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What does the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 have to do with getting packaging graphics from a computer screen onto a folding carton or label? Until I read Thomas L. Friedman’s 2007 book, “The World Is Flat,” I would have said the two were not at all related. However, having read the book, I can see a direct correlation—and so might you.
Wikipedia describes the book as an international bestseller “analyzing the progress of globalization with an emphasis on the early 21st century. The title is a metaphor for viewing the world as flat or level in terms of commerce and competition, as in a level playing field—or one where all competitors have an equal opportunity.” According to the book, the dismantling of the Berlin Wall was the first of ten forces that, combined with other forces of technology and innovation, helped to “flatten the world” and make it possible for a customer service representative in India to explain my Visa bill to me in Buffalo, New York.
Friedman explains how from 1989 through the first half of this decade, a number of concepts and enablers have occurred to make it practical, for companies to expand beyond their own four walls, and tap into global resources in efforts to improve whatever it is they produce. So, combine these enablers with the vast amount of fiber-optic cables installed around the world that provide virtually free high bandwidth communications, and you have the makings of a level “business” playing field.
The book is full of examples of companies that have taken advantage of this technical leveling of the business world to improve the level of services they provide. One such example is how JetBlue Airlines uses hundreds of motivated stay-at-home mothers in the Salt Lake City area as home-based booking agents. Another is how an entrepreneur and McDonald’s franchisee in Colorado Springs has created a drive-through order taking service that allows a team of order takers in Colorado Springs to take drive-up orders from multiple McDonald’s restaurants anywhere in the country and transmit the order to the delivery window 30 feet ahead of where the order was taken.
For years, those who created packaging graphics and provided prepress services had invested heavily to improve their workflows and expand the level of services and value they provided to their customer. These efforts have been supported by companies such as Adobe, EskoArtwork, and Kodak to name only a few, that have developed comprehensive workflow tools making the very labor-intense process of creating and managing production art and prepress files as streamlined as possible. I have had the privilege of working with some of the most impressive “propeller heads” at design and prepress companies who have taken these tools to levels of automation that would make General Motors envious.
Wikipedia describes the book as an international bestseller “analyzing the progress of globalization with an emphasis on the early 21st century. The title is a metaphor for viewing the world as flat or level in terms of commerce and competition, as in a level playing field—or one where all competitors have an equal opportunity.” According to the book, the dismantling of the Berlin Wall was the first of ten forces that, combined with other forces of technology and innovation, helped to “flatten the world” and make it possible for a customer service representative in India to explain my Visa bill to me in Buffalo, New York.
Friedman explains how from 1989 through the first half of this decade, a number of concepts and enablers have occurred to make it practical, for companies to expand beyond their own four walls, and tap into global resources in efforts to improve whatever it is they produce. So, combine these enablers with the vast amount of fiber-optic cables installed around the world that provide virtually free high bandwidth communications, and you have the makings of a level “business” playing field.
The book is full of examples of companies that have taken advantage of this technical leveling of the business world to improve the level of services they provide. One such example is how JetBlue Airlines uses hundreds of motivated stay-at-home mothers in the Salt Lake City area as home-based booking agents. Another is how an entrepreneur and McDonald’s franchisee in Colorado Springs has created a drive-through order taking service that allows a team of order takers in Colorado Springs to take drive-up orders from multiple McDonald’s restaurants anywhere in the country and transmit the order to the delivery window 30 feet ahead of where the order was taken.
For years, those who created packaging graphics and provided prepress services had invested heavily to improve their workflows and expand the level of services and value they provided to their customer. These efforts have been supported by companies such as Adobe, EskoArtwork, and Kodak to name only a few, that have developed comprehensive workflow tools making the very labor-intense process of creating and managing production art and prepress files as streamlined as possible. I have had the privilege of working with some of the most impressive “propeller heads” at design and prepress companies who have taken these tools to levels of automation that would make General Motors envious.
Companies Mentioned:
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