With the great number of new products being introduced, shorter product life cycles and more special-events promotions-it is extremely difficult to "predict" today's customer.
For "complexity masters," the world can be a dependable supplier and profitable market. But lackluster business performance is an unpleasant side effect for companies ill prepared for globalization and mounting value-chain complexity.
Fujitsu PC needed help with its notebook operation, which was suffering from both excess inventory and slow deliveries. It turned to FedEx for a total logistics solution and now is getting the results it wanted - but the start-up was far from smooth.