Gregory Borel shares a company post that outlines how to reduce energy costs.  The energy landscape is undergoing rapid transformation becoming more sustainable but increasingly complex. Meanwhile, commodity markets are becoming more volatile, resulting in record-high energy prices.  Never has it been more important for businesses to develop an energy strategy to mitigate and manage – and take advantage of – these uncertainties and complexities.  The proposed strategy of different players can be categorised according to the graph below. Four…

Ian Tidswell shares an article co-written by Ofer Levi that shares four reasons customers will accept cost increases. As China cleans up its manufacturing companies, some raw material prices are increasing or are scarce. While never easy, passing on cost increases can be done with a simple explanation, communicated clearly to sales and customers. The amount of increase possible will depend on the competitive context. Don’t forget to use your other commercial policy levers! China is working to reduce it’s…

  Eric Hiller shares an article on the top mistakes made in product cost management and design to value.  Product cost management (PCM) and design-to-value (DtV) are two areas in companies capable of delivering the greatest of impact, but are sadly prone to the biggest blunders by leadership. Eric A. Hiller, the managing partner of Hiller Associates and a specialist in product development and procurement, has unveiled some of the crucial errors that even the elite executives tend to commit…

  In this short video from Andrew Hone’s company identifies why only one in 25 cost-cutting programs work.     The video can also be accessed on Zenithstrategy.com …

  Eric Hiller exposes the biggest blunders leaders make when it comes to product cost management and design to value.  Product cost management (PCM) and design-to-value (DtV) are two areas in companies capable of delivering the greatest of impact, but are sadly prone to the biggest blunders by leadership. Trying to save one’s way to growth As great as product cost management and some of its sub disciplines like should-costing are at increasing your profit, but they will not grow…

  Eric Hiller recently published the first article in a series for Industry Week. This week, the article  focuses on how an executive (and other people who are not cost experts) can understand what the cost management team is communicating. We have all been in a meeting where miscommunication happens. One of the biggest challenges when dealing with analytics in business is that the more powerful the analytics, the harder it is to explain to other people not involved directly…

  In this detailed article, Surbhee Grover identifies the decision-making inputs and new market approaches that will be required to survive in the new economy. For entrepreneurs, coming out of COVID-19 isn’t the end of a crisis. It’s the beginning of a new way of thinking about their approach to product-market fit, financing, marketing and go-to-market strategies. And for some, will be a time to reflect on their personal approach to risk. The exponential pace of change to society will…

  Tobias Baer explains why the second-order effects of the disruption caused by the Coronavirus are what should concern risk managers the most. For risk managers, Covid-19 is both scary and a real-life test of our approach to risk management. As we are grappling with the virus and its fall-out, there are three sets of issues: the threat of the virus itself; the panic that it has caused; and lessons for operational risk management. The risk of the virus itself…

Shane Heywood provides an article that reveals how beer manufacturers are collaborating with smallholder farms to get a more secure supply chain, lower the cost of raw materials, and empower more households with income, and all in addition to improving yields from farming that could change lives for the 2 Bn+ smallholder farmers in the world. While interacting with 20+ smallholder farmers in Kenya, I, in addition to charities like One Acre Fund,  had the chance to see first hand how…