Boeing suppliers are developing "a sense of acceptance" that the manufacturer's push for a 15 percent reduction in supply chain costs won't ease up even as the economy improves, an informal survey of several major suppliers by Canaccord Genuity finds. Whether the push will succeed remains to be seen.

Supply chain optimization is at the heart of a four-year plan by Kellogg's to save up to $475m a year by 2018. The company estimates that by the end of 2017, Project K will reduce the company's global workforce by about seven percent.