Companies are increasingly exposed to greater competition at the present time. Especially emerging markets like China, India and Brazil are pushing more and more on global markets. These countries can produce much cheaper because of their political and social circumstances. Therefore, European as well as American corporations have to break new grounds and develop more modern ways of handling their businesses in order to remain competitive. Especially in producing companies it´s important to reduce the working capital, because these industries tend to have a high rate of working capital. Because of these circumstances companies limit their financial flexibility and therefore their ability to react quickly to changing conditions in the global markets. The term working capital describes the company´s short-term balance sheet items. These are assets which can be liquidated within a normal business cycle. The three main components are stocks, receivables and payables. The most widely used method of working capital analysis is the cash conversion cycle and its key figures. The usage of these tools makes it possible to compare itself with the competition and optimization potentials can be localized. By applying the analyzing methods presented in this work, it is discovered that the biggest potential for optimization in the Palfinger AG can be found in the areas of payables and stocks. After taking into account the prevailing conditions in the Group, optimization measures are derived. In the area of debt management different instruments of the Supply Finance concept are identified as effective measures for improvement. In inventory management automated C-parts procurement and the optimization of batch sizes, reorder levels and order intervals are commonly considered as the most effective strategies for improvement.