Today, however, the customer base relies more and more on this same community to be on the cutting edge, pioneering the way to more, better and faster technologies and processes that are more productive with each generation. They must be ready to create, mature and support, not a tool or set of tools, but an entire function in the manufacturing process. The challenge to remain a predictable supplier will be embodied in the amount of research, development and dedicated resources a company continuously commits. Being number one or number two is paramount to survival in the long term. A supplier's product cannot occupy a space off the customer's mental radar screen and survive.
Presence also implies trust.
Trust implies known behaviors. Known behaviors are by definition predictable. Hence, presence is an essential element of predictability. Without it you're better off being absorbed by someone with presence because the odds are not in your favor to survive for long. In fact, so recognized is this phenomena by our industry that some successful companies have built business plans around being acquired as quickly as their technology can demonstrate capability and market promise rather than try to establish and maintain their own presence.