Customer and Supplier RelationshipsA company's relationships with customers and suppliers can provide a comprehensive picture of its business dealings around the world.
A search of a database called PIERS can provide detailed information about what goods are imported or exported, the companies on each side of the transaction and the dates of shipments.
Ask the PIERS database about one leading coffee-shop chain, for example, and you will identify the suppliers who ship it coffee from around the world hundreds of times a year.
