Payments throughout the supply chain stabilize as holidays come to a close
QUINCY, Mass. AND BOCA RATON, Fla. – January 7, 2010 — Cortera™, a community-driven business credit bureau, announced the publication of its December 2009 Supply Chain Index (SCI) report, a monthly index of accounts receivable (A/R) activities covering manufacturers, distributors & wholesalers, retailers, services, and transportation companies. Measuring payment activities of approximately 350,000 businesses, the December SCI showed that cash flow between stakeholders had stabilized and remained largely consistent with levels from November 2009. This marks the second consecutive month of conditions historically seen in the months following a holiday shopping season, but rarely seen during peak shopping months. The occurrence provides further evidence of retailers and suppliers reducing inventories in 2009 to better meet cautious sales targets – lessons learned following a tough 2008 holiday shopping season.
In recent years, payments and related cash flow throughout the supply chain slowed as various stakeholders took on more trade related debt as they built up seasonal inventories. In such *normal* conditions, payments increased and debt became more current in January, as fresh cash received from holiday sales in November and December was used to pay suppliers and quickly sped its way through the supply chain. In contrast, Cortera’s December 2009 SCI showed such behavior occurring during — not after — the holiday season. This provides further evidence to widespread reports that retailers were employing more cautious, upfront inventory strategies with little expectation of replenishing stock throughout the shopping season.
“Timelier than usual payments, during what is historically a period of high near-term debt, suggest that businesses were likely more conservative in their forecasting and thus kept production and related inventory lower than in past years. That, in turn, could reflect less of a strain on cash flow than is typically seen during the holiday shopping season,” said Jim Swift, president and CEO, Cortera. “In this environment, businesses should seek greater understanding of the risks associated with both customers and suppliers, since ripple effects through the supply chain impact the cash flow of companies down the line.”
The Cortera SCI tracks late payments against agreed upon terms, measuring late accounts receivable (Late A/R), excessively late accounts receivable (Late A/R >30 days), and overall average days beyond terms (Average DBT). A two year view of this data is available on Cortera’s website. The Cortera SCI report is published monthly.
About Cortera
In a sea of business information providers, Cortera is different. With over 15 years of experience serving finance professionals, Cortera combines premium business information and innovative tools with a fresh community approach to commercial credit. It represents the first community for small business credit reporting and a fundamentally new way to capture the collective insight of millions of financial transactions. As a result, small businesses can make smarter, informed decisions to ensure optimal cash flow while attracting more favorable payment terms from existing and potential business partners. Free credit reports on millions of businesses are available at http://start.cortera.com.
Media Contacts:
Craig VerColen
VerColen Communications
craig@vercolen.com
617-599-2180
Alex Coté
Cortera
857-403-1370
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