Mukund Prasad

Between March, 2020 and May, 2021, the price of steel had risen more than 200 percent. Copper, another critical commodity for high-tech products, doubled over the same period. Over the last two decades, the same picture of rising volatility has been repeated across many categories of basic inputs, from fuels to foodstuffs. The underlying drivers of commodity-price instability are a complex cocktail of demand fluctuations, supply disruptions, and financial moves by market players.

Raw-material and component costs are on a wild ride. Procurement and product-development teams can keep their grip by better understanding and managing embedded costs. A new approach can help. Between March, 2020 and May, 2021, the price of steel had risen more than 200 percent. Copper, another critical commodity for high-tech products, doubled over the same period.