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"The World is Flat"

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By Thomas Friedman. Thomas L. Friedman. The World is Flat. Flattener #3: Work Flow Software. Google Docs. Flattener #2: 8/9/95. AOL.com - Netscape. Flattener #1: 11/9/89. THE BERLIN WALL. 11/9. 9/11. Flattener #4: Uploading. Blogs. Open Source Software. Wikis. Flattener #5: Outsourcing. Globalization has been brutal to midwestern manufacturers like the Paper Converting Machine Co.

Flattener #5: Outsourcing

For decades, PCMC's Green Bay (Wis.) factory, its oiled wooden factory floors worn smooth by work boots, thrived by making ever-more-complex equipment to weave, fold, and print packaging for everything from potato chips to baby wipes. But PCMC has fallen on hard times. First came the 2001 recession. Then, two years ago, one of the company's biggest customers told it to slash its machinery prices by 40% and urged it to move production to China. Last year, a St. Slide Show >> But now, Compton says, he is "probably the most optimistic I've been in five years. " Come again? Workers' fears have some grounding in fact. The changes can be harsh and deep. Thus entrepreneurs such as Chapman see a chance to turn around dying businesses, speed up their pace of innovation, or fund development projects that otherwise would have been unaffordable.

Few big companies have tried all these options yet. Exporting America - CNN. Flattener #6: Offshoring. Offshoring ... benefits the consumer' 'Offshoring ... benefits the consumer' Many CEOs believe philosophically in offshoring — the practice of outsourcing jobs to foreign countries where labor costs are cheaper — but few have been brave enough to publicly say it.

Offshoring ... benefits the consumer'

Being in favor of exporting jobs is radioactive. Enter Uwe Doerken, 45, who stepped down last year as DHL's executive chairman after leading its globalization efforts for 13 years. DHL is a package delivery company known for its yellow planes, trucks and envelopes. It acquired Airborne in 2003 to launch an invasion of the USA and challenge UPS and FedEx in one of the world's hottest industries. Doerken agreed to answer the offshoring questions of USA TODAY corporate management reporter Del Jones after about a dozen CEOs of large corporations turned down the offer. Flattener #7: Supply-Chaining. 45 Years of Wal-Mart History: A Technology Time Line CIO. CIO — Sam Walton's self-described distrust of computers didn't keep him from building his company into a global leader of information technology innovation.

45 Years of Wal-Mart History: A Technology Time Line CIO

First Wal-Mart opens in Rogers, Ark. With more than 125 stores and $340.3 million in sales, Wal-Mart leases an IBM 370/135 computer system to maintain inventory control for all merchandise in the warehouse and distribution centers and to prepare income statements for each store. Electronic cash registers in more than 100 Wal-Mart stores record point-of-sale (POS) data to maintain inventory. Wal-Mart builds a companywide computer network and deploys a system for ordering merchandise from suppliers.

Wal-Mart sales top $1.2 billion, making it the first company to reach more than $1 billion in sales in a mere 17 years. Flattener #8: Insourcing. Toshiba Will Have UPS Fix Its Laptops - Forbes.com. Flattener #9: In-forming. Ask. ChaCha. Bing. Flattener #10: The Steroids. Mobile Phones. Wi-Fi. Instant Messaging. iPad.