Forage on the Enemy
War is very expensive. A war can be a heavy toll for everyone to bear. A war can be so expensive that it depletes an entire nation. That is why Sun Tzu says,”forage on the enemy.”
When you win a battle, take the enemies homes, flocks, gold, food, and more. The idea is that foraging can help pay for the army. An army should try to keep the people at home strong. They should reduce their cost as much as possible and foraging is one way to do this.
Soldiers that are skilled can leave home and support their own needs by foraging. They do not need to be a constant drain on their homeland.
In business, a prolonged battle can be so expensive that it leaves the company broke and weak. This should be avoided. Companies can go in and buy bankrupt companies or buy portions of companies. This is an example of foraging on the enemy. When you buy the other competitors out at pennies on the dollar then you are foraging on them.
Wal-Mart did this to Kmart. When Kmart went through bankruptcy, Wal-Mart purchased some of the best locations.
In other areas of business, some companies learn to “piggy back” on others. They may bundle their product in such a way that their enemy is actually helping to market a competitors product. This is an example of foraging on the enemy.
Another way to forage on the enemy business is to buy up all the assets at a reduced price after they go out of business. If their business is similar to yours, you can get additional business growth at a reduced rate and that helps pay for the expense of doing battle with them.
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