1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136 
Waiting on payment
Page 16
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
In a recession, no business can afford to wait on payments. But how can hauliers take precautions against late payments?
Words: Roger Brown
LAST WEEK, the south-coast haulier Startruck Logistics ceased trading, admitting the collapse of four key customers led to its demise.
This case highlights the fear behind not just a failure to pay, but the lack of cash flow that comes from late payment, particularly since the firm believed a change to its banking terms also contributed to its collapse.
Hauliers across the country now admit that some customers are looking to delay payments, and trading this year is becoming a matter of dealing with it.
Mark Jackson, operations director at Pollock Scotrans, which is based in Bathgate, West Lothian, says the haulier always carries out credit checks but finds some firms will seize opportunity to delay payments.
One or two of our smaller customers have gone under, but the right approach is to proactively manage our credit control process," he says.
"The trick is to stay positive, get on with it and work at holding on to our customers. We've been in this situation before and we'll come through it again."
A Road Haulage Association study in February revealed that 52% of 325 members had customers who were taking "significantly longer to pay': than the same time 12 months ago.
According to a report from the Open University Business School, the issue of cash flow and debtor payment has become the major issue for small to medium-sized firms.
Dai Owen (pictured), owner of haulier JD Owen Transport, based in North Wales, says his firm credit checks clients and his daughter, Carol, who is the office manager, keeps a tight grip on credit control.
"At the moment, it is not too bad for our company, although a firm recently went bust on us for £7,000': he says. "It's a bad time for haulage because of the state of the economy."
Willie Oliver, boss of Oliver's Transport in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, adds: "One or two of our customers have gone out of business, but we have not been hit for too much at the moment': In the latest British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) monthly survey of 250 UK businesses in all sectors, 61% said they were being "squeezed by late payments': •