change has shifted the treasury team's focus and routine.
"As a Treasurer, you're very used to answering the 'do we have enough cash?' question. It's been amazing to be able to add the 'are we investing enough?' question to our daily cash management routine. Transparency wasn't enough - we needed clarity to change the way we think about our cash, and Palm has definitely enabled that," said Galán Cáceres.
Treasury transformation
The transformation at On reflects two trends affecting global treasury operations, according to Gurjit Pannu, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Palm. Firstly, there is increasing integration between strategic finance functions and day-to-day treasury activities. Volatile markets have necessitated that firms integrate financial planning and liquidity management more closely.
Secondly, Pannu noted a growing preference for lighter, modular treasury systems rather than full-scale implementations. Quick-to-deploy solutions focusing on core needs, such as cash forecasting, are attracting strong interest across the market.
"Treasury teams at high-growth companies are drowning in data but starved for actionable insights. On's results demonstrate what's possible when you transform visibility into genuine forecast confidence," said Pannu.
Operational efficiency
The adoption of automated forecasting at On reduced the reporting cycle from days to minutes. With more accurate and timely information, the treasury team made confident decisions about moving funds between accounts and subsidiaries globally. The increase in investable cash coincided with growing profits from On's core business operations.
The Palm system categorised transactions and generated forecasts by combining historical data with information about confirmed future flows. This provided greater clarity and supported On's decision to double its deployable investment capital. The company maintains connectivity to its existing Kyriba treasury infrastructure while relying on Palm for intelligence and analysis.
