I'm reading a book that was given to me for Christmas entitled “Weird Ideas That Work” by R. Sutton that of "The anti-asshole method" and after about twenty pages (a handful but it was late and I was "struck" by the flu) I thought of writing taking up an old topic, supply chain intermediation. In reality I also owe this stimulus to a phone call that reached me today and for privacy reasons I won't mention names or surnames.

“What if tomorrow the middle market no longer exists?”. They predict it. Scholars. Analysts. Historians. Thinkers. Ranters. Geniuses. Improvisers. Futurologists. Bloggers. Others hope so. Economists. Entrepreneurs. Innovators. Enterprising. Courageous. Crazy people. Smart.

I thought in a previous blog that I had already written too much on the topic. Having contextualized it in the market that interests me. Advertising. But those pages and that phone call convinced me that it was only the beginning. Yes! because things MUST change. The market must open up. The need can even be felt from the outside. And Sutton gave me the right interpretation. This is not just a historical phase. A current, contemporary scenario that we must take into account. CHANGE to SURVIVE CHANGE. Or perhaps better yet I should say CHANGE to WIN CHANGE.

The middle market in supply chains should generally be comparable to a river. As it grows and enlarges, it widens the flaps. It penetrates. Irrigate. Until he completes his course. Its value increases as its price increases. Sometimes, often!, this doesn't happen in supply chains. Often at the expense of quality. Of the service. Of the times. But going back in time, I think that in an era where tools and technologies were still in their infancy if not even far from coming, the middle market created glue, created networks, culture and value. But today!? Today there is technology. There is enough culture to understand. Comprehend. Evaluate. So today is the time for the middle market to give way to CHANGE in some supply chains.

CHANGE?! in this case it means shortening the supply chain and bringing the customer closer to the service. Then try to think about the advertising sector. It's not just the TV that's the problem. It is not just the links between the Big Spenders and the media that are causing the system to become rigid. If we looked further we would understand that the problem is still us. We are afraid of change. To exit the system. From the old. OLD. And look to the future. Because tomorrow I will be able to buy online advertising. Everywhere. On TV. On newspaper. On the Internet. At Cinema. On communication systems. On the radio. Everywhere! and we will all benefit from it.

Does anyone think that "... imagine if tomorrow someone will be able to plan, purchase, create..."!? maybe not all of this. But perhaps tomorrow much of what many do today, tomorrow few will be able to do with the help of technology. Bringing the supply chain closer together. Reducing costs. Broadening perspectives. For the benefit of a system that TODAY is questioning its future. And that future will certainly not be filling the streets, places and advertising systems everywhere. That would be the end!