Verghese asserts that doesn't hit Olam badly because it is more about connecting the supply chain than holding stockpiles and thereby betting on future prices (in fact, it hedges them).

FORBES: Magazine Article

Of course, you don't make it to the top of the GPA food chain without connecting with a keyboard and mouse on the regular.

ENGADGET: Growing Up Geek: Christopher Trout Alt

There is a spiritual as well as practical dimension to this - with ubuntu reflecting the idea that we're part of a long chain of human experience, connecting us to previous and future generations.

BBC: Bill Clinton, Labour conference

Connecting seemingly disparate pieces of information also launched a very profitable chain of pubs in the UK, whose entrepreneurial team noticed the following seemingly unconnected pieces of data: first, that when families decided to go out to a pub on Friday night, husbands chose whether to go out, but wives chose where the family went.

FORBES: A Perfect Business Model: Nose Hair Trimmers

Now a supply chain of myriad links runs all around the world, connecting designers, chipmakers, car-parts firms and assembly lines.

ECONOMIST: World trade