March 23, 201
According to CFO, Duke University and CFO Global Business Outlook Survey suggests strong optimism! In fact, the survey’s optimism index for the quarter jumped to 69 (on a 100-point scale) which is the highest level in 14 years. This is also significantly higher than the long-run average of 60. Businesses are optimistic.
61% plan to increase their payrolls this year and 4% wage hikes are expected. Even more noteworthy is that capital spending is expected to increase by 6% vs. a median of 3% and a flat/negative spend in 2016. Are you ready?
What Should We Consider and/or What Impacts Could Arise?
Good news abounds. However, the tricky part is that the vast majority of our clients struggle to sustain successful growth (profitable, high service levels etc.). We don’t enjoy layoffs and recessions but they can be simpler to manage. Are you ready for growth?
Our most successful clients prepare for growth. They invest in infrastructure with enough lead time to implement successfully BEFORE they must have it. This could refer to systems, technology, people, training and development, process improvement techniques, culture and change initiatives and more — of course, it depends on your business. Undoubtedly, this is easier said than done! One of these initiatives that is geared especially well to growth is SIOP (sales, inventory, operations planning). SIOP programs are focused on forecasting demand, collaborating with customers and aligning with staffing, capacity, systems and process infrastructure, training and development and so on. If you’d like to talk about preparing for growth, contact me.