Manufacturing’s New Role in CPG U.S. Automakers Show the Way

Perspective

Michael DuVall Thomas Mayor Kimberly Elliott

Manufacturing's New Role in CPG U.S. Automakers Show the Way

Contact Information

Chicago Conrad Winkler Partner +1-312-578-4692 conrad.winkler@

Michael DuVall Principal +1-312-578-4614 michael.duvall@

Kimberly Elliott Senior Associate +1-312-578-4826 kimberly.elliott@

Cleveland Thomas Mayor Senior Executive Advisor +1-216-696-1699 thomas.mayor@

Hong Kong Edward Tse Partner +852-3650-6100 edward.tse@

London John Potter Partner +44-20-7393-3736 john.potter@

New York Richard Kauffeld Partner +1-212-551-6582 richard.kauffeld@

Paris Kaj Grichnik Partner +33-1-4434-3144 kaj.grichnik@

San Francisco Douglas Hardman Partner +1-415-281-4948 douglas.hardman@

Sydney Tim Jackson Partner +61-2-9321-1923 tim.jackson@

Booz & Company

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Great Recession officially ended in June 2009, but it has had a lasting impact on consumer behavior. To start, consumers are demonstrating much more sensitivity to price. They are looking for ways to reduce expenditures on their favorite items, whether by stocking up during promotions, shifting to warehouse-format retailers, buying private-label substitutes, or just buying less overall. And these behavioral changes appear to be sticky enough that companies won't see a rapid return to pre-recessionary purchasing patterns even after the economy recovers more fully.

Consumer products companies have historically been able to sustain margins through product innovation, which has in turn allowed them to increase prices on a constant-dollar basis and drive revenue growth. As a result, the industry has arguably been under less pressure than others to drive increased manufacturing efficiency. For instance, consumer products manufacturers have lagged behind automotive companies in productivity improvements for some 30 years, a 2009 Booz & Company study shows.

The good news is that consumer products manufacturers now have some well-established examples to learn from, starting, indeed, with the automotive industry. Having spent the last few decades changing the way

they manufacture cars in order to stave off the threat from lower-cost, higher-quality imports, automobile makers have made enormous strides. The quality that runs off a U.S. automobile assembly line is on par with or better than that of foreign competitors, and vehicle prices (on a constantdollar basis) are nearly unchanged.

With consumers slower to open their wallets, the consumer products industry needs to follow the lead of manufacturing sectors like automotive and drive down costs while maintaining or improving quality. They can best do this by building a true manufacturing operating system--an approach that aligns business strategy with organizational, measurement, and operational discipline to boost productivity.

Booz & Company

1

CPG MANUFACTURING FALLS BEHIND

Over the past 30 years, consumer products companies have pursued a strategy of innovation backed by aggressive advertising--continually introducing "new and improved" versions of existing products. To a remarkable degree, this strategy has worked--consumer products companies have been able to maintain or raise prices. Over the last two decades, the prices of some consumer products have gone up by as much as 3.9 percent annually. In contrast, new vehicle prices have risen a mere 0.8 percent per year, and prices of computers and electronics have fallen 10.5 percent per year (see Exhibit 1).

Given their focus on innovation and brand building, and how that has translated into success on the top line, it is no surprise that so few consumer products companies have distinguished themselves in

the manufacturing realm. Most food manufacturing companies, for instance, have shown little improvement in manufacturing productivity over the past couple of decades; breakfast cereal and bakery companies, on average, have shown none. Only snack food and personal care (toiletries) manufacturers have really improved.

Clearly, manufacturing improvement in the form of greater productivity has not been a priority for consumer products companies. The priority has been on the top line, and the industry has largely been able to more than offset increases in cost with higher prices. In our estimation, this has left consumer products manufacturers as much as 30 years behind their counterparts in the auto industry when it comes to continuous improvement and manufacturing productivity.

Exhibit 1 Consumer Price Indexes for Select Industry Sectors

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (1987 = 100)

Index 250 225

Industry (CAGR) Breads & Bakery Items (3.9%)

200

Snack Foods (2.8%)

175

Breakfast Cereals (2.6%)

150

Toiletries (1.6%)

125

New Vehicles (0.8%)

100

75

50

25

0 1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

Computers & Electronics (-10.5%) 2008 2010 Year

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Booz & Company analysis

2

Booz & Company

THE IMPERATIVE TO CHANGE

In the wake of the severe global recession and with all signs pointing to a long, drawn-out recovery, consumer products companies have reached a crossroads. Consumer behavior is shifting, with cost becoming a more important factor in purchasing decisions. By the time the 18-month recession ended in the

fall of 2009, consumers were cutting back on spending in 16 major categories, with discretionary categories hit the hardest, according to a 2010 Booz & Company survey. More significantly, less than 20 percent of consumers were saying they intended to revert to their pre-recession spending habits (see Exhibit 2).

Exhibit 2 Consumer Spending in the Previous 12 Months and in the Next 12 Months

Over the past 12 months, I switched to less expensive brands in this category (percentage of respondents who agreed)

0% Alcoholic Beverages Tobacco Healthcare Consumer Electronics Home Improvement Health & Beauty Products Nonalcoholic Beverages Apparel, Clothing Household Products Food at Home

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 24% 26% 26% 28% 31% 34% 34% 36% 40% 44%

In the next 12 months, I intend to revert back to my pre-recession buying habits in this category (percentage of respondents who agreed)

0%

10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

10%

11%

9%

17%

13%

11%

10%

18%

9%

10%

Source: Booz & Company Fall 2009 Survey of Consumer Spending (sample size n = 2,010)

Booz & Company

3

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download