FM Conway and Kier Integrated Services Ltd have been reinstated to the Prompt Payment Code after overhauling their payment practices
The companies proactively engaged with the team at the Office of the Small Business Commissioner and implemented plans to meet the Prompt Payment Code’s standards.
Signatories to the code must agree to pay 95% of all invoices within 60 days and work towards adopting 30 days as standard, to avoid smaller businesses in the supply chain suffering financially.
FM Conway Ltd reported 93% of its invoices were paid within 60 days from March 2020 – May 2020 and 95% for the month of June 2020.
The company has also introduced a new internal process with the engagement of its suppliers to reduce the number of queries. Changes have been made to reduce credit terms for a number of suppliers as appropriate, and internal KPI’s have been established to specifically target the reduction of ‘holds’ on invoices to ensure they are approved for payment in a timely manner.
Kier Integrated Services Ltd reported 90% of its invoices were paid within 60 days over two consecutive months following improvements to their procurement processes.
The company has worked proactively with its supply chain, prioritising payment profiles while maximising internal end-to-end process improvements to speed up payments over the year.
Providing healthy cash flow
Interim small business commissioner, Philip King said: “I am encouraged to see FM Conway Ltd, Kier Integrated Services Ltd and Shell (UK) Ltd improve payment performance across their supply chains and meeting the Code criteria, especially during these unprecedented conditions which have impacted payment processes.
“Code signatories must practice fair treatment of their suppliers and honour their payment commitments.
“Prompt payment practice is vital in providing healthy cash flow to smaller businesses to help them survive and this is one of the most important factors that will enable the UK economy to recover quickly as we come out of the pandemic.”
Mark Goldsworthy, chief executive at FM Conway Ltd said: “FM Conway Ltd is committed to the fair treatment of its suppliers and continues to strive for improved payment performance across its supplier base.
“By working collaboratively with its supply chain, FM Conway Ltd is pleased with the progress achieved despite processing challenges caused by Covid-19 restrictions.”
Andrew Davies, chief executive at Kier Integrated Services Ltd said: “Over the last year, we have taken decisive action to improve our payment practices by working with BEIS and the office of the small business commissioner and we are pleased that these steps have resulted in Kier Integrated Services Ltd being reinstated to the Prompt Payment Code.
“We remain committed to working collaboratively and proactively with our supply chain partners, and during these challenging times we have ensured our payment practices have remained consistent and unaffected.”
