4.9 Relative margin flexibility
Margin flexibility is proportional to pricing freedom.
The margins of the best Experts are usually secret, but it is known that average standard margins are usually higher in the case of Product makers than the margins of Stores (Self-Services). For instance, profit margins for PCs made by Product-oriented Apple are several times higher than those of online Self-Services offering self-assembly of PCs from commoditized components.
Commodity owners and suppliers often complain about the narrow margins they must live within, especially in low market price cycles. Many commodity businesses must be subsidized by the government in order to survive. Also commoditized goods and processes are transferred from rich countries to areas with cheap labor because of the margin tightness.
