A recent study of supply chain executives working for retail, high-technology, pharmaceutical and consumer product companies stated that a larger percentage expected the economy of the United States to make a turnaround in either the fourth quarter of 2009 or the second quarter of 2010.
Carried out in September 2009 in Chicago at the Supply Chain Leadership Forum, the survey indicates that approximately 40% expected GDP growth to be positive in 2010 while 30% expected the economy to ‘make it’ during the end of 2009.
Bruce Tompkins, Executive Director of the Supply Chain Consortium commenting on the results of the study said the outlook of the economy turnaround depended heavily on the industry itself. He further explained that the food and beverage sector was already witnessing some growth, while retail and high-tech industries were still waiting for positive growth figures to show.
The ‘Great Comeback’ seems to be commonly accepted to happen fairly soon, although over 90% of the respondents stated that they had not developed anything significant with regards to a ‘Comeback’ plan or any other related initiatives to take advantage of a better economy.
Tompkins pointed out that the smarter companies in the industry had already adopted a recovery model, way before their competitors. This model involves a strong recovery plan that not only takes into account the recession ending time, but also one that pushes them to the fore to achieve positive growth. Tompkins also stated that some companies that were heavily affected by the economic instability have also adopted fairly aggressive improvements to their supply chains in order to maximize on their positions in the competitive market.