A high degree of product diversity has become the norm across all industries in recent years as manufacturers have expanded their product portfolios to capture new revenue sources. The product variations can be staggering to consider. So can the complexity that results.

Five years after the onset of the global recession of 2008-2009, the sluggish pace of recovery and worries over employment and financial security continue to weigh heavily on consumer sentiment in developed economies. Consumers remain highly concerned about their jobs, personal finances, and economic future. Yet amid the lingering angst expressed in The Boston Consulting Group's 2013 Global Consumer Sentiment Survey, there are also encouraging signs.

In the face of challenging economic headwinds, consumer goods manufacturers have focused on cutting costs and optimizing working capital. Those routes still offer opportunity, but recent analysis indicates that traditional assumptions regarding tradeoffs among costs, inventory and service don't always hold true, and leading companies are using new, customer-centric levers to unlock value. These actions could yield a potential value of nearly $50bn industrywide, according to research conducted by The Boston Consulting Group on behalf of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA).