A former coworker mentioned a prior job at a major food manufacturer. Apparently somebody realized they could mail the checks from across the country and still adhere to their payment terms. The extra day or two in the mail was worth pretty big money for the minimal effort required.

I understand the rationale behind cash flow management, but I've always been a bit annoyed at the games around payment terms. It just feels like a chain of all companies lagging payment to suppliers while expecting (or hoping) for prompt payment from their customers. I'm curious what the world would look like if everyone was expected/required to pay within 2 weeks of services rendered?

You might have payment terms agreed upon, but a megacorp has no issue delaying payment an extra 60 days and will cut a check for the original amount without agreed upon late fees included. Then a smaller company is left trying to manage the relationship after their margins are arbitrarily slashed.