We see this pattern emerge where fading regulatory and technology barriers blur the boundaries between previously distinct industries. The second pattern is a Power Shift from the supplier to the customer. The shift results in an increasingly demand-driven environment. No longer can the supplier simply offer a product or service and expect that customers will flock to buy it. Customers are much better informed about what they want, where they can get it, and what price to pay for it.
Suppliers can no longer count on customer value ignorance.
Coupled with this trend, the capacity to deliver products and services has never been higher and the choice of offerings available to each customer has never been greater. The integrated computer company and the department store retailer are just two examples of business designs that collapsed in the middle. The new environment makes the search for new sources of supply so easy that in most cases the channels find the customers. The confluence of these patterns creates a world where being customer centric is critical to success. In the past, companies measured their economic success by taking a revenue market share orientation.