Taking Suppliers to the Cleaners, Tide-ing up Working Capital

P&G, Big Companies Pinch Suppliers on Payments - WSJ.com: "P&G is actually late to this game. It currently pays its bills on average within 45 days, faster than the 60 to 100 days that other consumer products makers and large companies in other industries generally take, according to industry experts. The company is looking to move its payment terms to 75 days and recently started negotiations with suppliers, people familiar with the matter said.

To help suppliers deal with the changes, P&G is working with banks that will offer to advance cash to suppliers after 15 days for a fee, some of the people said. The changes are expected to be phased in over three years and ultimately could affect hundreds of companies, the people said.

Across industries, corporations like DuPont Co. DD +1.02% and J.C. Penney Co. JCP +0.33% are trying to reduce the amount of cash tied up in day-to-day operations by taking more time to pay suppliers, collecting faster from customers or reducing manufacturing and inventory costs."

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