Manufacturing Has Recovered: Vendor Performance a Growing Problem

The latest news is the more and more purchasing managers are reporting slower delivery times from their vendors.  The spike is quite pronounced, matching many of the historic peaks.

George Osborne will be handed an encouraging assessment of the state of the economy on Tuesday as a survey of businesses predicts that Britain will avoid a triple-dip recession, reports The Guardian.

One Eyed Guide submits: That was one ugly Friday for economic reports. Among the slew of bad reports, the Reuters/Michigan Survey of Consumers declined so much that the survey director, Richard Curtin, stated: "Whenever the Expectations Index has been this low in the past, the economy has been in recession."Has the recession started?

Vendor performance was an emerging issue in 2010 and will become a problem for more businesses in 2011. If you got through last year without any difficulties, don’t be sure that you’ll be so lucky this year. If you did work through some issues last year, you may find that they worsen soon or that your solutions don’t “stick.” All companies that need other firms for critical supplies or services should analyze their situations.

Here’s a counterintuitive notion that’s gaining currency among a growing number of research peddlers: the more chief executives who lose their jobs, the better it is for everyone else in the economy. Apparently, CEO churn and senior management change are economic indicators that portend better or worse days ahead. If turnover in the C-suite is on the rise, an economic recovery and job growth are not far behind. Conversely, if the revolving door slows or stalls, the opposite is said to be true.

Campbell Soup CEO Denise Morrison pointed to the growing skepticism of large food makers that has resulted from consumers’ changing tastes as a key challenge for her industry. The company, whose portfolio of products ranges from V8 juice to Pepperidge Farm cake to its namesake soups, has found itself grappling with big changes in consumer behavior, in particular growing interest in fresh food and consumers much more keen to know what impact what they’re eating is having on their health and where it’s from.