Price Risks in Manufacturing Companies : A Study of the ITEM-HSG

Report - Volatile markets, the increasing demand for natural resources, natural disasters, political and financial instability - manufacturing companies are threatened by a wide range of supply chain and supply risks. Due to the worldwide developments and the increasing global interconnectedness of supply chains, it is likely that particularly price risks of industrial consumption factors will intensify. The enormous increase of commodity prices and price volatility during the last 10 years reflect this trend. Considering that the demand for resources will double during the next 40 years, it is obvious that manufacturing companies must act. A systematic and holistic risk management approach that ensures the long-term access to strategic resources and stable prices will be inevitable for most manufacturing companies to hold their ground in global competition. The following study confirms the relevance of this topic and provides an overview on affected resources and countermeasures taken by manufacturing companies.