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U.S. companies’ working capital performance is at its strongest since 2008, according toThe Hackett Group。但是，这在很大程度上是公司通过延长付款条款将其营运资金负担转向供应商的结果。2017年的平均应付日期为56.7天，比2016年的3.4天。
此数据来自Hackett Group的2018 U.S. Working Capital Surveyof the 1,000 largest non-financial companies with headquarters in the U.S. The four key metrics used in gauging companies’ working capital performance were days sales outstanding (DSO); days inventory outstanding (DIO); days payables outstanding (DPO); and cash conversion cycle (CCC).
2017年，DSO增加了4％，连续第四年标志着这项指标所做的，而DIO增加0.6％。公司的改善营运资本表现可归因于去年的DPO增加6％。对于许多基准领导者来说，付款条件已被拉伸到90多天。
“许多公司使用的主要策略improve working capital performance is simply to hold back payments to suppliers, in some cases extending payment terms up to 120 days,” says Craig Bailey, associate principal at The Hackett Group. “Unfortunately, when companies extend payment terms it has significant impact on the DSO performance of their suppliers.”
实际上，DPO性能已达到十年高，由具有更多讨价还价权力的行业，与其核心供应商（如汽车，零售和化学品）为驱动。相比之下，航空，工程和酒店行业在扩展其付款条款方面取得不太成功。
The average cash conversion cycle (CCC), or DSO + DIO – DPO, was 33.8 days, marking an improvement of 1.5 days or 4% over 2016. Average CCC had reached a high of 37.3 days in 2015, and this latest number comes close to the 33.4-day CCC of 2008.
最高与典型的表演者
There is a significant and growing gap between companies with the best working capital performance and average performers, the Hackett Group report shows. The average CCC for the top quartile of performers is only 16.7 days, in contrast to the median CCC of 47.5 days.
同样，顶部四分位数夸大DSO和DIO和更高的DPO。虽然中位数DSO为47.7天，但顶级表演者在29.1天内收集客户，近三周更快。反过来，他们向自己的供应商支付大约三周慢于中位数公司（66.9天与45.4）。顶级表演者不到中位数表演者库存的一半，DIO为23.9与57.7。
Source: The Hackett Group
As the chart above shows, the gap between top and median performers is increasing, particularly when it comes to inventory. The Hackett Group estimates that inventory represents a $443 billion improvement opportunity for companies that are not top performers.
Opting for Quick Fixes?
Two other key factors behind U.S. companies’ improved working capital performance are rising interest rates and high M&A activity, according to the report.
“多年来，我们终于看到了利率上升，而且正在驾驶更多公司来看待营运资金的改善，”Bailey说。“M＆A的记录水平也开始在成本和现金上增加重点。因此，我们看到营运资金表现的重大改善。“
然而,债务也在不断上升,增加了10.% last year. Bailey suggests that most companies seem to be looking for quick fixes in improving working capital.
Source: The Hackett Group
公司正在承担债务资金收购（美国在2016年至2017年增加14％）。随着上述图表所示，在本十年的过程中，现金流量与债务的比率一直稳步萎缩。
此外，公司往往不会维持其改善的营运资本绩效。只有三分之一的公司改善了他们的CCC三年设法维持了这一表现五年。此外，只有7％的设法这样做七年。
特定行业的营运资本表现
在Hackett集团分析的14个行业中，计算机硬件行业已看到最佳的现金转换周期改善（-88％），而CCC性能最为显着下降（+ 45％）。以下是其他行业在2017年的人。
Industries with improving CCC performance include the following:
- 饮料（-46％）
- Motor vehicles (-33%)
- 食品和订书钉零售（-26％）
- 油气（-23％）
- Utilities (-23%)
- 电信（-18％）
Industries with worsening CCC performance include the following:
- Chemicals (+19%)
- 酒店，餐馆和娱乐（+ 14％）
- 汽车部件（+ 11％）
- Personnel services (+11%)
- Electrical products (+10%)
- Medical specialities and services (+9%)
The full report can be foundhere。
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