Who Is Still Standing?
Van Vooren said that although the shakeout was brutal, it was necessary, and the players that are still standing will survive if they stay focused on the right things. “There are a number of requirements necessary to make an exchange a success, but I believe that in the long term, people will manage their supply chain over the Internet. Unfortunately, a lot of companies are still on the sidelines, and I think that those who remain on the sidelines will suffer.” Butler said exchanges that proved to have staying power throughout the bust understood how best to deliver value to customers and adapted quickly, focusing on their core business and delivering returns to clients. “In the first wave, companies expired,” Sauer noted. “Now there will be a consolidation of those left standing into stronger entities. Then, segmentation of services into those that are industry-focused and don’t create a unique advantage for the participants. From there, who knows?
