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Acquisitions and Industry Consolidation
Another result of globalization is the consolidation of industries, through either attrition or acquisition. Whereas most companies can only hope to influence the content of trade agreements via industry associations or lobbying, the players themselves directly influence the structure that their particular industry assumes. One need look no further than the U.S. auto business for proof. When the industry began in the early 1900s, there were dozens of car manufacturers. In a very short period of time, a combination of competition, lack of financing, bad decisions and acquisitions drove the industry down to three major players. In contemporary times, consolidation has hit industries that include health care, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics and high tech, all of which carry supply chain considerations of mammoth proportions.
Globalization has forced industries to consolidate for a variety of reasons. Issues that include market share, distribution networks, brand power, patents, economies of scale, time to market and access to key supplier/customer bases have all compelled organizations to systematically remove players from the field. Even though less congested, these new structures still offer considerable supply chain challenges. For example, as companies acquire competitors, the issue of how to best rationalize production facilities around the world is a daunting task.
Also, acquisitions and mergers force former competitors to share logistics routes and capacity in the form of available flights or sailings. Again, the challenge of rationalizing and allocating finite logistics capacity, in either a material management or distribution environment, is much more complicated than most organizations anticipate. Finally, competitors that once jockeyed for production capacity with raw materials suppliers or contract manufacturers must now determine how to balance the capabilities of these entities in the various markets where they operate. When viewed from any variety of perspectives, industry consolidation has made many supply chains at least as complex as their stand-alone predecessors.
