July 28th, 2010 by Alex Coté
The June 2010 Cortera Supply Chain Index (SCI) remains in record low territory dropping to 6.79 days beyond terms (DBT), its second lowest level since the index was started in January 2007 and the third consecutive month below 7 days—all good news. The lower the SCI the better as business confidence rises and businesses pay [...]
July 26th, 2010 by Alex Coté
As we do each month, today, we published our latest report of small business payment activities (see chart below). After watching as the gap grew between the payment habits of large and small businesses throughout the worst periods of the recession, both indices have now converged into a tighter pattern. The SBI peaked out in [...]
March 18th, 2010 by Alex Coté
Earlier this week, CNBC (via Reuters) published what looks to be great news when it comes to embattled consumers: Major credit card companies were reporting an improvement in delinquent payments. Simply put, their clients (aka The consumer), were suddenly paying their bills at a faster clip. And while reasons other than improved personal finances were [...]
February 22nd, 2010 by Alex Coté
Visit your local chamber of commerce website and you are bound to see list of reasons to join – the benefits of membership. Among the most common cited: networking, advocacy and public policy, awareness and marketing, and of course, local credibility. And now we can add another to the list – one uniquely relevant to [...]
January 27th, 2010 by Alex Coté
Good news, Nevada. You’re no longer the poster child for delinquent payments. While it’s a bit too soon to be popping the champagne – Nevada still ranks #1 in percentage of accounts 90+ days beyond term – Oregon businesses now own the dubious distinction of leading the nation in late payments. According to our latest [...]
November 20th, 2009 by Alex Coté
In case our posts haven’t given it away, we’ve been watching the small business credit crunch in earnest over the past year. While the central theme always seemed to be same – big lenders get increasingly stingy, leave Main Street mom-and-pops starving for credit – our own data and our conversations with credit pros suggested [...]
November 10th, 2009 by Alex Coté
The S&P is up over 50% since its March 2009 lows and yet for most of us, the leading indicators and large company earnings seem to defy the reality on Main Street. Newsweek offered a view on why such a gap may exist – and some indicators are emerging to focus on small business sentiment [...]
November 3rd, 2009 by Alex Coté
After four consecutive months of improvement in our Supply Chain Index numbers the October 2009 Report shows a reversal to levels not seen since early 2009. While this might be a cause for concern, this increase is likely part of a normal seasonal trend that we have tracked for several years now. Corporate slowing of [...]
October 29th, 2009 by Alex Coté
An article in BusinessWeek’s Turnaround Ace blog entitled “To Improve Cash Flow, Stall Payments to Vendors” is causing quite the reader negative reaction. The gist of the article: You should pay your vendors as slow as possible to help manage cash flow (in good time and bad). For the profiled company in the article they [...]
October 22nd, 2009 by Alex Coté
The good news: The vast majority of your customers and partners are paying their bills on time. The bad news: The delinquent minority is only getting worse. Having access to the A/R activities of millions of businesses provides us with a unique view into the nation’s cash flow. And since the beginning of the year, [...]
