Watch your step — you’ll need to steer clear of the growing puddles of red ink out there. Purchasing pros are keeping a close eye on bankruptcy trends. Two areas Purchasing pros are on the lookout for: direct effects (a vendor or supplier goes belly up) or indirect effects (the market for a certain good or product dramatically tightens for the same reason).

Some killer stats, courtesy of Automated Access to Court Electronic Records (AACER):

• 2Q 2008 was the 10th straight quarter of increases in the number of commercial bankruptcies.
• Business filings increased 17% from 1Q ’08 to the 2Q ’08.
• In the 1Q ’08, 13,155 businesses filed for bankruptcy
• In the 2Q 08, that number rose to 15,471.

States where the numbers jumped the most:

• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Maryland
• Montana, and
• Oregon.

What can you do about it now, before the problem takes roost on your doorstep?

One key idea is to start sniffing around now. If you had to find an alternate vendor or supplier at a moment’s notice:

• Do you have a back-up plan?
• Do you know where you would begin?
• Do your contracts with current vendors and suppliers cover responsibilities in the vent of a bankruptcy filing?

Tags: bankruptcy, procurement, purchasing, supplier, vendor