As the progressive lowering of trade barriers eases, business survival increasingly hinges on a company's ability to compete globally in external and/or internal markets. competitors from overseas are targeting previously secure domestic supply markets, while domestic competitors are increasingly looking overseas not only for new markets, but also for new sources of supply. Their procurement objectives are many and varied, but high on the list of priorities are issues of cost reduction, product and service innovation, technology acquisition and risk spreading. Blind loyalty to existing markets and suppliers is no longer sufficient to ensure that a firm continues to make a comfortable living, let alone to achieve the growth and profitability it needs to remain competitive.