Business Environment Profiles

A supplier can control certain costs that directly affect how a product or service is priced. However, there are many input costs and demand drivers over which the supplier has no control, and these drivers ultimately affect the cost of producing a good or delivering a service.

ProcurementIQ now refers to these drivers as Business Environment Drivers (formerly called Price Driver Profiles), captured in our Business Environment Profiles collection. Most Business Environment Profiles are centered around broad demographic, financial, consumer and macroeconomic trends that influence demand for goods and services. The rest of the profiles focus on international commodity trends and raw material prices not covered in our Price Index Profiles collection.
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The Performance Snapshot gives a visual overview of the driver's historical and forecast values, including compound annual growth rates (CAGR) and a long-term trend chart. This section helps you quickly grasp how the driver has changed over time and where it's headed.

You can also find the data behind the graph in a table at the bottom of the section.

The Current Performance section includes a written analysis of the driver’s performance over the past five years and how its influence on different markets has evolved.

In the Outlook section, our analysts highlight the expected trajectory of the driver over the next five years. This summary includes key trends, potential disruptors and contextual factors that may influence future performance.

This section lists the markets impacted by changes in the driver and links to the corresponding Procurement Reports for each market.

Align procurement with market demand

Smart sourcing decisions require a deep understanding of market conditions, including consumer behavior and market demand. Without insight into the external forces at play, procurement teams risk misaligning their strategies, leading to excess inventory or bottlenecks.

Enhance supplier negotiations

Armed with clear data on future costs and demand, your team can negotiate more strategically for fair prices. Our unbiased price indices and demand drivers make for powerful negotiation levers.

Improve cost forecasting

Being prepared to absorb or mitigate cost pressures can make all the difference. With five years of forecasting, our price indices and demand drivers can help you anticipate price and demand shocks in the categories you monitor.

Business Environment Profiles include a Markets Affected section that links to relevant Procurement Reports impacted by changes in the external driver.

In turn, US and Canada Procurement Reports include links to relevant Business Environment Profiles in the External Demand section of the Price Environment chapter.

For example, the Plastic Shipping Crates in the US Procurement Report links to the Number of Businesses Business Environment Profile, and that profile’s Markets Affected section links back to the report.

The Business Environment Profiles can also be accessed through hyperlinks in the Cost Structure table in the Pricing Environment chapter.

Data for Business Environment Profiles is sourced from verifiable third-party data sources, such as the US Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), among many others. When government sources are unavailable, our analysts rely on data provided by industry associations to ensure data integrity. Sourcing for Business Environment Profiles is always listed in a caption below the chart.

We forecast performance in Business Environment Profiles using a combination of external and internal models. This approach ensures accurate, consistent projections across a wide range of economic drivers.

For many profiles, we rely on institutional forecasts from trusted third-party sources. We aggregate these external forecasts to create a consensus estimate for the driver. We often use this method when robust forecasts are already available from reputable institutions.
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When external forecasts are unavailable or insufficient, we build internal models tailored to each data series and rigorously test them to ensure quality and relevance. When applicable, internal models achieve an average adjusted R-squared value of 91.0%, indicating a strong statistical fit.

We update driver data 1-4 times per year, depending on when the underlying data is updated by the relevant third parties.

For additional questions regarding Business Environment Profiles, please contact your Client Relationship Manager. If you don’t have an IBISWorld account, please contact us to learn more about our membership options.