Everyone Gets an ‘A’ – Lessons For Food & Beverage Manufacturers and Investors
Grade inflation in education Last December, the Wall Street Journal article, “Grade Inflation Makes A the New C”, addressed secular grade inflation in U.S. higher education. The article referenced an anonymous survey by The Harvard Crimson in which 69% of Harvard’s 2022 graduates told the Crimson that their GPA was 3.8 or higher, up from […]
My 91-Year-Old Dad’s Hospital Stay – Lessons for Food & Beverage Manufacturers
Recently, my 91-year-old father fell, broke his hip and required surgery, necessitating long hospital and rehabilitation stays. The day after surgery, my mom and I were in his hospital room when a nurse came in and said, “Sir, we need to do an EEG; I am going to attach 28 discs to your scalp.” I […]
The Dangers of Relying on Tribal Knowledge
Relying on tribal knowledge can be dangerous: A Real-Life manufacturing nightmare The events described below are true. Names have been changed to protect the confidentiality of those involved. Imagine you run a profitable condiment manufacturer. Your business is growing 25% annually, driven by demand for your company’s innovative R&D capabilities. Then, one day, several longstanding […]
Do you know your costs?
Do you TRULY understand your manufacturing costs?Most middle market food & beverage manufacturers do not …and it’s costing them dearly Determining the prices of one’s products and services is one of the most important activities undertaken by a business. Yet in our experience, most middle-market food & beverage manufacturers do not have a sufficient understanding […]
Do you have a program to offset annual inflation?
High performing food & beverage manufacturers maintain a CI program to offset annual inflation and protect GM% without raising prices. Do you? With inflation moderating, it is easy to forget the stress inflation put on the P&Ls of food & beverage manufacturers in 2021-2022. Large CPGs understand the importance of offsetting cost inflation each year […]
Food manufacturers’ expanding inventory waistline
The average publicly traded food manufacturer holds ~15% more inventory today than pre-Covid (as measured by days on hand), while profitability has declined. In the extremely low interest rate environment that persisted for much of the 2010s, the consequence of this trend would be relatively limited. No longer. The impact is particularly pronounced for middle […]
