@Risk

New research from PwC reveals some disturbing details which suggest that most companies aren’t necessarily providing investors with a complete view of the strategic opportunities and threats to the business.

Even though there’s considerable uncertainty in global markets these days, PwC’s new study showed that less than half (45 percent) of the 350 largest listed UK companies clearly explain the potential impact of the risks they have identified or how they intend to buffer their effects.

What’s more:

• Only 16 percent of the FTSE 350 clearly based their reporting on their strategy throughout their accounts,
• Just 35 percent clearly align their key performance indicators with strategic priorities and
• Two-thirds are failing to clearly define their business models in their annual reports.

Although these statistics may seem concerning, the study also uncovered a bright side: In many ways, reporting has improved from last year. For instance, back then, a mere 18 percent of the companies studied were clear about the impact of their risks.

In other positive developments: (more…)

More new research indicates that global companies are setting their sights on growth and global expansion.

As I pointed out last week, nearly all (95 percent) of the CFOs polled in BDO’s annual Global Ambition Survey said they are optimistic about their global expansion plans.

Now, a new report from KPMG concludes that global manufacturers have made top-line growth their number one priority in the next two years, despite persistent economic volatility and uncertain demand.

KPMG surveyed 220 manufacturing executives from global companies with at least $1 billion in revenue and found that: (more…)

Many of the digital and “green” technologies that we now take for granted contain certain metals which previously have been of little interest. Consequently, production of these rare earth elements (REEs) is concentrated in a small handful of countries, leaving the global supply at considerable risk.

Just how high is the risk?

A new assessment from the British Geological Survey (BSG) gives us some insight.

BSG’s new ‘Risk List’ ranks the risk to global supply of 52 chemical elements of economic value.  BSG estimated supply risk using the abundance, production and reserves of the element and governance factors for the producing countries and found that: (more…)

Is your company prepared for today’s supply chain risks?

As we’ve seen over just the past few months, the global business environment is teeming with supply chain threats, ranging from key supplier financial failure and product quality or compliance issues to disruptions due to natural disasters, infrastructure failures or geo-political factors. At times, it can seem like the list is endless.

What’s more, off-shoring, emerging market sourcing and spend reduction initiatives have increased exposure –without a related increase in comprehensive closed-loop risk assessment, planning and mitigation solutions. Clearly, companies must now look beyond supplier credit ratings to understand and control their full supplier risk exposure in a single view.

What can you do to better evaluate and manage your global vendors?

For starters, tune into Aravo’s newest webinar, Identifying and Managing Supply Chain Risk, scheduled for Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 10 am Pacific (1 pm Eastern).

During the one-hour presentation, our featured guest speaker Stephanie Moore, Vice President, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, Inc., will discuss how you can better recognize and prepare for vendor risk in your supply chain. More specifically, you’ll learn how to: (more…)

Toyota Motor Corp is revamping its supply chain, so that it can recover within two weeks after a massive earthquake like the one that devastated Japan this spring.

The March 11 earthquake and tsunami forced Toyota and other Japanese automakers to suspend much of their production for months. Even today, some parts of the supply chain have not been fully restored.

But now, Toyota is busy establishing a buffer against supply chain risks, Reuters reports.

According to the article, the company is focusing its efforts on three main areas: (more…)