
56 Principles of Supply Chain Management
systems interacting and coevolving in response to environmental factors. The corporation
is hypothesized as a complex adaptive system that must adapt itself to the environment in
which it operates (Frederick 1998). In the future, dealing with complexity will be a neces-
sary core competency for any successful organization.
Many companies may nd complexity, or its variant, chaos theory, as too far out to be
seriously considered. However, a few companies are already trying to decide how to
incorporate this theory into their thinking. Managing the complexity of external changes
poses risks and opportunities ...