Category One, a leading US electronic procurement company, today announced the launch of “The Food Chain,” a specialized research service dedicated to the food industry. The service can be found at www.cat-one.com/blog

The Food Chain will track and analyze trends in commodities, export/import markets and corporate news, the goal being to highlight the relationship between raw commodity prices, the manufacturing process, transportation and distribution, and finally finished good pricing. 

Commenting on the new service, Category-One Director, Porter Montgomery said, “Our clients face a challenging task in every purchase they make.  Trends in emerging markets have inflated some prices and deflated others.  Purchasing managers need help to understand how both supply and demand on the global stage impacts their decisions every day.”  

Content will be in multiple formats.  Some posts will be limited to a few paragraphs and perhaps a link to additional information.  Other analysis will be longer in nature, dealing with macro themes important to buyers and sellers alike.  Still shorter “blurbs” will be added as they hit the market.  The Food Chain will post its data and analysis on a tab within Cat-One’s current web site, in email alerts and through a twitter feed.  

The Food Chain takes its name from the idea that at every stage in the global production process, margins/prices can become inflated thereby altering final demand.  Sometimes these cycles are long as evidenced by weather changes impacting crops or livestock that ripple through the system impacting prices for as long as a year.  Other times changes can impact final price in less than a month.  By keeping track of global inflationary trends in a world that becomes more connected every day, Cat-One seeks to demonstrate its value beyond hosting efficient procurement auctions. 

As is the case with many new web-based specialty services, Cat-One is encouraging its contacts and participants to request additional data and provide feedback/comments as to how the report can be made better. 

The Food Chain was created in partnership with Politicap, a Washington DC based investment consulting firm.  Politicap specializes in interpreting financial and federal/political data to form proprietary models for investors, companies and politicos. 

Commenting on the creation of The Food Chain, Robert Radano stated, “In spite of what they’re told, American consumers judge inflation at the grocers check-out line, on a restaurant tab and at the gas station.  Understanding how changes in input prices alter final demand is essential for Cat-One’s client base.”