For many companies, cost reduction efforts become an endless downward spiral. As soon as one cost reduction program is completed, it’s followed by another. Competitors become locked in a race to the bottom, as price reductions predicated on cost reductions are countered by more cost-cutting from competitors to drive another round of price declines. Before you know it, the industry has shrunk and retailers, manufacturers and consumers alike all lose out on greater growth and access to greater innovation. By Jason Green, CEO, The Cambridge Group, and Dan Vucovich, former SVP, President U.S.,
The Hershey Co.