Vertical integration refers to the number of supply chain decisions that are made within a company. For example, a company that manufactures wood furniture could also own the land that supplies the trees that are then cut down and processed by the plant. This is an example of backward integration. For forward integration, the same company would then sell directly to the final customer who uses the furniture instead of selling to a retailer. Companies that are more likely to become vertically integrated are ones who have the capital available to do so. Vertical integration is more effective for continuous operations in which the number of input materials is small. Fine (1998) points out that successful companies move back and forth between being vertically integrated and not in order to remain competitive over longer periods of time.