We all know most companies pared back on inventories levels sharply during the recession, but it is still interesting to see just how sharply that inventory moved downward.

The chart below is from the 19th annual Trends and Issues in Logistics and Transportation, released as usual by Dr. Karl Manrodt of Georgia Southern University and Dr. Mary Holcomb of the University of Tennessee at the recent CSCMP conference in San Diego.

The data is based on a survey that drew more than 800 respondents.The "Masters" are defined as larger companies, with revenues over $3 billion. The "Challengers" have revenues between $500 million and $3 billion, and the "Contenders" have revenues of less than $500 million. The data is organized that way because previous iterations of the study have found a close relationship between company size and supply chain performance, with larger companies generally performing better.

The data was collected in mid-2010, meaning companies were probably answering this year for their performance in 2009. As can be seen, there was a dramatic reduction in inventory levels for this year's report versus 2009 data in terms of inventory turns (rising number is good) and Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO - declining number is good).

Year-Over-Year Inventory Performance

Source: Trends and Issues in Logistics and Transportation 2010

Mid-sized companies improved inventory metrics slightly, while small companies held inventory about flat in terms of turns, though somewhat contradictorally saying DIO improved during the same period.

Did larger companies really improve inventory performance more so that mid-sized and smaller firms? This data says yes, but we would to see some other data points. The larger question is whether inventory turns will regress with economic recovery.

For our complete review of the report, go to: Latest Trends in Logistics Study from Manrodt, Holcomb IDs 5 "Undeniable Supply Chain Truths.

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