Government departments are also large users of commercial credit for regulating businesses and in collecting taxes.
They can be large public corporations like U.S.A. headquartered, Dun & Bradstreet Inc. (traded on the New York Stock Exchange, established in 1842) with thousands of employees and offices and correspondents around the world.
[2] They can also be smaller private operations that market unbiased scores, such as Global Credit Services, Rapid Ratings International, and Ansonia Credit Data or one man operations serving a limited number of local and foreign clients in a small country.
Suppliers are now requested to supply frequent aged trial balance down loads on all their accounts receivable to commercial credit reporting agencies.
As this flood of information accumulates over many years trends are identified and it becomes like a pulse tracking cash flow within a business.
These very comprehensive, detailed reports, can with mathematical equations be reduced down to two digit scores that now allow for automated credit approvals and rejections.
Retailers who can not get credit from suppliers are at a serious competitive disadvantage if they are required to pay for their inventories in cash on delivery.