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 [...]
January 7th, 2010 by Alex Coté
Retailers and their suppliers are starting to report the final numbers from the 2009 holiday shopping season. Initial sales reports look promising – a welcome sign of relief for the top line after a year of uncertain consumer demand. As telling will be the bottom line numbers due out at the end of the month [...]
December 2nd, 2009 by Alex Coté
Last month we reported a break from a normal, historical seasonal cycle in the Cortera Supply Chain Index – payments between stakeholders had slowed after 4 months of improving conditions — and posed the question: Why the early jump in the SCI? Normally we see this kind of jump in the November and December months [...]
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 13th, 2009 by Jim Swift
A few weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal explained how small companies are getting paid more slowly by their large company customers while those same large companies are forcing the little guys to pay faster. Well, Cortera’s data is showing that the little guys are getting paid more slowly by their small business customers, too.
October 7th, 2009 by Alex Coté
As covered in past Cortera SCI reports, confidence in sales normally spurs companies to grow inventories with the belief that they will be able to move those goods in the future. Cash flow to suppliers tends to tightly match the demand for their goods by the end customer. In a healthy economy companies are paying [...]
June 8th, 2009 by Jim Swift
The flow of money through the supply chain is as crucial as the flow of goods. While the flow of goods is driven by sales, the flow of money is largely influenced by a company’s confidence that those sales will continue. Strong confidence in sales normally spurs companies to invest in growth initiatives. On the [...]
