Engineering suppliers face problems with late payment abroad

The Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) reports that almost 80 percent of UK engineering suppliers with contracts abroad are having problems with late payment. Buyers abroad are attempting to negotiate payment terms once a project has been completed and there are cases in which vendors have not received payment at all. In other cases, engineering suppliers only get paid once the overseas companies have been paid for their work.

ACE polled senior executives at more than 150 of its 800 member organisations for the report and found that, "Late payment has been the biggest single issue for ACE members working overseas. ACE would like to see the UK government work with its counterparts overseas to encourage good practice in the payment of bills."

The report has also brought to spotlight other issues UK engineering suppliers are faced with, mostly related to public procurement processes; smaller suppliers often being excluded from bidding on projects, inadequate notice of opportunities, inappropriate terms and conditions, and tender evaluations that focus more on price than on quality.

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