The distribution and delivery sector is clearly outperforming the UK average when it comes to payment practices. But while the average PaymentCheck score of 60.7 suggests a healthier payment environment than the UK average of 50.0, the huge gulf between the best and worst payers indicates severe inconsistency; there are clearly haves and have-nots amongst suppliers to the sector's biggest players. A small sample size of four companies in Northern Ireland skews the average high here, but London's healthy average is far more credible with a sample of thirty-nine businesses.
It's worth noting that Northern Ireland appears to be the best-paying region, with an average score of 68.0. However, the incredibly small sample size of only four companies diminishes the reliability of this statistic, so we can't read too much into it. With a much larger sample size (39 companies), London's 67.5 average is much more substantial - these companies appear to be prioritising their supplier relationships.
Suppliers might want to calculate the potential cost of late payments using a late payment calculator.
Although the sector's average PaymentCheck score is 10.7 points higher than the UK average, the bottom five companies' scores are less than half of that, showcasing a real problem for suppliers to these businesses.
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