@Risk

Business executives around the world continue to worry about market volatility and economic uncertainty, however most feel their companies are better prepared to handle these challenges than they were during the economic slowdown of 2008-09, according to new research from Capgemini Consulting.

The study, which surveyed 350 supply chain executives from leading companies across Europe, the US, Latin America and Asia-Pacific, found that:

• Familiar business challenges persist. Market volatility (52 percent) and the economic downturn (39 percent) are the biggest business challenges currently faced by respondents. Just 17 percent feel optimistic about the outlook for the economy in 2012.
• Leaders are focused on supply chains. Two-thirds (67 percent) of respondents said they have implemented measures to improve visibility and control within the supply chain, and 59 percent have taken steps to increase flexibility within supply chain operations. As Capgemini points out, companies that have taken these measures should expect to have a head start on their competitors in 2012 as they will be able to measure and adapt their supply chains more easily. (more…)

New survey results from Aon eSolutions offer some valuable insight into how the use of risk technology can impact an organization’s risk and data management, as well as the total cost of risk.

For example, according to the survey of more than 400 risk professionals from 57 countries:

• The number one benefit and driving force behind the use of risk technology is accurate and reliable data. Companies use risk management information systems (RMIS) to manage business operations and generated accurate financial information.
• More organizations are now closely tracking return on investment (ROI) for risk technology tools.  The study results revealed that more than 25 percent of those polled expect to save up to $50,000 per year from using risk/insurance and claims technology.
• Compliance is an emerging benefit of using risk management tools.

Based on the survey results, Aon eSolutions identified these top ten benefits of risk technology: (more…)

Mounting tensions with Iran have many keeping a watchful eye on global energy prices. However, Iran is not the only potential trouble-spot.

The results of Maplecroft’s Resource Nationalism Index show that a full 44 percent of global oil production currently occurs in countries that pose a ‘high’ or ‘extreme risk’ of resource nationalism. In fact, the list includes eight of the twelve members of OPEC .

As Maplecroft defines it, resource nationalism is a rising phenomenon where governments of countries hosting large reserves of natural resources try to secure greater economic benefit from their exploitation or leverage political gain through restricting supplies. This not only has operational and financial implications for extractive companies operating in these countries, but it could create further instability for the global energy markets.

The Resource Nationalism Index identifies the risk of resource nationalism across 197 countries.

Maplecroft included nine countries in the “extreme” risk category: (more…)

Over the next few decades, US water resources are likely to be severely strained by the combined impacts of population growth, increases in power generation and climate change.

In fact, more than one in three of the 3,100+ counties in the US could face a “high” or “extreme” risk of water shortages by the middle of the 21st century, according to a new study in ACS’s Journal of Environmental Science & Technology.

The research also found that seven out of ten of the US counties could face “some” risk of shortages of fresh water for drinking, farming and other uses.

The study, Projecting Water Withdrawal and Supply for Future Decades in the U.S. under Climate Change Scenarios,  features a “water supply sustainability risk index” that includes water withdrawal, projected growth, susceptibility to drought, projected climate change and other factors in individual US counties for the year 2050. It also takes into account renewable water supply through precipitation using the most recent downscaled climate change projections and estimates future withdrawals for various human uses.

By using this water index, the research team was able to conclude that climate change could foster an “extreme” risk of water shortages that may develop in 412 counties in southern and southwestern states, as well as in southern Great Plains states. (more…)

The results are clear: Private companies in the US are focused on growth.

PwC’s latest Private Company Trendsetter Barometer found that more than three-fourths (78 percent) of the 250 CEOs polled expect positive growth over the next 12 months. About four out of ten (43 percent) anticipate single-digit growth, and more than one-third (35 percent) are projecting double-digit growth.

Overall, these results indicate the rate of expected growth for Trendsetter companies has risen 18 percent.

Hiring projections for the next 12 months are on the upswing, too.

More than half (54 percent) of the CEOs responding said they intend to add to their workforce over the next  year –that’s up from 48 percent the prior quarter. Just 3 percent believe they’ll reduce headcount, with an overall 2.0 percent increase projected for private companies’ composite workforce.

PwC looked specifically at export revenue and found that internationally active Trendsetter companies forecast a 9.6 percent revenue growth rate over the next year. (more…)