Magazines Archives - 2009 July

Priorities in supply-chain management, 2009-10
Story 6 - Market Info

A lot can happen in the space of one year. On 9 October 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached an all-time high of 14,279. One year later, the index was down almost 40%, hovering in the 8,200- 8,800 range.

A diminished flow of credit has dragged the consumer-market sectors into a recession. Several factors indicate that the downturn may be with us for a while and will directly impact the way organisations run their supply chains:

Consumer confidence is at a historic low. Plummeting home prices have left the average consumer feeling extremely pessimistic about future prospects.

Retail sales are down. Sales through key shopping seasons and holidays have been lacklustre. There is more inventory in the channel than ever before.

Heavy job losses. Economies around the world continue to face rising levels of unemployment.

While these are indeed serious issues, consumer-market firms realise that a downturn always leads to recovery, while offering companies an opportunity to recalibrate their operations.

Given the challenging economic environment in 2009 and organisations’ intentions for austerity in investments, KPMG offers the following supply-chain viewpoints for 2009-10.

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