In the end, most of these companies change when it is imperative - when they are in the midst of a crisis and their backs are up against a wall. Many companies that produce luxury goods have no market in times of recession, while those producing low-cost items frequently have to cut their margin even closer to the bone. The trend toward a progressively more global economy is increasing the number of competitors American firms have to face. For some companies, the need to focus on the efficiency of the production process is a completely new phenomenon. The president of a Maryland newspaper noted that his company, and others like it, had functioned as virtual monopolies for decades.
Few companies can still afford to be complacent about their products or their customers.
Today's purchasers are demanding a greater variety of higher quality products and services, produced both more quickly and more cheaply. Many companies are putting heavy demands on their suppliers. They too are insisting on customization, high quality, low cost, and quick turn-around. When one company in an industry acquires a new technology, it is blazing a trail. Soon, however, all of the other companies must acquire similar technologies just to stay in the game.