“Larger operations may have trouble accommodating specialty goods tailored to the tastes of a local market and producing small-run items to serve a niche demand. Turn-around time from order to delivery may increase while individual vendor responsiveness declines. One solution? Incorporating into the supply chain local, smaller vendors who may be able to beat the service, price, or product quality of big-name suppliers.”

--Jeremy N Smith, World Trade magazine, May 2004