The gains companies made a few years ago have stalled according to REL, reflecting the difficulty of improving processes throughout the company. Now we are coming out of the worst of the recession, beware of:

• conditions slippage in supplier contract renewals
• sales striking deals with new customers
• procurement group shifting its focus from getting the longest payment terms possible on its purchases to getting the lowest price possible
• sales representatives trying to boost their numbers by offering to give customers more time to pay
• sales team intervening in the collections process by resolving a dispute without consulting with collections, and not within company working capital rules.

(Also see Ernie Caballero's 2013 tips.)