Julie Fraser executive brief: Global supply and demand - Meeting challenges, finding opportunity

Globalization has transformed manufacturing and its supply chains—and not just for major multi-national companies.  Most small and medium businesses have felt some effects of the strengthening global economy directly on their business. Pricing pressure from low-cost offshore competitors is a pervasive issue. Nearly every manufacturer is facing rising energy and raw materials costs, such as metals and oil. These impacts of globalization are both challenging and unavoidable. The more important question is: are you finding opportunity in the global economy as well?

Opportunities certainly exist for manufacturing and wholesale companies, even relatively small ones. The most obvious one is to sell into these growing markets outside the US. Another opportunity is to source materials, parts and sub-products from outside the US. By finding lower cost materials, it may be easier to compete without moving operations offshore.  As the Internet has taken hold as a way to find suppliers, going global—as either a buyer or a seller—has become increasingly feasible for all sizes of companies.

Every company must learn how to meet the challenges of global business, and many will find that seizing the opportunity available helps counteract the downside.  Smaller industrial companies have the agility to succeed in this complex market, but they must understand the challenge, identify the opportunity, plan carefully and execute well.

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Executive brief: Global supply and demand - Meeting challenges, finding opportunity  (251KB)

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