Harrigan proposes that a company’s degree of vertical integration can range from total
ownership of the value chain needed to make and sell a product to no ownership at all. (See
Figure 7–2.) Under full integration,a firm internally makes 100% of its key supplies and completely
controlsits distributors. Large oil companies, such as British Petroleum and Royal Dutch
Shell, are fully integrated. They own the oil rigs that pump the oil out of the ground, the ships
and pipelines that transport the oil, the refineries that convert the oil to gasoline, and the trucks
that deliver the gasoline to company-owned and franchised gas stations. Sherwin-Williams
Company, which not only manufacturers paint, but also sells it in its own chain of 3,000 retail
stores, is another example of a fully-integrated firm. If a corporation does not want the disadvantages
of full vertical integration, it may choose either taper or quasi-integration strategies