As Figure 14 shows, the cost savings in 2007 are expected to continue to come mostly
from minimizing out of stock and inventory losses. One observation we can make from
Figure 14 is that the expectation of cost savings from all sources listed were lower in
2007 compared with 2004 figures. A significant finding was that in the 2004 study,
companies anticipated savings on account of reduction in labor costs due to less material
handling, whereas in the present study, this does not seems to be a major factor
contributing to the savings. In addition, that the mean ratings for 2007 were much lower
compared to 2004.