W hile growth slows in consumer markets , competition is intensifying and product life cycles are speeding up . There is now added pressure on companies to boost their budgets and target growth through a combination of acquisitions , product innovation and digital technologies . According to a recent report by Accenture , with half of a company ’ s costs in the supply chain or cost of goods and services ( COGS ), reducing supply chain costs has become a major focus . However , Accenture warns companies are not realising cost savings for competitive agility . “ They eke out three to four percent in category reductions year after year ,” notes the report . “ But most never make a sustainable bottom line impact on COGS , with most companies seeing no or minimal change in COGS-to-revenue ratios over time .” Confidence in the perceived ability to transform is clearly lacking . For example , Accenture ’ s report found that just 33 % of operations executive see their cost intervention initiatives as durable , while only