In
the ’60s, noted University
of Toronto media professor, Marshall
McLuhan, said electronic technology would create a global village. Taking this
concept further, Thomas L. Friedman’s 2005 book, The World is Flat: A Brief History
of the Twenty-First Century, describes how Internet technology is enabling
businesses around the world to connect at light speed, creating a paradigm
shift in operations.
Continuing the concept of the flat world, lecturers at ARC Advisory Group’s Collaborative
Manufacturing Strategies 2007 in Orlando warned manufacturers that a “wait and
see” attitude toward taking advantage of a Web-based world would cause them to
lose business rapidly to competitors who embrace Web technologies.