Reintermediation

Jon M. Garon, Reintermediation , 2 Int. J. of Private Law 227 (2009).

The digital revolution has interrupted traditional supply chains and wholesaler relationships with manufacturers and retailers, companies are developing new methodologies to create supplier loyalty critical to control of market share. This article documents the leading strategies being utilised by companies to reassert their relevance in the value proposition for their clients and the consequences of these new business models on intellectual property law, privacy rules and influences on judicial contract interpretation. In Philip Evans and Thomas Wurster's bestselling book, Blown to Bits (Harvard Business Press, 1999), the authors postulated that the inverse relationship between the richness and reach of content was eliminated by the extremely low transaction costs associated with providing consumers highly rich content through digital media. Successful companies have employed reintermediation, the use of proprietary sales channels and exclusive intellectual property-protected techniques to establish brand loyalty, enforce brand exclusivity and command market-share.