Since the corporation was invented it has been widely accepted that bringing activities together into one large company lowers "transactional" and communication costs, and that suppliers and manufacturers have market power due to their knowledge of markets. However, nowadays the internet eliminates the physical costs of communication. As a result it becomes more profitable to outsource many activities. Power shifts to the customer who could be either another business or the end-user.

All this raises two burning questions. Firstly, it means that the supplier will no longer be the seller but become the buyer for the customer? Secondly, diversification changes the structure of companies? The answer to both questions at the moment, is yes for many business sectors. Some of the US's largest phramaceutical companies do not manufacture drugs themselves anymore. During this transition period, they wholesale every other kind of pharmacy product as well. At the annual conference for managers in the pharmaceutical sector, which take place next month, the main topic will surely be what to outsource to smaller companies next.