Supply Chain Payment Performance: Modest Improvement of 3 Points in 2023

The Comparison

• 2022: Analyzed data from 68 companies, resulting in an average payment performance score of 57.4 out of 100. This suggests a considerable lag in payment cycles across a broad sample of the supply chain.

• 2023: The study encompassed 55 companies and yielded an average score of 60.4 out of 100, signaling a marginal advancement in payment practices compared to the previous year. While representing positive movement, it is important to assess whether this improvement is statistically significant or simply a fluctuation.

What This Means

The 3-point increase, from 57.4 to 60.4, reflects only a small, single-digit improvement in payment performance, potentially indicating that fundamental issues causing payment delays remain persistent within supply chains. Businesses should continue to monitor and address these concerns, tools such as this late payment calculator can provide helpful insight to late invoice situations. Further investigation is warranted to understand the specific drivers behind this gradual shift, which could include factors such as improved dispute resolution processes, or a greater focus on supplier relationships.

One-line summary: Supply chain payment performance saw a minor uplift from an average of 57.4 (out of 100) across 68 companies in 2022, to 60.4 (out of 100) across 55 companies in 2023.