As a fighting force, European countries will prove a brittle cane on which to lean in operations abroad.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy

They both rely on lean direct-sales operations to sell their products to techies working deep in the bowels of large corporations.

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And modeling out what could happen to their business if their customers began to hold on to cars longer, they discovered that they could reduce their inventory levels and increase their emphasis on service operations, just when customer demand began to lean that way.

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Volkswagen, a much larger company that can lean on its higher-margin luxury brands and strong global operations, has been able to weather the storm more easily by cutting prices and taking market share from weaker rivals like Fiat, Peugeot, Ford Motor and General Motors.

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