Yesterday, I posted a piece about how a hospital\u2019s new purchasing policy hurt a local pizza shop\u2019s sales. And that got me thinking\u2026not only should a company\u2019s senior management know what drives, and can impact, demand for its products, but that company\u2019s procurement team should know that as well.<\/p>\n
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Consider another example\u2026Campbell\u2019s Soup today reported that its soup sales were up in the most recently completed quarter. An article on Yahoo Finance says that \u201csoup sales were up as more people prepared their meals at home\u201d likely due to the bad economy curtailing eating out budgets.<\/p>\n
What about Ford\u2019s August 2009 sales? According to an article in the Washington Post, Ford\u2019s August vehicle sales were \u201cup 17 percent compared to August of 2008, juiced by the government\u2019s cash-for-clunkers program.\u201d<\/p>\n
Think about GameStop \u2013 a video game retailer \u2013 whose same store sales in the last quarter plummeted over 14% according to an article in the eCommerce Times. In that article, GameStop\u2019s CEO is quoted as saying \u201cdue to the effects of the recession and strong prior year comparisons, the video game industry experienced a sharp decline in consumer spending during the quarter.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of these changes \u2013 both positive and negative \u2013 are a result of the shaky economic situation we\u2019ve been in for the past year plus. Hopefully, each of these companies\u2019 procurement teams anticipated the recession and adjusted their strategies appropriately.<\/p>\n
But, as all recessions do, this one looks like it is coming to an end and various demand drivers (such as the now-concluded cash-for-clunkers program) will change as well. Does that mean that people will eat less soup? Will they buy fewer cars? Purchase more video games?<\/p>\n
The procurement professionals at these companies need to know this. And you? You should know:<\/p>\n
Get your answers now. Then, next quarter or next year, you\u2019ll be able to demonstrate how you\u2019ve thought strategically and helped the company outperform its competitors in a time of change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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