In today's global environment, the trends and forces of industry not only change more quickly, but also tend to be more innovative. Regardless of the industry, the trends largely utilize technology in novel or more effective ways and show greater evidence of cutting across multiple sectors as the world becomes increasingly globalized, thus "shrinking" formerly disparate interests into common ones. Three industries that exhibit noteworthy trends are the computer industry, the nutraceutical industry, and the food industry.
The computer industry is in itself an innovative industry, as computers in novel forms from laptops to palm pilots to computerized pens and tablets continue to evolve, making the early mainframe computers look like dinosaurs. Through the years, the industry has cycled through a variety of trends, but one that has affected the computer industry the most in recent years is "mass customization" (Dedrick & Kramer, 2002, p. 11). Early computer manufacturers produced computers in just one or two models for all of their customers, but "The build-to-order strategies of PC makers such as Dell and Gateway have segmented the PC market into individual customers, creating a demand for more customized PC applications" (Dedrick & Kramer, 2002, p. 11). Custom-designed PCs are a trend that "puts greater pressure on the entire supply chain to respond quickly to shifts in demand for particular components, peripherals and software, rather than just general product lines" (Dedrick & Kramer, 2002, p. 11). For Dell, the trend has meant a new position as "the number one maker of file servers in the U.S., as well as holding the number two position worldwide" (Kepczyk, n.d.). Dell's strategic adaptability has come in the form of retooling to meet the demand of individual customers and it now manages its production process electronically, all the way from the initial order to delivery of the computer, allowing customers ...