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Blue Sky Capital Strategies, LLC awarded Leasing and Financial Services agreement with Premier Inc

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NEW YORK, Aug. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Blue Sky Capital Strategies, LLC, a specialized advisory firm in equipment leasing and equipment financing announced its continued focus on helping organizations reduce costs, improve financial flexibility and mitigate risk through experienced lease structuring, contract negotiations and financing advisory services has been awarded a national group purchasing agreement for Leasing and Financial Services with Premier, Inc. effective July 1, 2026.

“Most organizations are paying more than necessary because equipment finance agreements often contain negotiable pricing, structure and term components that are not fully optimized,” said Jim Cross, co-CEO of Blue Sky Capital Strategies. “Blue Sky’s advisory team brings over 25 years of advisory experience, analytical discipline, contract lifecycle management strategies and real-time market intelligence to help clients achieve significant savings, with historical engagements delivering an average savings of 20%.”

“Hospitals are facing one of the tightest capital environments in a decade, and equipment refresh decisions on imaging, surgical robotics, and lab automation are getting deferred or financed under terms that don’t provide the lowest total cost for the asset lifecycle,” said Jim Cross, co-CEO of Blue Sky Capital Strategies. “Premier members will now have access to the same lease structuring, real time market intelligence and contract management advisory services that we provide for our clients — applied at the scale of Premier’s alliance.”

Blue Sky Capital Strategies supports clients by reviewing lease and finance proposals, identifying cost‑saving opportunities, evaluating supplier and lender terms, and negotiating financing structures that best align with business and balance sheet objectives. Its advisory process is designed to improve transparency, strengthen negotiating leverage and significantly reduce total contract cost.

The firm’s experience spans equipment leasing strategy, lease vs purchase analysis, contract review, supplier coordination and savings optimization. By combining market experience with proprietary real time market intelligence, Blue Sky helps clients uncover savings opportunities that typically remain hidden in complex leasing and financing agreements.

What Member Health Systems Gain Access To

Through the partnership, Premier alliance members can engage Blue Sky for:

Lease structuring and RFP support for medical equipment acquisitions, including imaging, surgical, laboratory, and IT capitalFunding Source contract negotiations across captive, bank, and independent equipment finance sourcesASC 842 lease accounting analysis, classification support, and reporting workflowsTotal cost of contract (TCC) modeling to support lease-versus-purchase decisions and value analysis committee reviewsEnd-of-lease management including buyout analysis, return condition reviews, and re-lease structuringIndustry-leading liability management software includes centralized document repository and financial analysis tools.

Why It Matters Now

U.S. healthcare systems are confronting shrinking margins and rising labor costs, deferred capital projects, increased equipment costs and elevated borrowing costs. Equipment finance — historically, a procurement back-office function — has become a meaningful lever for protecting operating margins and accelerating clinical capability investments.

Independent advisory addresses a structural gap: most equipment lease terms are negotiated between the health system and the captive, independents, and bank lessors with limited buyer-side benchmarking. Blue Sky’s role under the Premier partnership is to bring institutional benchmarking, structuring and negotiating expertise with disciplined life cycle management to member-side decision-making.

Premier is a leading technology‑driven healthcare improvement company. Playing a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, Premier unites providers, suppliers and payers to make healthcare better with national scale, smarter with actionable intelligence and faster with novel technologies. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier offers integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, advisory services and other solutions in service of its mission to improve the health of communities.

About Blue Sky Capital Strategies, LLC

Blue Sky Capital Strategies, LLC is an advisory firm focused on equipment leasing, equipment financing and commercial contract optimization. The firm works with organizations seeking stronger pricing, better terms and more effective financing strategies for business‑critical equipment acquisitions. www.blue-sky.capital

Contact:
Jim Cross
***@bluskycapital.com

Photo(s):
https://www.prlog.org/13162657

Press release distributed by PRLog

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SOURCE Blue Sky Capital Strategies

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Guidepoint Relocates Shanghai Office to Strengthen Regional Presence

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SHANGHAI, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Guidepoint, a global pioneer in access to expert insight, today announced the relocation of its Shanghai office to the Bund Center on East Yan’an Road.

Building on more than a decade of sustained growth in China, the relocation positions Guidepoint in the heart of Shanghai’s business district, bringing the firm closer to the clients and partners it serves while providing a modern, collaborative workspace for its growing team.

“Research today has evolved beyond standalone expert calls to more connected, AI-enabled workflows,” said Michael Wang, Guidepoint’s Director and Head of China. “The new Shanghai office brings together capabilities across research, product innovation, compliance, and operations, reinforcing Guidepoint’s commitment to delivering source-backed insight through rigorous standards, transparency, and integrity.”

“Shanghai remains one of the world’s most influential centers for business and finance, connecting decision-makers across industries and markets,” said Chris Bonsi, Head of APAC. “This relocation reinforces our long-term commitment to the region and strengthens our ability to serve clients and attract top talent.”

As demand for expert-led, source-backed insight continues to grow, Guidepoint is focused on expanding its research capabilities by combining expert knowledge, proprietary content, and technology-enabled workflows to help clients move from uncertainty to conviction with greater speed and confidence.

About Guidepoint
Guidepoint provides real-time access to expert insights, combining human expertise with AI-powered research tools to deliver knowledge at scale. Backed by a global network of more than 2M+ subject-matter experts, Guidepoint equips institutional investors, consulting firms, and corporations with the context they need across companies, markets, and trends. Through live, asynchronous, and agentic workflows, Guidepoint embeds expert knowledge directly into decision-making, turning answers into action when timing matters most.

More on Guidepoint

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/guidepoint-relocates-shanghai-office-to-strengthen-regional-presence-302880268.html

SOURCE Guidepoint

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Reap Launches First Ever Managed Fraud and Risk Service for Card Programs

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Reap Sentry configures and manages fraud controls for clients’ card programs, eliminating the need for additional monitoring tools or in-house fraud specialists.

HONG KONG, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Reap, a global financial technology company that enables financial connectivity and access for businesses worldwide through stablecoin-enabled infrastructure, today announced the launch of Reap Sentry, a managed card fraud and risk service. Through Sentry, Reap manages a client’s end-to-end transaction risk management – from configuring fraud rules and screening authorisations in real time to investigating alerts, processing chargebacks, and reporting confirmed fraud to Visa. Clients do not need to build or license additional fraud-monitoring tools, or hire a dedicated fraud team.

Payment card fraud losses worldwide totalled USD 33.41 billion in 2024 (The Nilson Report, January 2026), tied to global card volume of USD 51.920 trillion (The Nilson Report, January 2026). Every card in circulation is a live payment instrument, with authorisation decisions made in milliseconds. Fraud must be stopped at the point of authorisation, not afterwards, as the knock-on costs of fraud can often exceed the value of the fraud itself. Meanwhile, evolving attack patterns make fraud management an ongoing operational function.

Built on the technology within Reap’s issuing portfolio, Sentry combines the fraud policy, tooling, and day-to-day operations required to manage transaction risk effectively. Having issued millions of cards over eight years of card issuance, Reap brings to Sentry controls informed by fraud patterns observed across its entire issuing portfolio. These controls are tailored to each client’s business profile, including its cardholder segments, geographic footprint, and stated risk appetite.

Sentry conducts ongoing screening and declines suspected fraud in real time at authorisation; triages and investigates alerts; and continuously updates controls as new threats emerge, including BIN attacks and merchant breaches. The service also processes and represents chargebacks submitted by clients, reports confirmed fraud, and provides program performance reporting on an agreed cadence. Controls are reviewed and refined as each program evolves, without requiring client intervention. Clients can integrate with Sentry through a single Reap API.

Reap protects the authorisation layer it operates and observes, while clients retain responsibility for the cardholder relationship and key first-party fraud entry points, including onboarding, identity verification and account access.

“Most companies launching a card programme have to build a fraud function from day one. Doing so requires specialist tooling, dedicated expertise and several months of preparation before they can safely issue a single card, by which point the threat landscape may already have shifted. That is rarely how a team wants its first months to go.” said Harris Leow, Head of Product, Reap. “Sentry takes on that entire card fraud function: our controls, data and specialists, tailored to each card programme.”

Sentry is available to new Reap card issuing clients and to existing clients at contract renewal, on Reap’s own API.

To find out more about Sentry, visit our website: https://reap.global/products/sentry-fraud-risk-management

About Reap
Reap is a global financial technology company that enables financial connectivity and access for businesses worldwide through stablecoin-enabled infrastructure. We transform the financial landscape through more efficient money movement by merging traditional finance with digital assets, bridging disparate economies and connecting key financial markets.

Reap was an early leader in Asia to incorporate stablecoins into our solutions. In 2025, Reap processed billions in stablecoin-funded transaction flows. From stablecoin-enabled corporate cards to cross-border payments, we streamline financial operations and empower companies to scale with our integrated business accounts and embedded finance solutions.

Founded and headquartered in Hong Kong, Reap employs 300 people worldwide. More information about Reap can be found at reap.global.

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SOURCE Reap

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Envision Energy Powers Morocco’s First Large-Scale Battery Storage System at OCP’s Benguerir Mining Site

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BENGUERIR, Morocco, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Envision Energy, a global leader in green technology, today announced the successful energisation of Morocco’s first large-scale lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery energy storage system at OCP Green Energy’s Benguerir mining site. The 25 MW / 125 MWh system was supplied and commissioned by Envision Energy under a contract signed in late 2025, and is now undergoing testing before entering commercial operation.

Envision Energy provided the full storage system and led the commissioning work, integrating the BESS with the site’s solar generation, grid conditions and industrial load profile. The system is designed to shift surplus solar power from daytime generation to peak consumption hours, reducing the site’s peak-hour electricity bill by approximately 25%.

With five hours of storage capacity, the BESS functions as an industrial energy management tool rather than a short-duration grid asset. It is supported by USD 20 million from the Clean Technology Fund, managed through the African Development Bank Group, and is designed for a 25-year lifetime with daily charge-discharge cycles. For OCP, the value lies not in battery capacity, but in the system’s ability to reduce peak-hour costs over a 25-year operating life.

“The successful energisation of Morocco’s first large-scale battery storage project demonstrates the reliability, flexibility and cost-effectiveness of integrated renewable-plus-storage solutions in industrial applications,” said John Lee, General Manager of Envision Energy for the Middle East and Africa. “Envision is proud to be part of this landmark project and to contribute green technology to Morocco’s energy transition.”

As highlighted in OCP Group’s official press release announcing the milestone, Omar Kadir, CEO of OCP Green Energy, said: Storage is the natural extension of our energy strategy. It allows us to reconcile the variable output of renewable energy with the continuous needs of our industrial platforms, while strengthening the reliability of our energy supply. Beyond OCP Group’s own needs, this technology paves the way for a more harmonious integration of renewable energy into the national power system. By bringing greater flexibility and resilience to the grid, it will help accelerate the deployment of renewable capacity.”

The project marks a significant milestone for battery storage and industrial decarbonisation in Morocco. It supports the country’s target of achieving 52% of installed electricity capacity from renewable sources by 2030 and serves as a benchmark for industrial decarbonisation across Africa.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/envision-energy-powers-moroccos-first-large-scale-battery-storage-system-at-ocps-benguerir-mining-site-302884224.html

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