Folium: Sourcemap – Visualizing Supply-Chains via BoingBoing

Posted by LEAF Architect on Friday, October 5, 2012 · Leave a Comment

Folium: Sourcemap – Visualizing Supply-Chains via BoingBoing

This is a global economy, visualized. And that scares some people…

The words “global economy” have been deified and vilified, they’re a position and a platform, they’re the cause of and solution to all of the world’s problems.

But all of these perspectives do not negate the fact that it exists, and any smart company that wants to truly grow their business knows that it’s all or nothing. This is not a debate on whether global commerce is a benefit to domestic business, since it has become pretty clear that even the most locally-minded consumers depend on global manufacturers to supply the means of production.

So what does this all mean? Essentially, the same message as in many other Folium posts, but with a shiny new infographic to help illustrate the point.

Essentially, you see how a laptop computer isn’t born inside a cardboard box. Materials, parts, and assembly collides from companies all over the world! We all play a pivotal role in the process.

We are all connected, and in the greatest way possible. We now can have resources (both physical and talent) drawn in from all over the world, to produce anything we can possibly think of. An internet company in California can license servers in Brazil, which draws power from Wind Turbines made in Germany, using steel forged from ores mined from around the world. My only regret is that the graphic isn’t animated, to show the flow and direction of the resources from one place to another.

We live in an age where any company, big or small, can and should go global. Why sell to a few people when you can sell to everyone? Why limit your resources when technology lets you connect with anyone, anywhere in a matter of milliseconds? And those who will be prepared to make those connections are those who think, speak, and act globally.