The stable way of business life many corporate purchasing departments enjoy has been increasingly imperiled. Threats of resource depletion and raw materials scarcity, political turbulence and government intervention in supply markets, intensified competition, and accelerating technological change have ended the days of no surprises. As dozens of companies have already learned, supply and demand patterns can be upset virtually overnight.
A version of this article appeared in the September 1983 issue of Harvard Business Review.
