Sir Martin argued that in a globally inter-dependent world, where some companies operate in hundreds of countries, firms interested in building long-term brands would not "do things that will upset consumers".

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The trust frameworks are designed to be public, standardised and inter-operable, so that people and companies can play various roles in the framework and still manage trusted relationships.

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Companies can also eliminate unnecessary inventory by streamlining inter-company ordering, wrote Malcolm Wheatley for Procurement Leaders Executive Network.

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At the same time, the inter-dependency between finance and strategy often has more critical consequences for companies operating internationally compared with their domestically-focused counterparts.

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According to OFII, the foreign investment estimates include equity capital, reinvested earnings and inter-company debt (U.S. subsidiaries borrowing from foreign parent companies).

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Managing logistics and supply chains for distant companies, as well as physically moving goods around at warehouses and inter-modal hubs, generates lots of jobs for the area.

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