Many of them have already adopted this and I don't see why others can't. Let me explain the thesis of my book. Companies will need to interact with their customers so closely that they actually 'co-create' value with them on an individual basis (N=1). Think of iGoogle. They have 100 million customers all of whom can, for instance, create their own music portfolio.

These are products that allow customers to use and customise them for their own individual purposes. At the same time, companies will resource the goods and services needed to develop new offerings from anywhere in the world (R=G).

Think of Amul and its highly interactive, super-efficient supply chain. They distribute 7 million litres of milk sourced from 2.2 million suppliers every day. In a unique way, farmers are being linked to global markets. It is a classic example of personalised globalisation.

The first equation, N=1, calls for a level of customer intimacy that can only be achieved with extensive use of deep analytical technology. The second, R=G, requires supply chain and logistics expertise that allows companies to source goods and services efficiently and effectively from anywhere.

Many Indian companies have already done this efficiently. Look at Bharti Airtel. Among the reasons Airtel can offer telecom service so cheaply is that it keeps capital costs down by outsourcing everything from its network infrastructure to IT systems and promotes use of prepaid cards that generate cash up front. By making service affordable to the masses, it can lure millions more subscribers, gaining economies of scale.

Image: Chairman and Managing Director of India's Bharti Airtel Ltd Sunil Bharti Mittal addresses a press conference in New Delhi | Photograph: Findlay Kember/AFP/Getty Images