Creditors
Creditors are people we owe money to. In supply chain terms, this term applies mainly to our suppliers. Many organisations think that lengthy payment terms to suppliers maximise credit and therefore improve the balance sheet. The down-side of this thinking is that suppliers factor in the credit terms to their prices, and their own balance sheets become saddled with debt.
Plan material requirements and distribution requirements to maximise flow of parts through the supply chain as needed.
Discipline goods inwards to check delivery date, quality and correct prices. There is no point in starting the credit cycle early.
If the supplier is a smaller company, it may be that the cost of capital is higher than it is for your company. It may be worthwhile to consider negotiating with the supplier to pay early, and therefore getting a share of the money that the supplier is paying in interest to the bank.