The management mantra of the 1980s was product quality, and activities involving Quality Control (QC) circles, Total Quality Management (TQM) and ISO 9000 were the order of the day. Back then, consumers were willing to spend enormous sums for quality products. However, product quality has significantly improved and today having a good quality product is a mandatory requirement for the company's effective participation and survival in the marketplace.

Subsequently, the management slogan in the 1990s embraced technology as the cure-all. Companies then tried to distinguish themselves from their competitors through the use of technology, by offering better and more sophisticated features, use of the Internet and communication systems. Huge sums were channelled into technology to build a better mousetrap with more superior state-of-the-art features. Today, the world does not beat down the door of the better mousetrap developer. The collapse of the high tech stocks on Nasdaq in the early part of 2001 illustrates the vulnerability of technology.

The thrust in the new millennium is competition. Competition intensifies with the emergence of a better range of products that are often of superior quality coupled with attractive and affordable pricing. In such a scenario, many products become marginalized, and like commodities, pricing becomes a key determinant in a shrinking market.

In today's competitive environment, your margins for errors are also thinner. In the past, three strikes or major mistakes and you are out, but today, one strike or major mistake and you are history. Customers have many choices and they will switch their suppliers at the turn of the dime if you make a major error in quality, delivery, etc.

Oftentimes, the elusive competition quietly sneaks in by the back door. You may have been losing trickles of disgruntled customers and one day, you come to the sudden realisation that even your major customers are gone.

PSA Corporation learnt too late to retain its number one customer, Maersk from switching to Port of Tanjong Pelepas in Johore. After PSA Corporation rejected the requests for better terms of AP Moller Group, parent of Maersk Sealand, the world's largest operator of container ships, the Copenhagen based company moved the operations to Tanjong Pelepas and also took a stake in the port. This was a double whammy for PSA Corporation as it not only lost its biggest customer, it has to compete against its former ally. With the help of Maersk, Tanjong Pelepas is able to capture Evergreen, PSA Corporation's second largest customer. . PSA had tried to compete on efficiency and fast turnaround of clients' ships. But this could only justify for some price premium for up to a point. Consequently, PSA Corporation has to downsize in order to stay competitive, a tad too late as it has lost its top two customers within a short period.

Competition may lead to opening up new markets. For instance, with the advent of the low budget airlines, more poor Indonesians are also able to travel overseas. This is the market segment, which most major airlines such as Singapore Airlines will ever wish to target. But one should never under estimate or take the competition for granted.

Competition is a silent and sudden killer like heart attack, it can creep up on you without warning. However, just as an individual can prevent this disease by adopting a healthy lifestyle, a company can stave off competition by remaining alert and adopting appropriate strategies to combat it. When you are faced with increasing competition, you may still survive, prosper and succeed, but it is no longer business as usual.